So my wife and I are in the process of buying a small plot of land to build our house. And needless to say, that in never having done such a thing, its proving to be a very steep learning curve , and the horrors of mounting costs at breakneck speeds is somewhat alarming. But we are keen to see it through and are planning on doing as much of the build ourselves as we possibly can. To save on costs for one thing, and to also make sure we know where our tiny budget is being spent on what.
Because of the soil type of the property being a high clay content, we have to put in a floating slab/raft slab, or a pad and lintel foundation.(as well as an agricultural drain or two, for drainage) But I think that the raft slab is the least labor intensive, yet apparently rather costly, due to the extra reinforcing needed. Our quote we received on a 100m² foundation is about R165000. :eek7: :eek7:
Needless to say, that's ridiculous. Surely it can be done for less than that. I don't mean to say that there should be any form of compromise taken, or corners cut to save costs, but in my mind that feels excessive. even though I have never done this before, I cant justify such a ridiculous amount for a fairly straightforward project.
For those of you who have done this before, or are in the business, I would love to hear your thoughts and or advice. :thumleft:
Because of the soil type of the property being a high clay content, we have to put in a floating slab/raft slab, or a pad and lintel foundation.(as well as an agricultural drain or two, for drainage) But I think that the raft slab is the least labor intensive, yet apparently rather costly, due to the extra reinforcing needed. Our quote we received on a 100m² foundation is about R165000. :eek7: :eek7:
Needless to say, that's ridiculous. Surely it can be done for less than that. I don't mean to say that there should be any form of compromise taken, or corners cut to save costs, but in my mind that feels excessive. even though I have never done this before, I cant justify such a ridiculous amount for a fairly straightforward project.
For those of you who have done this before, or are in the business, I would love to hear your thoughts and or advice. :thumleft:
