Construction charges in chennai 2009

Hi all,

We have a property of app 1200 sq feet in Tambaram East. Am planning on building a ground + one floor house with an overall area of app 1200-1300 sq feet. Can anyone tell me the current rates for constructing buildings.... with the steel prices etc., taking a tumble has the rate come down. What are the specs like.. Does it include building the sump, septic tank, compound etc...Are there any good builders websites with all such details....

Have a great day.

Shama

Shama,

Yesterday, we had a discussion with one of the builders for a friend. he says though the papers/newschannel talk about considerable reduction in costs of rawmaterials it has not trickled down to the end users still.

and the cost of labour is very high right now. if you are using good high end materials, granites and the best of everything your sq.ft rates comes from 1200-1500 /sq.ft. If you are interested in compromising i think you can negotiate at 1000too.

Builders, is a word of mouth reputation. you could contact any builder and ask if he takes up construction..

hi shama
from the little that i know, construction charges are around Rs.1350-1400 per sq ft with decent small time builders. this charge should include septic tank, sump, compound wall, weathering and specification of ultra tiles, decent bathroom fittings etc minus the registration and approval costs. sometimes they charge for every BoM (bill of material) in the house, in which case, it gets a little uneasy for common people like us to comprehend the costs that are hidden. overall it should be at this rate.

i dont know of any websites with these details. this is based on what i hear and my recent experience with a builder.

but a 1300 sq ft house in a 1200 sqft land seems to be very less.. you would be losing out on so much of building space. thats ur choice and u must be hving a reason to do that..

Asha,

Depending on the land if it in a 30ft approach road, 40ft, 20 ft, the area of construction is determined.

These days you get upto 1600sq.ft of houses in a 1200sq.ft land, and they look good too.

Shama,

You can construct a very well posh architect designed house measuring 1700-1800 sq.ft in 1200 sq.ft provided you do not have intention to rent out ground/first floor. You need to have the plot width measuring minimum 23-25 at whichever side. (eg, 40x30 is an ideal site), 60x20, you can still get it.

One sample plan is as follows..
You keep the hall area with high ceiling (Double the normal height so it looks really spacious with a 20x10 hall), have dining hall, 1 bed room, puja and a kitchen , 1 or 2 rest rooms with back yard 4 ft and front car park - 11 ft, garden space 6x8.

In first floor, you can have a mini hall, 2 bed rooms with 1 master as 15x11, 1 common bath and a balconymeasuring a room size.

You just need to spend some amount 5000 Rs - 10000 Rs with an architect and he will give you a best design with good space optimized for look and convenience. You can rent out the house in whole, but not in parts...

In construction side, you could look at hiring labour alone and buying materials by yourself. This will work out little cheaper if you could get labours from your native or from kancheepuram/Chengalpet. Since construction industry is facing job losses, these people are looking for some jobs that could keep them occupied and paid for the shorter period.

Why I say is, for every material, you will have to go for quality check, colour inspection and price factor. Any thing little above contract criteria, you will end up paying extras.

- For eg: Good quality tiles with various designs can be brought from Pondycherry in a day's trip. You could lots of bathroom, door fittings from Pondy. So is the case with electrical fittings like fans, tubes, switches, wires..
- Just spend 2 days at Pondy with enough cash in hand, order the necessary items for delivery and rest bring it along with you.

- You get good tax rebate there for purchases made in Pondy.

- Ready made doors can be bought from any door vendors.

- Windows , wardrobes, shelves and Main doors will have to be done through a carpenter.

Main items like Cement, steel, bricks , stones and sand can be ordered as per the requirement in bulk through the civil contractor/Supervisor.
You can have an exclusive contract for this fashion so that the customer selection items could be excluded from your contract rate per sq.ft.

- Definitely you will have to spend good project management time and effort to track the construction activities.

Finally your dream Home will be ready...!!!!

leelal buddy,

that is a good reply dearie. the stress and tension of going around to pick up things, and getting reliable labour is a weak point. if the op can get it, it is worth all the effort, as a saving of minimum 25% of the total cost is assured isn't it.

Shanthi,

Yes Dear. We can save minimum 25%. But more is the satisfaction of using what we want and at the quality we want. This avoids lots of frequent discussions leading to difference of opinions with the builder as most of the builders settle for least priced or re-using the extra material he would have bought for another house construction with in the contract rate.

Usually with the builder, even after fixing a contract rate, when we go for these small selections or not, the final cost will be 15% above budgeted cost for various reasons that could have popped in.

For eg: we may want a coloured parry-ware closet, builder supports only white, non-branded closet. The difference would be hardly 1500-3000 Rs and we may use maximum 2 pcs in such a home.


I am not blaimng the builders, but with the economy and cost of living, as a private party, this is the level of corruption they could bring to the system.


Let us Wish Shama to get a quality builder and a dream home to their families expectations within budget.

Hello Shanthi, Asha and Leelal,

Good to hear about your experiences. Thanks .. Actually there is well over 47 feet facing the road on the eastern side and 30' width. We have almost fixed on a contractor with Rs 1200/-(though the rates were agreed to a year back) but according to him it does not include anything outside the house, such as the sump, compound wall etc., Light coloured parryware closets have only been suggested.

Can anyone help me in comparing the vitrified with the ceramic (Anuj) tiles..

How are the Mangalore tiles different from the terracota tiles.

If I find time I'd possibly go to a tile shop in the next few days and try find out. Let me know in the mean time.

Thanks Shama

Hi Leelal,

The high ceiling sounds good...However though I would personally loveto go around shopping for the best product and the best rate, it is currently impossible with two toddlers at home. Further, I heard that when you do your own procurements,bags of cement come half-filled `with sand at the middle of the night and the blame is shifted betn the seller, the loader and the house hold level... Which means you must have a responsible person to check all items before they are unloaded... Further, as a once a lifetime procurer, you will hardly get good deals from the hardware store you are planning to procure, the contractor may get better deals... Well, if as an onlooker to this process I learn enough, I shall sure manage a new venture all on my own when I dump my children in school....

Love
Shama

Hi Leelal,

The high ceiling sounds good...However though I would personally loveto go around shopping for the best product and the best rate, it is currently impossible with two toddlers at home. Further, I heard that when you do your own procurements,bags of cement come half-filled `with sand at the middle of the night and the blame is shifted betn the seller, the loader and the house hold level... Which means you must have a responsible person to check all items before they are unloaded... Further, as a once a lifetime procurer, you will hardly get good deals from the hardware store you are planning to procure, the contractor may get better deals... Well, if as an onlooker to this process I learn enough, I shall sure manage a new venture all on my own when I dump my children in school....

Love
Shama