My wife and myself bought a one acre lot overlooking a beautiful lake which we planned to build our retirement home. We bought the lot three years ago and since then the cost of building has at least doubled, we wonder if we can afford to build we were wondering if there is a worksheet or something out there that we could use to estimate all our costs so we would have an idea whether we should build or not? Rawky
Replies
Rawky-- Post this over on Breaktime...
Well the conversation usually goes like this:
"What's your budget?"
"Oh we have about $300,000 to work with."
" Hmm that's gonna be tight, gimme all your money and we'll see what we can do."
Really though you can do a cost breakdown if you have a plan or a good idea of the house you want.
Someone on Breaktime should be able to point you in the right direction.
Rawky
I'm going to tell you a trueth you may not want to hear..
(it really depends on how committed to building you are)
It will cost more than you want it to, but in the end it will be worth more than it costs..
Close your eyes and dream for a minute..
Do you see the home all finished?
describe it.. Now if you are speaking of a wonderful timberframe with custom built and high tech stuff you can figure about $350.00 a sq.ft.
OK a little quicky math
A 30x 50 foot house is 1500 sq.ft. per floor. Thus a place as I just described will cost you about $525,000.00
If you want more basic stick built house with simple trim and ordinary stuff then you might get it around $150.00 a sq. ft. or about $225,000.00
the cheapest possible construction done by really efficent contractors will be around $100.00 a sq.ft. or around $150,000.00
None of those numbers are to the penny bids..
I see homes built in the $450.00 per sq ft and abov on a regular basis. I've also witnessed a wonderfull home built for under $35.00 a sq. ft. where the owner did everything himself and was able to buy wood direct from a sawmill
The costs are not in the structure itself. So if you are willing to delay finishing some areas you can save dramatically..
Thank You for the advice.
It is something I have always wanted to do but if you can't afford it or get in over our heads before we even pick a plan or have one drawn up, it would be stupid.
Thanks Again
Rawky
Rawky
The really scary thing is there is never I repeat never! an absolute! I have a friend who built a wonderfully efficent house with fabulous workmanship and great woodwork himself and He doesn't have $35,000.00 in it including the land!
I know plenty of 2500 sq.ft. houses that sell for well over $500,000.00 however On the same size lot nearby I watched a house go up where they spent 19 million on the house alone!
When I use numbers like $100.00 a sq.ft. and etc.. I'm trying to give you price points rather than a real world budget..
With regard to plans or having one drawn up.
Please slow down! A plan that may look good in a plan book or at the archetics could wind up being a major mistake on your property..
What is really important is getting to know the land. Go camping there.. look at the sunrise and sunsets, climb up and sit on the top step of a tall step ladder. get all sorts of views and differant perspectives..
Then make a list of what you and your wife are really like. Is one morning person? Does somebody really like to cook or sew?
Maybe you see this cabin in the woods while your wife wants a very femine house.
sit down and discuss those interests and tastes Then draw a bubble diagram..
Not that youare going to design your house or anything like that, just sketch some concepts around..
I statred out by cutting out some circles.. then I'd label them bedroom, kitchen bathroom etc..
Move them around untill you can imagine what sort of sunlite you'll get in each room and what room should be where..
Want a bedroom on the east side to get an early morning light and yet avid the late afternoon heatup that comes from a bedroom on the west side? then put it there.
Now how far away do you want the bathroom? Outside wall? How do you plan on dealing with the privacy issue?
want a really big kitchen or family room? hey make a bigger circle and keep moving stuff around untill you've resolved all the issues you can think of.. Now have your wif do th same thing ((Don't help her, the idea is for the two of you to see where you agree and where you want differant things)... Now work out compromises, maybe she gets to pick the color of paint and you get to select the flooring.. That sort of thing..
I did that 6 years ago ,and yes it took awhile to plan it,finding the contractor was hard to choose from.One contractor undercut my other bidders by $70k but he wanted cash period.NEXT.I eventually found a really honest contractor who had many supplier connections and passed the savings to me .I wanted the contractor to build the main structure of the new house,and he did so like a pro would. I installed the electrics,plumbing to code,did all interior,exterior finish mostly by myself and 2 young teenage boys.I estimated that I saved $80k being able to do it myself.Great experience.cheers.
Edited 2/22/2006 12:19 am ET by vertis
As others have pointed out there are a great number of variables.
If you want it as least expensive as possible, that will mean a lot of sweat equity from you and your family/friends, assuming any of you have the skills to do this work.
You can find a design in one of the many home plan magazines on the market and order the plans, then if you need/want some specific changes, you can have a local architect make then and generate a new set of plans. With that done, you could act as general contractor and arrange for work you cannot do - like maybe excavation and pouring of foundation and forms. Have a builder build the walls and deck the roof, then you put on the shingles and siding, install windows and doors to keep weather out. Then, if needed, have a plumber and/or electrician do their work.
At that point the rest is relatively easy - you insulate. wall board, plaster, paint, install flooring and cabinets and then the trim and move in.
To keep costs down, you could sell your existing house and buy a small trailer and put that on the property to live in and oversee the work and live in till the house gets to a point where you could live in it and finish it at your leisure (usually means kitchen bedroom and 1 bathroom all set up and working.)
At the other end - same process till you get the final plans created, then contact a general contractor and have them build it for you.
At least 25% of the cost of building a house is in the labor, as I remember, so the more you can do between yourself and family/friends the more you can save.
An overlooked alternative is to buy a house that needs to be moved. In my case, i got a 1500 s.f. house for $17K with all the moving permits included in that price. That included moving it 35 miles and setting it on a foundation i built, which became my shop space. And it's full of 'extras' for this era, like plaster walls, hardwood floors, coved ceilings, etc. I think if it as having bought a framed house - with excellent workmanship and materials quality from an earlier era - for the original $17K, and my job is to finish it. I didn't intend to just move in, though i could have - it was used as a rental until it was moved - so i'm put probably another $30K into it for materials to re-wire, re-plumb, etc., though very little of that went to hiring help. It's been a bit like camping out, but i'll be very well compensated for my 'hardship' when the time comes to sell.
When i was starting to look at houses to move as an alternative to building, a fabulous 2-storey Victorian house with the original chandeliers, stained glass, and massive parlor pocket doors went for $10K plus moving expenses to make way for a church parking lot. The house mover is paid to take a house away as this saves the owner demolishing costs, and so the mover doesn't need to make a killing on selling the house. Also, just like a regular house, you can always make an offer. There may be a listing in your classifieds for "buildings to Move" as there is in ours.
Edited 2/22/2006 11:31 am ET by splintergroupie
Well i'm just in the process of finishing my first house. I started in June and did most f by myself. I had a bit of help from a fiew of my uncles and dad for the framing and dry wall part. it's about 1600sqft and is costing me about half of what you have and that's including the land in CAN$.
Here is a link with a bunch of photo taken during the time of te construction... http://maison.charetx2.com I have saved about 50K doing the work myself and was a really good life experiance.
Christian
Edited 2/22/2006 1:18 pm ET by Christian C
generally in the cost of building labour is about 50%
in
doing your own you wont save the 50% as usually are not as efficient
That is why I use the 25% figure. If you know what you are doing and do most to all of the work with friends and family, you can usually save in the 25% - 40% range. On a $200K house, that turns to a savings of $50K - $80K ($120K - $150K house).
So, if they sell existing house, buy a small trailer and then build, they can save money on rent/mortgage while building. and if they have a good timetable and workable bank, they could get a building loan that converts to a mortgage when the job is done.
If planning to build a shop, you might want to build that first, as a place to work out of while building the main house and its cabinetry.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
If you build new, be sure to use an architect. "Builder's plans" tend to be easy to build houses, but lack many of the features that an architect can design. We remolded our home using an arhitect, and we're glad we did. Anyone driving by can also tell we used one--it looks great, and better than the ones around us that didn't employ an architect.
Rawky,
Many of us appear to have some experience with this topic, here's my two cents. First of all every area of the country has a working "cost per square foot rate" which provides a good ballpark. It is important to note if that includes landscaping, carpet/lighting/kitchen appliance allowance, etc. You can save a lot by doing the contracting yourself but it can be quite a hassel to get the workers to show up..and that can cost lots of money.
A square house is the cheapest to build...every jog adds 6% to the cost..cape cod design is cost effective. The more familiar the contractor is with building(ie, has he built it before) the house design you want, the more efficient he is and predictable the costs. it a good idea to bring in the decorator when finalizing the plans...they can be a terriffic asset with light placement, plugs, heat outputs, cabels, etc. as well carpeting, windows, etc.
Good luck, Hope you get to build your dream
OK, you don't like my idea of recycling houses... <G>
If you get a simple program like Broderbund's 3-D Home Architect or Punch Home Design, you can draw the house, then use their spread sheet to estimate costs. These archy programs are easy to learn, unlike programs like AutoCAD.
The program figures your square footages, numbers of studs, roof area, cabinets, etc, then you plug in the current figures for each item. If you decide to have hardwood floors instead of carpet, plug in a new s.f cost and your total changes. This will give you a rough cost of the house materials, and then you should factor in delivery and other associated costs.
It will still require you to research current costs and know quite a bit about building. For instance, it's a really good idea to use watershield when roofing, but the plan won't tell you that. It's jsut the best way i know to get you in the ballpark of what you want to know given your [apparent] skill level.
http://www.rsmeans.com/bookstore/detail.asp?sku=60176
The one I have used is the "Means Residential Detailed Costs." Check out this site, buy one spendy book, figure out your costs.
My brother is a remodeling contractor in San Francisco; he turned me onto the book when I started a 'remodel' (gutted, doubled in size, all new walls and ceilings, etc.) of my place. The residential detail costs give breakdowns on all aspects of the job from site prep to finish, based on reported costs by contractors. It shows crews needed for different jobs, cost, overhead & profit, etc. Even though we finished the remodel about 3 years ago, I continued to purchase copies through 2005.
I needed a retaining wall built--looked up the costs, and was able to find a contractor to do the job at what the book indicated was average, as opposed to several guys who were about three times what the book said.
The book has adjustment figures in the back for different areas of the country.
And I see that the 2006 book has square foot estimate costs, which they haven't had in the past.
BTW, my costs were under $100 per foot--white oak floors and staircase; custom cabinets; level 5 drywall, granite counters; tile bathrooms; solid core doors; high-grade carpets; nice stuff--visiting real estate agent thought place would sell at over $220 per foot. I think the book helped me control costs, because I knew in advance what a fair price should be, for the sub and for me.
When everything was done, and I wanted to get a window crew in to clean the glass, one guy gave me an estimate for $2200. I didn't need a book for that. one :)
Best bid for blinds for windows was $6400, installed. I bought the exact same brand from http://www.nobrainerblinds.com for $2200, and installed them myself in about 16 hours ($260 per hour). Now, I have a TS, BS, DP, Planer, Dust collector, and soon, I hope, a jointer, and I still have money left in the Venetian Blind account.
My point: I think you can have a home that you want for a reasonable cost if you're willing to be involved in the contracting and hiring of subs, and if you understand the cost structure. BTW, I didn't try to beat down people's prices; I told them what I wanted, that I was working on a budget, and then I chose what I thought was the best bid (not always lowest). The guys who did good work have all gotten referrals. I also would ask them to break out labor from materials, which resulted in better bids because they weren't carrying the risk of material costs.
I'd do the process all over again, except I have what I want, where I want, and don't want to move.
Best of luck to you.
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