Cost of new build house 100 sqm in Sicily?

Liamo Image
11/23/2009 - 10:23

Hi there, myself and my fiance are looking to build on our land in South Eastern Sicily which has the relevant permissions.  We have found through experience that engineers in Sicily will sometimes add plenty of 'cream' onto jobs if you instruct them to handle the whole job.  So we're now planning to manage the new build ourselves - does anyone have a clue as to a reasonable cost per sqm that we should expect to pay for construction?  Ball park figures based on personal experience would be appreciated.  Kind regards, Liam

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ah the skimming... I can certainly tell you how to dodge the plumbing skim.... fit a DPS heat bank for £3,300 + VAT and then most of the tricky plumbing is all done... your plumber can then only charge for the few pipes to baths etc.We have recently quoted for a house of your size and including the stufa, tank, rads we could not get the quote over €20,000 and yet €35,000 odd seems to be the going rate around here and that's without the kit.good luck

Thanks very much for the tip about the heat bank I'm going to have an auld sniff around Google now to see what the low down with that is. What were they quoting 20-35k for exactly?  I'm curious to find out what the total cost  per sqm is for an entire new house.  I saw on another thread that one geometra was quoting 1800per sqm but that was in Tuscany and I'm kinda hoping that Sicily might work out alot cheaper especially if we're getting the different contractors (brickie, sparky etc.) in ourselves without anyone else taking any extra lolly for themselves...I'd be grateful to hear back from anyone even if their experience is in another regionRegardsLiam

I'm comparing two houses here so not exactly like for like but still useful I hope.Small house is probably similar to yours. The €20,000 quote was for all the pipes but not the waste system. It did include a €2,000 stufa and the heat bank and radiators as well and a new gas boiler.The second bigger house (250 square metres?) had several quotes from Italian plumbers in the €35,000 range and that was for a 3 bed house with underfloor heating throughout and it did include the waste system. Buying the stufa, heat bank, was all extra.I think the trick is to get the job broken down. Once you have the heat bank parked in the tech room your pumps and wires and controls are already done so the plumber then has to justify why he needs more than a few hundred to run a few pipes to your showers etc. The heat bank site by the way is www.heatweb.com and the tank is called an Excel ... I always specify the 475 litre one.... another two coming out on Thursday so this area is going to have a few warm houses.

SirI placed a post on this website asking people in good faith whether they knew the cost per sqm I could expect to pay for a new build house in Sicily.Your reply was curious in nature in that it had absolutely nothing to do with my post and was merely a shameless and lame attempt at flogging your heating system.  I now see from your profile that you're the agent for this product.I am not a communist and I encourage enterprise and industry in people - however I suggest you be up front with people and do not use this reputable website to trawl for punters.Such sales 'tactics' are easily spotted and they do nothing but harm to yours and your products reputation.RegardsLiam O'Sullivan 

SirI placed a post on this website asking people in good faith whether they knew the cost per sqm I could expect to pay for a new build house in Sicily.Your reply was curious in nature in that it had absolutely nothing to do with my post and was merely a shameless and lame attempt at flogging your heating system.  I now see from your profile that you're the agent for this product.I am not a communist and I encourage enterprise and industry in people - however I suggest you be up front with people and do not use this reputable website to trawl for punters.Such sales 'tactics' are easily spotted and they do nothing but harm to yours and your products reputation.RegardsLiam O'Sullivan 

As a ballpark figure you are probably talking around €1,500 per m2 (I would imagine prices in Sicily to be similar to Sardinia) for what in the UK would  be considered a "good" build. (ie essentially good but not top end finishing etc).

Thanks Capo Boi - incidentally we have a 12 week old pure bred German Shepherd puppy called Capo and he's a superb dog!  We appreciate you taking the time to get back to us.  We've never been to Sardinia but once we're married in Sicily next year its top of the list of 'musts'. Regards Liam

Well, it all depends on what you're building and where.  Traditional build in should come in around 1000 euros psm to a standard finish - if you have a wooden roof and not one in cemento armato a bit less, a bit more  if you want to face in stone.   The new building laws that have come in after May make it more expensive especially for the foundations.Bear in mind that you're in  Sicily and everyone wants to mangiare - but you cannot just build a house yourselves.  You must use a professional, and have a certfiicato di agibilità, you must have energy certification and all the rest and it all depends on the comune where you're planning to build.  And it all depends on how quickly you want it done of course.  You cna put in a single firm with a squad and itwill be done quicker than  a small builder with a separatte plumber and separate roofer etc - and if you're in Noto be careful of the building firms you use.   Use a separate trivellista if you can.  PM me if you want recommendations or need advice or write to info@modicasa.com 

I'd go with the €1,500/sm figure for a good quality (not luxurious) standard but this will exclude all your external works (access road, patio, service connections etc) and the kitchen units, light fittings. Seismic design criteria make for expensive foundations / structure

In reply to by Maurice

Many thanks Maurice we had figured that 1000per sqm was optimistic - and fair point about the seismic angle, which is something we have to explore further with the engineer as the house will be on a cliff.  Regards, Liam

1000 euros is the standard rate here in this part of Sicily - obviously labour costs much more in Tuscany.  I have overseen projects for clients which have come in at below this figure, although the majority finally cost about 1200psm - the lure of swish bathrooms and underfloor heating...  If you were to do a build with all the ecological bells and whistles, bioclimatic and state incentives it can come to about 1800euros psm.  Obviously it depends on materials, especially whether you are going to build in stone, face in stone or avoid stone altogether, and your choice of flooring - ceramic or stone.  Also whether you have water and electricity already on site is a factor, though near Siracusa you don't have to drill too deep, though in the hills above Avola you may have to go down to 250+ metres and that is a significant cost.

Hi Liam,My experience in Italy is that progress can be very slow if you don't have all the relevant people in the loop. I think on planning permission they give you 3 years to complete!When you start the build you will need to set up the site which involves safety fencing, signange etc. Your standard sign will have a list of responsible people on it. I don't think you can 'officially' manage the build yourself.From your post you say that all the permissions are in place. I'm assuming you have all the following in place: sismic risk area report, you will also need a report done by a geologist for soil type, suitability for septic tank(if required)- this will also confirm if you need any special foundations.Engineer basically takes responsibility for the project, then there will be a secondary engineer who checks your engineers calculations and signs off. If your in a sismic area your calcs go to another government department for signing off.As you are doing a proper build and not just maintenance works the responsible person must get the details of the main builder and submit these with the 'building notice'. Details of builder also includes details of his employment status(insurances, paid up contributions etc, etc) which go on the signage for the job.I'm not sure of your familiarity with HEALTH and SAFETY, but in Italy the beuracracy is unbelievable. The responsible person would liase with the builder to ensure this is in place. When (not if) the Health an Safety people come they are looking for compliance. The builder can get hit with some hefty fines if there are any violations. They also check on all workers on site to make sure they are all have the correct employment status- basically they will want to ensure that they are paid up with their contributions. THEY CAN SHUT DOWN THE SITE IF THEY HAVE REASON TO!  I think by law your (you the owner) not even allowed on site unaccompanied by the responsible person.BEURACRACY EXAMPLE: To erect saffolding you need 2 reports done with drawings, photos etc, all submitted to relevant department. The reports stay on site. The engineer oversees the erection and checks it etc, The erector must have the relevant certification. You will need to pay the guy who does the report anywhere between 600 and 1000, which is just a 'copy and paste' from a previous jobTHE ENGINEERS AND GEOMETRAS IN ITALY ARE A NECESSITY and their roles are part of the whole process. Health and Safety, Comune, Geologists, Builders etc will all want them in the loop.Not sure from where you originate, but in Italy(especially south) it is difficult in terms of 'what you want' and 'what you get'. Eg. You may be accustomed to having windows that open out but in Italy they open in and all sit on a marble cill.GOOD LUCK but remember you can not 'officially' manage your job, you will just have to oversee and liase.Feel free to contact me if you have any doubts. I have extensive experience in London and Australia and the last 4 years(part time) in Italy. 

Not really an on-topic contribution here, but I'm halfway through the Montalbano novel "August Heat", which involves the investigation of a Sicilian builder/developer. Until I read the above, I had no idea how unrealistic it was!In all the parts about building work everything is very casual, and "health and safety"? No such thing! I suppose Andrea Camilleri has never been on a building site.smiley

Hi Mister Stefano, I've only just realised that the original post was from 2009. My experiences are from 2012.It would be interesting to know how Liam ended up with the entire process.Your right about the casual part but as soon as someone in the loop is unhappy, regulations seem to appear out of nowhere!