$100.00 a SF to build?

[Pilot]

Get competitive bids, make sure they see the plans first and have a sit down with you about materials. See how much each builder allows for lights, carpet, cabinet, etc. Wisconsin? See what they plan for insulation.

Also, price per sq. ft. will vary with house size for the same quality of house. Double the area, you only increase the length of exterior wall by 50% on a square house, so price per sq. ft. should go down. So if when you hear from folks all over the country about what they paid, you need to know the size of the house.

That $100 per sq. ft. was just pulled out of the air or somewhere else, maybe where he sits. Any time you hear a nice round number like 100 or 1,000, be suspicious as there is rarely a valid basis for it.

With construction slow right now, builders should be eager for your business & you can gain a lot by having them compete.

Lastly, do you already own the lot? Did the "quote' cover utilities, permits, driveway, etc or did he even ask you if you would cover them separately from the price of the house. Our contractor charged us $55 per sq. ft. 15 years ago, but we paid for 1300 ft. driveway, septic, well, electricity, etc. and the total cost ran $85 per sq. ft., so these extra costs can be significant.

 

[Westonium]

Frankly, I think even $75 psf is too high and will just build my own home. Even if it took me 3 years to complete, I'd still save a bundle. Going that route, you can do things the right way, and spend a little extra to make the house actually simpler and easier to maintain. Builders don't concern themselves too much with that.

* run conduits in a consistent manner, and home run to each room in a logical fashion
* run PE or PEX water lines in a consistent manner with home runs to a "water breaker"
* keep your hvac OUT of the attic, have return air vents in every room especiall ones with doors
* do serious insulation - use pre-built structural insulated panels (SIPS), housewrap, make the thing tight
* avoid high VOC stuff because, well, your house is going to be tight and you'll be breathing in all that solvent stuff

When you stop thinking "can I afford the mortgage" and start thinking "is this a reasonable price" you really get disgusted with the cost of housing. If I wanted a 10 x 10 "house" it would cost me $10,000? That is highway robbery when you think about it.

If you pay someone - make them do a good job. Get educated on what a good job is, and what the wrong ways are. Pick up Fine Homebuilding and look for "don't do these things" and invariably you'll find a bunch.

Our last house was 3950 sq ft and although it looked lovely, was actually poorly constructed. The HVAC was in the attic, the ducting leaked, no air returns, uninsulated dark-colored metal garage doors, etc.

 

[hitekcountry]

Frankly, I think even $75 psf is too high and will just build my own home. Even if it took me 3 years to complete, I'd still save a bundle.


When you stop thinking "can I afford the mortgage" and start thinking "is this a reasonable price" you really get disgusted with the cost of housing. If I wanted a 10 x 10 "house" it would cost me $10,000? That is highway robbery when you think about it.

Interesting point never thought of it that way. (cost of 10x10)

I think I'll work up an excel spreadsheet for quoting cost to build. In a spreadsheet you can include anything and everything you want. You can have lookup tables for all your material cost and formulas as inclusive as you want to make the thing. I find it kind of a fun challenge.

 

[riptides]

* keep your hvac OUT of the attic, have return air vents in every room especiall ones with doors .

Please elaborate, why no HVAC in th attic?

*When you stop thinking "can I afford the mortgage" and start thinking "is this a reasonable price" you really get disgusted with the cost of housing. If I wanted a 10 x 10 "house" it would cost me $10,000? That is highway robbery when you think about it. .

Nah, scale has nothing to do with price. Your not factoring in materials or design for load compensations, load can be electrical, plumbing, or structural.

-Mike Z.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

On the other end of the scale we just finished up on a house that took 3years 8 months to build. 8000sf two story with 5000sf drive in basement, cost was only $6,200,000 for the house, lot is millions by itself. $240,000 just for the re bar in the basement. People with REAL money can be great to work for.

 

[WBWI]

We paid about $140/sf for a custom home in SE Wisconsin so I think the figure you have is fair. It will not include the best windows or fixtures but should yield a fairly decent home. Good luck with your building project!