Cost of building home on own lot

[4micaman]

Originally Posted by MarkEkberg

Are all you guys paying this much for houses????

When I left Boise ID in 2001 you could get new stick construction for $75 sf turn key construction.

Going off straight numbers @75 a sf a 2000sf home is 150K. If you are a modest person I think you can come in close to that.

I just got done doing a basement this last summer. It was 15K for 800sf with extra 2" on wall thickness.

If you are willing to do work yourself, or buy a kit house you can save serious amounts of labor. Look into having someone frame it out and you finish the inside?

There is a builder in my area, that advertises turn key homes "starting" at 67/sq.ft. but you don't get much home for that. As in quality of craftsmanship or materials used.

South of the tracks, 110-135 a foot is seemingly the going rate.

In Madison county (north of the tracks), nearly double the above and construction isn't showing as much of the slow down as other markets.

In my neck of the woods, a basement is a rarity.

If I were building a house today, with all the various methods in play, it would hands down be the ICF (insulating concrete forms) approach. An acquaintance built one and is VERY satisfied with the end product. It is very safe and energy efficient.

Whatever you do, do be swindled into a "modular" built home. Lots of complaints in a short time after they've been put together and so called "completed."

[bosspsd]

If you are in Ohio do not even consider a straw bale house. The humid summers will rot it out from the inside. You should be able to come in under 125 pretty easy. The SIP's and ICF's are both great options for your area.

[barrelhorses]

Thanks for all the input. I've purchased 14+ acres of vacant land on which I want to build a home place for my family. The price of the property compared to similar land in the same area and financing details made it a very sweet deal for us. I want a nice home with room to grow some more. Our current home is a 2 bed 1 bath house with a whopping 1148 sq.ft. on a slab.....so you know where I'm coming from. My wife and I have lived here for over 8 years and have gotten along fine. But our son finally came along last year and it often seems that I need 1148 more sq. ft. just to hold all his stuff.

[checkthisout]

Originally Posted by barrelhorses

Thanks for all the input. I've purchased 14+ acres of vacant land on which I want to build a home place for my family. The price of the property compared to similar land in the same area and financing details made it a very sweet deal for us. I want a nice home with room to grow some more. Our current home is a 2 bed 1 bath house with a whopping 1148 sq.ft. on a slab.....so you know where I'm coming from. My wife and I have lived here for over 8 years and have gotten along fine. But our son finally came along last year and it often seems that I need 1148 more sq. ft. just to hold all his stuff.

I am in the same boat. One kid here and one on the way. I am just getting started now.

Avoid "doing it yourself" but you are more than capable of acting as your own contractor which will save you a boatload.

My new house and shop are going to have good "bones" (good siding, in floor radiant heat and such) but the interior finish is going to be Home Depot cabinets and formica if you know what I mean.

I will upgrade as I see fit. I remodeled the current place I am in now and you don't even notice the fancy junk you put in after living there, oh say about a month. . Resale value is a moot point as everyone rips everything out and does what they want to it anyway.

Don't forget to cost in your septic system upgrades and such.

[Hook'em Horns!]

Originally Posted by bosspsd

If you are in Ohio do not even consider a straw bale house. The humid summers will rot it out from the inside. You should be able to come in under 125 pretty easy. The SIP's and ICF's are both great options for your area.

When properly constructed, humidity is not a factor (with the exception of too low of humidity causing cracks in external plaster). Many have been successfully built in Oregon alone, which has a somewhat wetter climate than Ohio.

Just a quick check shows there are at least 40 straw bale homes in the Buckeye state. About a quarter of them are scattered across the northern half of the state, and another dozen are located in the southwestern part of the state. The remaining 20 are concentrated in the southeastern counties of Athens, Hocking and Meigs.

The majority of these homes are five to 10 years old, and there have been no reports of moisture or other problems associated with the straw bale wall systems. One of the first straw bale homes built was in the northwest corner of the state in the early 1990s.

As to longevity, there are many poorly constructed straw bale homes in Nebraska still standing after 100 years.

[barrelhorses]

Originally Posted by checkthisout

Don't forget to cost in your septic system upgrades and such.

Definitely gotta take this into account. Most of the newer construction in my area has been using the mound system which costs about $15,000 from what I hear. I'm not sure if I will have to do the mound system or if I can just have a regular septic tank and leach field. I'll have to do a little research about this. In any event, though, the type of septic system I am required to use will not hinder building our house.

[newtodieseling]

Originally Posted by eagleeye

Material costs right now are actually at about a 15 year low with the exception of copper and anything petroleum based, like pvc or shingles, even still, they are not overly prohibitive. Good reputable labor, while they (contractors) may be slow and hungry, they still have high overhead like work comp insurance and fuel to name a few. Another plus to building now is mortgage rates are coming down and I think will continue to do so for awhile.

What country are you living in?? 15 year low?? Not plywood!! Not 2x6s!! Not lumber period! Just checked Illinois lumber prices.
1992 - Whiteoak was $247 p/ M BD FT
2007 - Whiteoak was $610 p/M BD FT

[eagleeye]

Originally Posted by newtodieseling

What country are you living in?? 15 year low?? Not plywood!! Not 2x6s!! Not lumber period! Just checked Illinois lumber prices.
1992 - Whiteoak was $247 p/ M BD FT
2007 - Whiteoak was $610 p/M BD FT

Since you asked, The United States of America. You are partially correct about the cost of plywood and white oak. If you look today, the cost of white and yellow pine and OSB, when figured with the cost of inflation, is a little lower than 10-15 years ago. With the housing market slowing down, there is a lower demand on building materials thus expense. When you figure in interest rates are going down, building a new home is as affordable as it is going to be for sometime. While I do not know where you currently reside, around central Illinois we do not build houses solely out of white oak and plywood. Most sheathing requirements are done using OSB and most framing requirements are done with white and yellow pine. Did you price lumber in Illinois from a retailer, wholesaler or other? Did you price lumber around Chicago or down around central Illinois where I purchase it from local mills that harvest from local land owners?

Now having said all that, a little lesson that a lot of people don't consider when building. Just like buying a car, shop around. Ask your local lumber yards what type of kickback they give contractors. Contractors mark up materials just like a mechanic would on parts and some are also geting kickback from the local yards. Don't be afraid to ask them to ad match or beat the price from the big home improvement places. If you are not a do it yourselfer and feel you need to hire a contractor, get a bid for labor only and you supply the materials. Don't fall for the hourly rate gag either. If you are dealing with a reputable contractor, they should be able to tell you about how long and how much labor is required. Take a copy of your plans to a few different lumber yards and have them figure you a materials list. This will give you a good estimate on material expenses. Do the same with electricians, plumbers and any other required sub contractors. While you are juggling bids, shop for contruction loans and mortgages. Banking seems to have become a cut throat business, take advantage of it. Most of what I just described can be done with a telephone, you will be surprised at how much you can save.
And to you, newtodieseling, the next time you feel compelled to constructively criticize someones post, perhaps you should ask them how they reached their conclusion. Perhaps they do business the old fashioned, face to face, not just looking up information the internet. While the internet is a viable asset, not all information is available, such as negotiation or people skills.

[luke7.3]

call me a nut but the next time I build its going to be a pull barn house. the walls have tons of insulation , low maintence exterior and they look pretty darn nice. look at all the new office buildings these days, there metal buildings. the cost is alot less than a conventional stick built and the taxes are alot less.

[newtodieseling]

Originally Posted by eagleeye

And to you, newtodieseling, the next time you feel compelled to constructively criticize someones post, perhaps you should ask them how they reached their conclusion. Perhaps they do business the old fashioned, face to face, not just looking up information the internet. While the internet is a viable asset, not all information is available, such as negotiation or people skills.

Well, as I stated in a previous post; I just finished having a house built for me so I took that EXPERIENCE with what I found on the Internet and made my follow up post. And, since hurricane Katrina, most construction lumber price increases have well out-paced inflation. Not just because of Katrina, but also the housing boom. Do I believe the price of lumber will come down in price some? Sure, but not to levels from 15 years ago. The question was, what can he expect to pay. It is a lot like anything else; depends on what you choose. I built my house with all 2x6 exterior walls and I used quality grades of everything; not the most expensive, but certainly not the least. True enough, one must do a lot of due diligence when building a house, but I stand by my statement that when I built MY HOUSE, the materials were by far the most expensive piece of the puzzle. Where I live dirt work is pretty cheap, my septic system for a 4 bedroom, 3 and a half bath house was $5,000 and that was complete; drain field digging, septic tank and digging, the whole nine yards. Depends on where you are and what you want to put in the house; heck, my bath hardware, faucets, shower, tub fixtures cost 2500 bucks and that was just the hardware!

[eagleeye]

Yes, if you built within a short time frame after Hurricane Katrina, you payed an outrageous inflated price for a lot of materials, and if you hired it done, you payed even more. I started building my house when the market was recovering, I'd buy sheathing on a Monday and by Friday it would be 10-30% cheaper. May not sound like a lot, but on almost 4,000 sq. ft., it adds up. Also, the housing boom that started 10-15 years ago is over, resulting in even more of a price reduction in materials. I have been looking over house plans for my sister-in-law, hope to start late fall or might get put off until spring 2009. Looking at a 2650 sq. ft. plan before I do some enlargments and custom design. I'm curious as to how costs will compare to a few of my last projects. I got volunteered for this project because of my network with people and I am the only one in the family that knows how to use a tape measure and a level. I will use cpvc for this project, used copper for my house, pricy, but I like copper; anyways, it will save a considerable amount of money. In conclusion, like I said previously, shop around and do your homework. I'll try find some pictures of my house and post them.

[NickKent]

Whatever you do, make sure that your house is as tight as you can get it. Do a blower door test before drywall/blueboard goes up. You can catch any air leaks and fix them. They will be your biggest energy loss if you don't. They will also most likely be the cause of any moisture problems you might have. There are programs out there that will pay for the blower door test on the house. I believe one is offered by Energy Star. The way people have been building for the past decades and are still building is just not the way to do it anymore. Think air tight, thermal breaks, lots of insulation, heat recovery unit, smart design, etc. For example I'm putting an addition on my house and we will be right around 3000 square feet when done. If we stick with oil heat load calculations show us at around a 35-40k peak btu load burning max 300 gallons of oil per year. At the moment the house is 1100 sq. ft. and we moved in June 2007. Since then to present we've burned around 1000 gallons of oil. Tons of air leaks, inefficient boiler, no insulation etc. Building science is way ahead of what most builders are doing and what minimum code requires.

[newtodieseling]

Originally Posted by eagleeye

Yes, if you built within a short time frame after Hurricane Katrina, you payed an outrageous inflated price for a lot of materials, and if you hired it done, you payed even more. I started building my house when the market was recovering, I'd buy sheathing on a Monday and by Friday it would be 10-30% cheaper. May not sound like a lot, but on almost 4,000 sq. ft., it adds up. Also, the housing boom that started 10-15 years ago is over, resulting in even more of a price reduction in materials. I have been looking over house plans for my sister-in-law, hope to start late fall or might get put off until spring 2009. Looking at a 2650 sq. ft. plan before I do some enlargments and custom design. I'm curious as to how costs will compare to a few of my last projects. I got volunteered for this project because of my network with people and I am the only one in the family that knows how to use a tape measure and a level. I will use cpvc for this project, used copper for my house, pricy, but I like copper; anyways, it will save a considerable amount of money. In conclusion, like I said previously, shop around and do your homework. I'll try find some pictures of my house and post them.

I only have a few feet of copper plumbing in my new house; I can't remember what it's called, but it's basically plastic tubing that is run from a single copper manifold to all the fixtures in the house. It's great if you need to tap another run, just cut, insert coupling, tighten clamps and be done; no more sweating pipes.

[checkthisout]

Originally Posted by newtodieseling

I only have a few feet of copper plumbing in my new house; I can't remember what it's called, but it's basically plastic tubing that is run from a single copper manifold to all the fixtures in the house. It's great if you need to tap another run, just cut, insert coupling, tighten clamps and be done; no more sweating pipes.

It's PEX.

Although it shouldn't have clamps.

[newtodieseling]

Originally Posted by checkthisout

It's PEX.

Although it shouldn't have clamps.

Yep, that's it; great stuff. I worked for my grandfather who had his own plumbing business a couple of summers about 20+ years ago and I never could get the hang of sweating pipe; more of an art than a science