Anyone on here have a home built within say the last 10 years? I know area will make the price per square foot different but I was hoping to get some idea because I want to design my own house and only have so much of a loan I can afford.
I've searched the internet and best I can come up with is about $84 per square foot for my area but I was told that building up is cheaper and putting in a basement is cheaper than building out. Problem is I can't for the life of me figure out how much cheaper up/down is.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Right now I have a 2900 sq ft main floor (garage area included in sq ft) designed with approximate materials at $100,000. This does not include labor. But I want to put on a partial second story and possibly a basement.
I found a place I could buy approx 3000 sq ft and 20X40 pool for about $200,000. It's a nice place on the outside but I don't like the layout at all. If I could live outside by the pool it would be great but I'd have to face the awful layout each and every day. It's selling at about 64 sq ft.
Dazed and confused. With autocad I can build a mansion for cheap. Maybe I need a BIG 3d printer and just print that sucker out on a 1 to 1 scale. 😀
Purchase the nearest motel you can find. Adjust your use of space to whatever fits you the best, then continue to operate the remainder as a motel.
🙂
I could do that. There are two bed and breakfasts (a 4 bedroom and a 7 bedroom) for sale in town and a motel for sale in a nearby town.
Problem is I am pretty sure they are for sale because they don't get any business with us being in rural America.
I want to build on my stepdad's 100 Acres. He is giving me some land to build on. Since I already live on the property in my redneck mansion I'd like to stay here where I can hop on my 4-wheeler any time I want to.
$84/sq foot seems low, but like you said it greatly depends on your area. I am in the rural midwest and in the process of getting quotes. The local lumber yard and builder both said it would likely be $100-$150/square foot depending on your taste and how it is finished.
If you are building in a rural area you have to consider you will need to drill a well unless there is already one there (sometimes you cannot share a well) or rural water. That alone will be ~$5k depending on depth. A septic will be $10k.
Whatever you decide, add 10-20% unless you can stick to your budget or have all finishings picked out and priced.
I am running into the same thing. I get get a nice house, but not in the layout I like for a lot cheaper.
I have a simple home design and my brother too is a builder but getting anything out of him has proven difficult. He did tell me take the cost of material and add 120% and that should be a close number to build by.
Since I already have land I hate to abandon the 100 Acres I'm living on I love it out here.
about 15 years ago i did what you're doing. spent fifteen months on my hands and knees clearing what i wanted to of a 2.2 acre lot using a machete, limb loppers, axe, and bow saw. used a chain saw 1/2 day and a stump grinder 1/2 day. i haven't regretted the hard work of it yet.
regarding the plans...take them as far as you can and then give them to an arkytec to finish, especially if you have limited knowledge of plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. use a hip roof w/ ridge vents, no gables. walls w/ plumbing require 2" x 6" framing i found out the hard way. you can design the roof yourself if there are no slope/grade changes as all ridges in the corners will be at a 45° angle. go w/ a metal roof as it will save you money on insurance and will last longer. make it as energy efficient as possible w/out going stupidly high tech. it's amazing what a group of caulk and insulation now will save you later.
once you are through w/ the plans look at it and ask yourself, "self, is this house big enough for my family now? will this be too big when all of the rug rats are out. are there things that we can do w/out?" after you have answered those questions, and more, scale your plan to 90% and ask the same questions, and keep doing that until your tickled.
if you don't want a bunch of idiots destroying your ground during a foundatin pour, then have it pumped in. believe me, you'll appreciate it later. buy the widest attic pull down stairs available, you'll never regret it. only use family and friends for sweat labor painting and nothing else unless they are intensely qualified, and especially not as a general contractor as you will end up w/ the cheapest POS imaginable and always regret it every time you find something else they F___ed Up.
been there, done it, and got a t-shirt w/ a group of ridiculous sayings. i can write a book on this. if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me at my profile info.
sorry, i left out that our house is a 4 bedroom, 3.5 baths, 3 car garage w/ about 3000 sf of heated area and was built on the cheap for about $160,000 at that time.
Price per square foot is a gimmick. Bathrooms and kitchens cost more than bedrooms. 1400 square foot 3/2 is not proportional to 1600 square foot 3/2. Builders like per square foot pricing because it's a money maker for them.
Every additional corner and every change in the roof equal significant dollars. Cutesy houses that appear to be similar to fantasy houses in magazines come with a huge price tag. A common design for basic small families across the Midwest was known as the foursquare. Four corners, roof peak was over the center of the house creating four identical roofs. In its simplest form it only had one floor with four rooms, one in each corner. Supereasy to heat and cool. Minimum doors. The ones shown in the link are fancy, multi-floor versions.
We bought property with a mobile home on it back in 2001. Over the next few years we invested some money in clearing the land and installing a septic system. I bought a home design CAD software package and used that to figure out a layout that works with the slope of the land and includes the features that we wanted. The house plan is deliberately very simple on the outside, a rectangular box which saved money on siding and roofing.
We actually built in 2009, at the absolute lowest point of the local economy. This meant that construction costs were well below average, and we were able to get some significant upgrades in materials - Hardi-plank siding instead of vinyl, Truss-joists instead of timber, better quality tile and hardwook etc.
By my rough math we spent around $185/sq. ft. for the house construction, not counting the stuff that we had already done. Two things that stand out after the fact:
1) Check on your contractors every f'n day, especially in the early stages. We had a GC who would get things started each morning and then leave the junior guys to do the work. One day I found that a sewage line was being plumbed out of the wrong end of the foundation, another day it was doors in the wrong place, all kinds of stupid stuff from people who didn't read the plans and which would have cost us a lot to fix later.
2) invest as much as you can in the structure, and the parts that you cannot see behind the drywall. For example we found a subcontractor who did all of the phone wiring etc. He convinced us to put in Cat5 wire all over the place, and to install the rough in hardware for a whole home sound system. He also made sure that all of our data, sound, phone, security and TV lines run to a single panel in the basement so we can upgrade or service anything easily. We also put in a couple of empty conduit runs from the basement up through the walls to the attic space so that more wires can be run if necessary in the future.
I could write a book on the subject. I use to frame houses in a past life. I cleared my own land and built my home 90% with my own two hands. Then built a 32' x 60' shop two summers ago. I wouldn't even know where to begin on advising you. Lots of good existing house plans out there that you could take and shop with various contractors. Price per sq. ft. is going to be very regionally influenced with the price of lumber packages and labor. The quality of builders work is going to be reflected in the prices and is going to be across the board. You'll get what you pay for. Before you go with a builder, take the time to look at their past work and talk with occupants to find out how happy they are with results. Lot of things are fairly inexpensive to get right the first time and a nightmare to go back and change, so take your time with the planning. Don't build your house so air tight in doesn't breath to try and get some five star energy rating. Insulate the heck out of it, but make sure it breaths, especially the roof. Otherwise you could end up with moisture and mold problems. Another thing people often over look is building in stages. You plan the structure so that you leave yourself the option of adding an addition later without having make significant structural changes. Don't cut corners on the foundation. Make sure you're building on good ground and have good drainage. Make sure you have a good water supply before committing if city service isn't available. Do soil tests to make sure drainage will work for a conventional septic system if city sewer not an option. Budget 20% more than what you initially think you'll need, because you will.
I could go on, and on. My place is one of a kind with a 270 degree view of the mountains from the living room without another house in sight, ten minutes from town. I built out of pocket and it took me ten years to complete, but it's paid for, mostly 🙂
Do it right and you couldn't buy another place more perfect for you and your family.
Good luck.
I built about 13 years ago. I to believe your prices are too low. The wife and I talked to several contractors and picked one based upon interview and references. I designed the house with input from the contractor on where to save money. One recommendation I have it to purchase the DVD on this web site.
I did about 80% of his suggestions and when compared to my previous house I doubled my living space and cut my utility bills in half.
I acted as the general contractor and paid for all the material, so I was able to save about 15% but it requires you to start out with money in the bank and do some scheduling with subcontractors.
