$100.00 a SF to build?

[anthonyk]

that's a bit high for the Houston area.

Also, it sounds like a broad guestimate.
What you should do is pay to have a specific home plan created, not something drawn by hand on a napkin.
Then you can present it to various builders for specific quotes.
Once they have a concrete set of plans, it's much easier to give you a more accurate quote. Right now, it sounds like they're just high balling it to cover their butts.

anthony

 

[dubba]

I heard an advertisement for a shed company on the radio today Something about the price didn't sound right so I pulled out the calculator real quick...

$25.75 per square foot for a dirt floored 12x20 "shed"

 

[IllMarty1]

Papabear,

I think $100 a sq.ft is pretty good estimate. I just did this in Wisconsin 2 years ago, so my numbers are fairly recent. We built 2650 sq.ft lodge home and we spent roughly $100/ sq. ft. by time we blew through fixture allowances, made as built changes, and hauled in dirt and stone for final grade and driveway. PM me if you want any info

 

[thatguy]

I cheaped out on the kitchen countertops, I was shocked at the price at some of the top of the line stuff. I went with formica to stay on track with the budget. We laid the ceramic tiles for the kitchen floor ourselves and let me tell you that is hard work. I respect the guy that can do that day in day out for a living. I was nearly hobbled after a week of it. Also, we went to Dalton, GA and bought our carpet for $5.90 a sq yd. I saved over 5k from what the carpet places around here wanted. Lot's of ways to save money, most involve sweat equity.
Good luck with your project and take lots of pictures. It's fun to look back at them.

John

here is a link to our house and the building process, we moved in last October...

http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f292/Tracy_Brian_House/

Brian

 

[3RRL]

It amazes me that how inexpensive cost you folks to build in your area. Around here, even an old home (say 40 yrs old) in run down shape on a small lot would sell for ove 200k. A nice home would cost over 250 psf. My brother is building a new home which cost him over $400 psf not including the lot.

I'm with you Cotton.
lol ... Out here I couldn't get my yard mowed for a hundred bucks a square foot. We haven't seen that price for homes since the 80's where I live.
I'm looking at about $300 a sq/ft to build the Log Cabin style home and that was a lot less than the previous contractor wanted. A LOT less.
Septic extra
Permits and fees extra
Architect Design and engineering extra
Land extra (of course)
My barn alone is about $35 sq/ft but it includes a bathroom, office and fully insulated.
I would say a hundred bucks a square foot is a great deal as a general estimate, of course.

 

[rtimgray]

We have recently moved into our house that we have been self-building for the last (almost) 4 years. It has a partial basement, 1st floor and 2nd floor under roof with 4 dormers. It is essentially a rectangle. Total square footage of the house is 2,100 sq. ft. My wife and I, with the occassional help from family or friend, have done all of the work short of the septic system (too much permitting and my backhoe would not dig deep enough). We have invested a total of $45,000 to this point (we formed and poured our own basement walls, framed the house, roofed, finished the inside, etc.) We have ceramic and marble tile in the bathrooms and utility rooms and I am still building custom kitchen cabinets. This number equates to about $22 per square foot, but this would be strictly materials cost. We used mid-grade or better materials and built a sturdy, well-insulated house - it just took a long time.

 

[EddieWalker]

... This number equates to about $22 per square foot, but this would be strictly materials cost. We used mid-grade or better materials and built a sturdy, well-insulated house - it just took a long time.

Very IMPRESSIVE!!!!!

I know that you can build a house on your own for allot less them most peole suspect possible, but I never imagined anybody could do it for that amount. I really thought $30 a foot was about the lowest possible for a decent home, but I bet you came up with some money saving ideas that I've never considered. Making your own cabinets is one that I wouldn't do, but can see where you'd save quite a bit on doing so.

If you can, please post some pictures. I'd love to see what your home looks like.

Eddie

 

[rtimgray]

Hi Eddie-

The main way we kept cost down was do everything possible ourselves and waste as little material as possible (i.e. the 3/4" plywood for the concrete basement forms was re-used as subflooring), 2 x 4 for the forms re-used for framing/blocking, concrete first floor was stained, laminate flooring in lieu of hardwood (that can always be upgraded years from now) etc.

I'll try a few posts attaching some pictures (never done that before).

Here we go.

 

[rtimgray]

5202 is when we were framing
6283 features the chief tile layer/framing nailer/drywall finisher/painter with helpers

 

[rtimgray]

6291 is tiling above the shower (with two shower heads, no less)
6045 is plumbing/framing/electrical downstairs
6046 is plumbing/framing/electrical upstairs