The Top 5 Things To Know About Building Your Dream Home In Barbados



+ A guide to understanding the cost of building in Barbados +



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Whether you are a young couple who wants to build their first “love nest” or a businessman who wants to build a luxury condominium in the Caribbean island, the first thing you need to know is:

how much does it cost to build my dream house in Barbados?


Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this key question.

In fact, a lot of new questions arise from this point on and we will try to clarify a few of them before we can provide an answer to the original question.


Let’s start from the beginning:



1 • LOCATION





You most likely have already identified an area where you would like to build your dream house.


A simple internet search or a chat with your real estate agent has already clarified the wide array of prices for buildable land in Barbados.

Like anywhere else in the world, the price of land (and houses too) depends on the zone, the proximity to amenities and services, view and many other factors.


On average, at the time of writing this guide (early 2021), we can indicate a starting point of about BB$ 10-12 per sq. ft. for an inland lot in a parish like St. George and about BB$ 13-15 for a similar lot in St. Philip.



We start with these two indications as they typically are plots of land that appeal more to locals than tourist, being far away from the beach but in nice neighborhoods and close to amenities.


As you can see from the 2013 chart below, a plot of land in the parish of St. James is generally much more expensive and, since 2011, the price of land has been on a downward trend.


It is easy to guess that beachfront land or a plot on a breezy ridge with view is more expensive.

Also, the West Coast is more pricey than South Coast, which is in turn more costly than East Coast, as the gated communities which characterize these places have a higher price point than standalone plots of land.



2 • LAND

• Land size





In Barbados, a development for housing purposes should be sited no closer than 6ft (1.83m) from any side or rear boundary and at least 12ft (3.65m) from any other house on the same land.

The front (roadside) setbacks varies depending on the class of the road, from a minimum of 19ft (5.79m) to a maximum of 32ft (9.75m) – apart from special cases and major highways.


On beach front sites, no structure should be sited closer than 100ft (30.00m) from the High-Water Mark.


All the above setbacks define the Buildable Area, that is, the area where you can actually build.

Please be aware that there is a Plot Coverage limit to account for: for residential purposes, you can only build on up to 40% of the Net Land Area, which is your lot area minus the verge.


All land surveys show you the verge area, the net land area and their sum, the plot area.

Please be sure your real estate agent specifies the above areas clearly, so you can have an exact idea of what you can build on the land you are purchasing.

If you want to build a 4000 sq. ft. house, you will therefore need a plot of land of at least 10,000 sq. ft. of net land area that, including verge and setbacks, can easily mean a total of at least 12,000 sq. ft. or more.



• Land type and soil





The type of land you are purchasing is also important because the land type has an impact on what and how you can build and, as a consequence, on the building costs.


A sloped lot will definitely entail some excavation in order to properly build, so it probably will cost more than a flat lot; depending on the slope, also, the works can be slightly more challenging and the costs may increase as you will have to have retaining walls to manage the soil and its drainage.



One of the lesser known and major aspects of construction costs is actually excavation. Therefore, knowing the soil composition is key to your budget.

We always recommend that our clients to do test pits to ascertain, with the help of a Structural Engineer, the soil composition in strategic points where the house will be built. Once your Architect has designed a concept that you love, you can investigate the soil composition and, eventually, make few adjustments.


An example of one such adjustment would be relocating the pool or the water tank to an area where the soil is more clay than rock, in order to contain the excavation costs.

Excavating clay is obviously cheaper than rock! :)



3 • FINISHES ARE THE KEY





To answer the original question – “how much does it cost to build a house in Barbados?” – you have to ask yourself what kind of finishes you would like your house to have.


Building cost depends largely on the finishes you choose!


For example, if you want timber doors and windows, you have to be aware that they cost easily more than twice than PVC ones. If, for you, security is important, you have to consider that basic burglar bars can cost as much as PVC windows.

Or if you cannot bear to live without having mosaic tiles in your beloved pool, be prepared to pay a lot more than the typical Diamond Brite, a quartz-based aggregate very commonly used to plaster pools.

Timber flooring is way more expensive than ceramic tiles, while Spanish tiles or cedar shingles roofs are more expensive than Permaclad (metal sheeting) roofs.

Also, not surprisingly, a custom-made kitchen with granite tops is more expensive than a pre-made kitchen with laminate tops.


It may sound obvious but, trust me, it is worth stating clearly.



A good, budget conscious and talented Architect, like M+ Architecture, has a lot of design tricks up their sleeve to contain your budget, and that’s why our assistance is so important.


However, we are not magicians and we cannot design a Ferrari for the price of a Beetle!


We will do our utmost to strike the right balance in order to design your dream house, within your budget and with the finishes that you can afford.


Choosing the right finishes to fit your budget is ultimately down to you: it is easy to get carried away when shopping for tiles, sanitary ware or kitchen materials so it is very important that you always control your budget yourself and carefully choose when to indulge and when to compromise.



4 • COST PER SQUARE FOOT





When you do ask around for construction prices, everyone in the trade in Barbados will provide an indicative cost per square foot.

This is merely a non-binding indication, to give you an idea of the predicted overall construction cost.

Only through a Tender procedure, with proper construction drawings from your Architect (and other consultants) and a precise Bill of Quantities from your Quantity Surveyor, will the contractors be able to give you a precise price.



The cost per square foot usually comes with a list of materials and finishes and provisional sums for some items (the kitchen for instance); cost per square foot is often (but not always) associated with a turnkey service, providing a full construction service including the house, the driveway, etc...


It is therefore very important to clarify what is included in the cost per square foot and the provisional sums as, often, a pool and landscaping are not included in the average cost per square foot.


Given the wide array of possible finishes and designs, it is not possible to give a precise cost indication, but an average entry level cost is about BB$ 180-200 per square foot.

This indicative cost will allow you to build a house, not including fence, pool nor landscape with these finishes: Trowel Plastic plaster on masonry walls, Permaclad roof without insulation, T1-11 (wood panels that look like tang & groove boards) between painted rafters, PVC gutters and downpipes, basic PVC doors and windows without burglar bars, ceramic tiles squarely laid, painted timber skirtings, basic off-the-shelf kitchen with laminate tops, and simple closets and vanities.


On the other end of the spectrum, the luxury residential, there is no limit to prices and high-end finishes.

However, as an indication, an average cost for a villa, including pool, fences and some landscape, can cost from BB$ 450-480 per square foot up.

For this price you can expect coral render plastered external walls, painted slick plaster on internal walls, cedar shingles roof, seamless aluminum gutters and downpipes, aluminum doors and windows, some areas with flat or tray ceilings, exposed rafters and tongue & groove pine boarding with pickled finish in other areas, concealed AC units, travertine floorings laid diagonally, travertine skirtings, custom made kitchen with appliances and granite tops, solid wood custom made closets and vanities, Diamond Brite and mosaic tiles pool.


In our opinion, with a cost between BB$ 250 and BB$ 300 per square foot you should be able to attain a very nice house, with a pool and most of the finishes you love.

If you are in a gated community, you will probably have to conform to their covenants and permissable finishes; you may also be able to lower your costs if the community holds a duty-free concession.

The cost savings brought in by this should not be overlooked as most finishing materials are manufactured overseas and therefore attract duties when brought into Barbados.



5 • CONSULTANTS





An additional cost that you cannot avoid is hiring consultants.


At the moment we are writing (January 2021), the Barbados Government has just passed the new Planning and Development Act and is currently working on the new procedures for obtaining building permits and for construction procedures.

There is a lot is still to be clarified and explained, but it is certain that landowners will have to use registered Architects and Civil/Structural Engineers (SE) to produce construction drawings and documentation, to apply for building permits and to supervise construction sites. It is highly likely that registered MEP (Mechanical-Electrical-Plumbing) Engineer drawings will have to be submitted as well.



Additional consultants we recommend that you to hire are a Project Manager (PM) and a Quantity Surveyor (QS); often QSs have PM qualifications too, so you may hit two birds with one stone.

Apart from the Architect and SE, that are mandatory for houses over 2000 sq. ft., the use of the other consultant is discretionary and, of course, depends on the budget.


Every consultant’s fees can vary significantly, depending on the complexity of the project, the overall size and budget of it, the tasks and responsibilities undertaken.

Most consultants express their fees as a percentage on the final building cost, but an alternative lump sum fee can be requested.


You will have to request a fee proposal to each consultant but, as a very generic and rough indication, these are the average percentage fees:

- Architect: 3-6%

- Civil-Structural Engineer: 1-1.5%

- MEP Engineer: 1-1.5%

- Quantity Surveyor: 1-1.5%

- Project Manager: 1-2.5%

- Interior Designer: 1-2%


Please remember that these are very rough estimates, as these may vary substantially!

The percentages outlined above are just a reference.



• Enjoy your new home in Barbados!





We really hope this paper has given you a good answer to the question: how much is it going to cost to build your dream villa in Barbados?

We also hope that we have given you few good tips too.


If you have other queries, drop us a line and we will do our best to help you.



And see you soon in Barbados!!!


M+ Architecture