Possible to build a 1000-1500sf home for 45k?

[tommu56]

Around here the Mason's charge a $1 a block or more tp lay them. Not sure what they charge in Florida. With cement block walls you will have to either run all of your electrical through the cores of the block in conduit or on the surface in conduit. All of these items make cemnt blocks an expensive option quickly.

Materials for a 800 SF addition including foundation are costing me around the $45K

Are mobile homes approved for hurricane areas?

Roy

In the hurricane belt block is the best building system along with a hip roof.

look what was standing after Katrina block held up the best.

tom

 

[ding2520]

There are multiple questions that need to be answered. Is this structure for just you? I have a friend that lives in a pole shed in MN, so you can make yourself do anything if there isn't a "missus" involved. Is this a short term fix for housing? Then the garage thing with a camper is going to be your cheapest. Maybe a two stall garage with a "carport" for parking the camper under. When you "hit the big times" and money isn't as tight you could add the house. Place the garage, planning on a home on the same lot in the future. If you build a small house as cheaply as possible, that is all you are going to have. Resale in the future will be a very small group that is interested a home in that sq.ft. range.

 

[Stringer]

very good points guys. thanks alot for all your insight. this would be more of a permanent thing, not temporary. It's starting to look more and more like a mobile is the way to go. Are there any special things that can be done to make a mobile more stout? Any advantages to putting one on a slab?

 

[Mousefield]

very good points guys. thanks alot for all your insight. this would be more of a permanent thing, not temporary. It's starting to look more and more like a mobile is the way to go. Are there any special things that can be done to make a mobile more stout? Any advantages to putting one on a slab?

We have a couple of mobiles on our property, lived in one before we built our house. A slab is nice along with good drainage. Just putting a mobile on raw land often leads to lots of moisture under the mobile. With a slab you can also put in tie downs for those strong winds. Slab and/or tie downs may be required by code in some areas. Also once you have the mobile set up it is not that hard, as money is available, to build on an addition for more living space.

 

[dave1949]

very good points guys. thanks alot for all your insight. this would be more of a permanent thing, not temporary. It's starting to look more and more like a mobile is the way to go. Are there any special things that can be done to make a mobile more stout? Any advantages to putting one on a slab?

For the money and the amenities you get, and the efficient use of floor space, a mobile/manufactured/double-wide is probably going to be hard to beat.

In terms of resale value, they are a known quantity too.

I don't think it's a bad choice for your goals.
Dave.

 

[EddieWalker]

National Home builders, who build thousands of homes a year have figured that one third of the cost to build a house is materials. That means that two thirds is labor. If you do all of the labor yourself, you can easily build a house for $30 a foot. That's what I built my house for, and that included a shop that's bigger then the house. I hired out the slab and HVAC and had to run the water line to the house, have power installed and I was able to do my own septic system. The septic laws have changed since then, so that would be another expense that I didn't have to pay for, but still within reason of what you want. My house has a slab foundation, built from 2x4's with Hardi siding and a metal roof. It's all sheetrock on the inside with simple doors and windows. I had concrete for floors for awhile except all the dedrooms are carpet and the bathrooms are tile and vinyl. Thee bedrooms and two full bathrooms. A nice kitchen and no dining room for 1,000 sq ft of living area. I built it myself in four months with a total of three days off. Since then, I've covered the concrete floors with tile and wood.

Eddie

 

[Gary Fowler]

I contracted out a 980 sq foot shop building which included an 8 x 10 bathroom for $28 per sq foot walled in, wired, insulated and sealed. It has 1560 sq feet under roof, but only the 980 is on slab. That would make a nice 1 bedroom or even 2 bedroom house. That price does not include the septic system that I had put in for $6500 or any water well. The kitchen cabinets and appliances are probably the most expensive part of a house this size, but if you already have a range / oven /refrigerator that would take away a big expense. The cabinets would still be a strain to put in enough to be practical and not blow your budget. I suppose that if you did some of the work yourself and didnt have to put in a well you could build a small house of 1200-1500 sq ft for $45000, but you would have to go with the cheapest materials that you could get and so a lot of the work yourself. Even if you went the $.99 cent floor tile thru out the house, most till layers charge at least $2 per sq. foot to lay them, but it isnt hard to do it yourself with some basic tools and a $100 diamond blade wet tile saw if you have a strong back and good knees. Most of the work you can do yourself and then pay a licensed person to inspect it and sign off. A lot depends on where you live and the local officials. For instance, get an electrician to design your circuits and wire schedule, then you can pull the wire and get the electrician to hook it up and save a lot of money You can get a plumber to lay out the ditches, but you dig them and save some money. If you have any civil skills, you could even put in your concrete slab by soliciting some labor by the hour to place the concrete. Dry wall professionals will often do a job on the weekends cheaper than a contractor, you just have to watch out for lack of insurance issues should some one get hurt.

 

[Pops15]

Interesting to see how things are done in other parts of the country. Here in NE IL you couldn't buy the materials for 45K because our building codes are so stringent. I have property in southern IL and have seen people building pole barns and finishing the inside for living area. That's a very inexpensive way to build but isn't legal everywhere.
Blocks with a slab floor is probably the least expensive choice for you but if you can't do the work yourself it would still cost way more than 45K.
Have you considered buying a repo house from a bank? If you go that route be careful about buying a pre 1978 house because it may have lead paint and any work you have done will be very expensive.