Building materials - high cost but predictable
The cost of buying a plot of land can be very high, but the really high costs are yet to come. The open shell alone may not consume that much of your budget, but that will change when you calculate the expenses involved in bringing the building to a closed shell.
It does not matter whether you decide to build with a home-builder or a contractor. At the top of the list of expenses is always the same item: the materials needed to build the structure. These determine how much it actually costs to build a house in the first stages of the project. Expenses include everything from foundation blocks, concrete and reinforcing steel to the trusses and roofing. Of course, the final cost depends on the material chosen.
However, it is worth remembering that prices increase with the complexity of the body - both the structure of the building and the roof construction are important. A simple house project with a gable roof is definitely cheaper than an elaborate structure with numerous folds and large glazings.
Example material costs:
- concrete for foundations - approx. PLN 350-450/m³,
- foundation blocks - PLN 6-8/unit.,
- reinforcing steel - PLN 5.5-6.5/kg,
- roof trusses - PLN 200-350/m²,
- roof covering (roofing sheet) - 50-90 PLN/m²,
- roofing (clay tile) - 80-150 PLN/m²,
- roof windows - PLN 1200-2000/unit.,
- insulation materials for roof insulation - 70-120 PLN/m².
These amounts may vary depending on the region and the quality of the products, but they give a good indication of how much of the total budget is accounted for by materials.
Installations - costly but necessary
Electricity, plumbing, heating and ventilation are elements without which it is impossible to speak of a comfortable home. At this stage, the costs of building a house increase considerably, because the installations have to be carried out according to the design and the construction art.
It is worth bearing in mind that possible corrections can be very expensive - if the electrical or water installation is poorly planned, it is often necessary to forge external walls or floors. Such mistakes generate additional costs, which can be avoided by planning ahead.
Find out the example installation costs per square metre for a detached house of approximately 150 m²:
- electrical installation - PLN 120-180/m²,
- plumbing - PLN 100-160/m²,
- underfloor heating - 150-200 PLN/m²,
- central heating system (radiators, boiler) - PLN 20-40 000,
- mechanical ventilation with recuperation - PLN 20 -35 000.
When planning the installation, it is also worth thinking about future savings. Insulating a building with materials with the lowest heat transfer coefficient reduces energy consumption and makes the investment pay off in operating costs.
Finishing - largest percentage of total budget
Although most talk about the shell and installations, it is in thehe completion phase can be the phase that puts the greatest strain on the budget. Flooring, bathrooms, carpentry, painting, lighting or furniture fittings can consume as much as 40-50% of the cost of building a house.
If you have a larger footprint, for example if you are planning a single-storey house with a large footprint, the sums rise even faster.
At this stage, there are also numerous costs associated with the purchase of details that we often underestimate. Necessary bathroom accessories, fittings or lighting systems can cost several thousand zlotys, and poorly planned purchases lead to overpaying. That is why it is best to plan the finishing touches already when the house project is being created - otherwise the investor enters the development phase without a clear vision, which always increases expenses.
For example:
- premium-class windows and exterior doors are an expense of several thousand to several tens of thousands of zloty,
- Comprehensive bathroom fit-outs typically amount to PLN 30-50,000,
- lighting throughout the house - between £10,000 and £25,000, depending on the standard.
Fortunately, the increasingly popular building calculators allow you to more or less estimate their cost and avoid surprises.
The most expensive... mistakes and changes during construction
Even the best-prepared estimate can collapse if ill-considered changes occur during the construction of a house. It is these - and not the materials or labour costs themselves - that cause the budget to burst at the seams.
Typical situations from construction sites show that even small decisions can cost dearly:
- relocating the kitchen after the shell has been completed means that the water and electrical systems have to be re-run,
- the lack of cooperation between the teams results in the repair of plaster, ceilings and floors that have already been done once,
- changing the heating system during the works forces the floors to be demolished and the entire installation to be re-laid.
In such situations, the builder pays twice: once for the workmanship and a second time for the amendments. It is not the materials or the labour, but the chaos, the lack of decisions and the corrections that make building a house much more expensive than expected at the beginning.
Therefore, the key to predictable costs is a consistent house design, decisions made on time and sticking to the arrangements. Changes are always possible, but the later they are made, the more expensive they cost.
Delays and downtime - a cost you don't see coming
Time in construction is just as important as materials. Every week of delay is an additional expense that often does not show up directly in the cost estimate. It is important to remember that the whole process requires careful planning, because delays increase the total cost of construction - not through concrete or steel invoices, but through side effects.
What does this involve? On the one hand, you are prolonging the rental of a temporary dwelling; on the other, you are blocking your own resources that could be working elsewhere. On top of that, there is the risk that the prices of services and materials will rise over time, and that selected professionals will postpone their appointments or you will lose attractive discounts. Even if at first glance it is „only a few hundred zlotys”, on the scale of the entire investment it can be one of the biggest expenses - also in the later operation of the building.
It is therefore worth considering whether the documentation, timetable and procurement are up to scratch before you start the next steps.
Construction costs are high - but it's bad decisions that raise them the most
At DD Projekt, we know that investors' biggest losses come not from the price of materials, but from mistakes, changes in the course, ill-considered choices and delays. That's why we manage the entire home-building process from start to finish - from design and paperwork to shell and turnkey finishes. No downtime, no chaos and no amendments.
What you gain by working with us:
- a design tailored to the budget and the realities of the plot,
- schedule with a realistic lead time and a margin of error of max. ±10%,
- a permanent team, supervision of all stages and ongoing access to documentation,
- advice on the choice of materials and technical solutions - before you spend money.
With this:
- you do not overpay,
- you do not correct,
- you do not wait indefinitely.
Material prices are out of your control.
But you can eliminate what drives up the total cost of construction the most - wrong decisions and delays.
Trust DD Design and put a house that is built the way it should be: once, well and without surprises.
