New Home Construction Costs

[FallbrookFarmer]

Hello All -

I'm currently in the process of clearing some land for a home in northern Ohio, and trying to get some very ROUGH building/material figures for budgeting purposes.
A few specific questions come to mind first.....is the most expensive part of building the foundation and framing? Any formulas for cost of square footage for both? We're contemplating approx 3000' either ranch or 1 1/2 story.
And....to brick or stone the entire house (ala maintenance free) how much % would that add over conventional siding?
And....I'm assuming I should have a well, septic, and power to the site before starting foundation work?
I'm currently working overseas so about the only thing I can do from here is consult this fine board of experience....before I get home and engage an architect/builder. I am also following several building threads with great interest.....thanks in advance!

Probably a good idea, would be to look and see what kind of level of finishes you want. The basics are pretty much the same ,2X4 or 2X6 framing, Copper vs PEX, etc. Those costs are usually similar whether you are building a McMansion or a starter home.
But when you get into post formed Formica vs granite
Grohe plumbing fixtures vs Home Depot generics is where you are going to see a huge variation.
When I acted as GC when I built my house back in Chicago, one of the best things I did was to buy a bunch of back issues of Fine Homebuilding magazine. Gave me a great overview as to technique and what was possible/cost effective. Another really good book if you are not an expert in construction is The Visual Handbook of building and remodeling by Charlie Wing. Good Luck

 

[scoutcub]

All in all it came out great and I can carry the bragging rights that I built it myself...or at least some of it. I would estimate I saved 50 -60k on GC charges and another 30k or so soing some of the work we did.

Ok, I deleted the rest of the post but read it over and understand he had some prior experience.
The 50K is a number I keep telling myself I'll save by acting as GC. That's probably 70K over 15 or 30 years. I have a hard time with that. I agree a seasoned GC would make the process a whole lot easier.....but at that cost? And, ....is he going to shop around for the best prices on materials, or just use his discount at home depot or a lumber yard? I can get the contractor price at home depot during federal holidays with my military discount, and I'd be willing to bet a lumber yard would give me contractor prices if I bought a houseload of wood. Will he shop around for the trades, or just use one he typically uses? Jobs I've had bid in the past I've gotten 3 estimates, I like Eddie's idea of 5.
An excellent point on getting the financing now, with rates so low. I wish I could get the loan now but take my time on the construction? I will definitely talk to several (5) GC's, and pick everyone's brain before I proceed.
I've done roofing/framing/drywall/trim in the past, and would like to do as much myself to save $$$.
Some great points to ponder here, I appreciate everything thus far and welcome any and all comments!

 

[PA hayseed]

Grohe plumbing fixtures vs Home Depot generics is where you are going to see a huge variation.

This is a very good point. There are huge differences between what home depot and lowes sell as plumbing fixtures and what pumbing distributors sell. Unless they are exactly identitical model numbers and s/n beware.

When pricing copper, if that is the way you go, make sure you know what type of copper you are getting L vs. M. There is a difference in price for a reason. If you hire it out, and they give you a price, make sure you know what kind is in the contract.

I would think that if you are this far away, you can make some solid decisions now that will give you a better ball park towards your final cost. Heating is a big cost. determine if it will be forced air, radiant heat etc, whether it will be elec vs. oil, vs. coal. vs. geo thermal. Whether you are running Central AC or not, and if the system you are using will allow you to combine uses.

If you sub out some work, and plan on doing other things yourself, price in every single aspect of the job. This is to include the tools needed. Don't think, heck I got a sawzall, circular saw, drills, etc, factor in the prices of getting new blades, bits, etc. I have tons of tools, and in my project I wound up having things break, and those costs add up quick. See if there is a place nearby that you can rent some very specific tools if needed e.g. drywall lift vs. buying one. If you do a whole house, having a drywall lift beats the pants off of dead man/t helpers.

I can tell you that if you do enough due diligence and have some patience, you can easily thousands on windows, doors and cabinets. I bought a 10'L x 5'H bay window with insulated seat for well under 1k, with casement window sides and great U values. Everyone else wanted 2-4k.

 

[nathan812]

Like everyone has said cost varies by location in US. I completed a new home last year. Basically a story and half 2100 heated area with wrap around porches that makes it 3100 total under roof. It is a log home from Satterwhite log homes. Myself and my dad built most of the house but we did hire out some of the technical parts ie elect., cement, plumbing, rock laying, roofing, and cabinets. We ended up with roughly 176,000 in it and a 30x40 shop together. We stacked all the logs, did the framing, decking, flooring, painting, trim, etc, etc. I do remember the septic, which is the aerobic system was 4700.00, the electric run in cost 5800.00, to lay the water line was 3200.00. Slab for house and shop was 25,000. I called in alot of favors and will owe my brother in laws for the rest of my life for helping me sit roof trusses and decking the roof and porches. I am suppling my dad with firewood for the rest of his life for his help. By the end it probably would have been cheaper to hire it all done.

 

[Pops15]

Ok, I deleted the rest of the post but read it over and understand he had some prior experience.
The 50K is a number I keep telling myself I'll save by acting as GC. That's probably 70K over 15 or 30 years. I have a hard time with that. I agree a seasoned GC would make the process a whole lot easier.....but at that cost? And, ....is he going to shop around for the best prices on materials, or just use his discount at home depot or a lumber yard? I can get the contractor price at home depot during federal holidays with my military discount, and I'd be willing to bet a lumber yard would give me contractor prices if I bought a houseload of wood. Will he shop around for the trades, or just use one he typically uses? Jobs I've had bid in the past I've gotten 3 estimates, I like Eddie's idea of 5.
An excellent point on getting the financing now, with rates so low. I wish I could get the loan now but take my time on the construction? I will definitely talk to several (5) GC's, and pick everyone's brain before I proceed.
I've done roofing/framing/drywall/trim in the past, and would like to do as much myself to save $$$.
Some great points to ponder here, I appreciate everything thus far and welcome any and all comments!

It seems you're overly concerned about costs. I'd be VERY surprised it you saved $50K by being your own GC. Figure 15% MAX on the work the GC would do. That's in good times. My area currently has 14% unemployment and new construction is non-existent. You could probably negotiate more favorable terms with a GC if the local economy is in the tank.
Acting as your own GC is different than building the house yourself. You can save a considerable amount by doing the work yourself. Most DIY projects take far longer to complete than if a pro were to do the job. When the economy does get better two things are going to happen. Inflation, and higher interest rates to keep inflation in check. How much of the money saved on labor will the inevitable inflation and higher interest rates eat up? No one knows.
Going the DIY route will give you fewer financing options. Most construction loans are for 12 months or less. Can you complete the house in a year? Another issue is payouts. Payouts are made at prescribed intervals of progress. Since DIY takes longer how will you pay your subs? They'll want (need) to come in, do their work and get out so they can get paid. They aren't going to like waiting for you to get to the next payout point. Some banks will send an inspector to check progress before making payouts. You'll need to stay on top of things to ensure there are no delays.
You can probably buy lumber as cheaply as most contractors if you buy everything from one supplier.
Contractors don't usually shop price to the extent a DIY does. There's allot of value in working with the same suppliers and subs. I had a job where there were problems with the trim. I called my supplier. He called the factory rep. They were onsite before the day was over. The rep called the factory and expedited the order for the replacement prefinished doors and trim. He drove 250 miles to the factory that afternoon. They finish wasn't dry so he picked it up in the morning and delivered it to me later that day. Do you think you'll get that kind of service from the box stores?
I can't stress enough the importance of "value" over "price". Several years ago a builder showed up out of nowhere and got a bunch of houses to build. He was clueless as to how to bid a job let alone build a house. He advertised that he'd beat any bid on a new house by $2000. He took on way more work than he could complete in a timely manner. He had no idea of how to schedule subs and material deliveries. He employed a bunch of inexperienced workers. The result was a bunch of angry customers, suppliers and subs.
Talk to several builders and find one you'll be comfortable working with, THEN nail down a firm price. If you want to build the house yourself thats great. You'll have a nice sense of accomplishment. You might even save a couple bucks, but $50K for being your own GC, and labor for DIY on top of that? I don't see it. At least not on a 3000SF ranch house.
You best bet may be to hire a GC with the understanding you'll do certain jobs like the roofing, painting, etc.
Good luck!
Pops

 

[Carykong]

In my local area,at the moment, you can buy a relatively new home,less than 5 yrs old, for considerably less than build project,beit hands on or GC.

 

[tlbuser]

For a single family, residential home, I'm very hesitant on hiring an archetect.

Here, I will want to agree to disagree. For most of us, a home is the single largest purchase made and one most don't spend enough time deciding on. Building a home is not the same as building a house. Using a good designer or architect can save you lots of money in the long run. They will help you create exactly what you want and can afford to build now and in the future. A good design should be a visualized master plan for the entire property and incorporate features most people won't think of. A young family with or without children has different needs and desires than a retirement couple.
Some examples are hallway /doorway widths and styles, no pan showers, Lining up closets on multi-levels to add a future elevator, laundry and utility service locations (1, 2 or more), dumb waiter(s) and laundry chutes. Future expansion from today's 1500 sq.ft to ten years out having 4000 sq.ft. and going from 4000 sq.ft down. Landscape incorporation, deck locations, swimming pool, play yard, gazebo, barn, riding ring, in-law suite, etc.
Some less thought of economy minded purchases -
plumbing fixtures. Toilet height can be an important choice. shower head height. Lever faucets vs. push pull or turn.
Kitchen appliances and the work triangle
interior and exterior electrical lighting plan and outlet locations, how many and where
Heating and cooling system - duct sizing, outlets and returns

 

[rtimgray]

I don't know that architect fees would be well spent on a home either, but that is up to the owner if they want to go that way. Undoubtedly an architect can offer more options than a plan book, but it's just another version of hiring someone to do something that you could do yourself - just like essentially every other aspect of homebuilding.

I don't know how much money a person can save overall on a house building project by being their own GC - 10 or 15 percent of the total is probably in line - but I think more money is to be saved by doing the work of the individual trades yourself. Whether or not a person can devote the time and have the talent to accomplish each task is a question that can only be answered by each individual. As far as I can tell, practically all work done (either on homes, automobiles, whatever) is accomplished by people. What makes one person able to accomplish a task while another may fail is basically:

1. Talent
2. Tools
3. Time

You may have to develop your talents (can you plan/run wiring/pluming/HVAC runs) - there are books, videos, courses, message boards where you can get plenty of information. Will your results be as good as a seasoned professional - likely not. However, if you devote your time and effort, they will probably be good enough.

You may have to buy tools that you don't have, but this is probably cheaper than hiring the entire job (some exceptions obviously apply).

The biggest portion is to determine if you have the time to devote to building a house. It took me and my wife the biggest part of 4 years, on and off, to build our house. However, we finished it debt free and have been happily living in it for almost 3 years now. It is about 2,100 sq ft under roof with partial basement and it cost just under $45,000. I feel that I spent my time well working on the house, but realize that this is not an option for everyone.

Good luck and take care.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here, I will want to agree to disagree. For most of us, a home is the single largest purchase made and one most don't spend enough time deciding on. Building a home is not the same as building a house. Using a good designer or architect can save you lots of money in the long run. They will help you create exactly what you want and can afford to build now and in the future. A good design should be a visualized master plan for the entire property and incorporate features most people won't think of. A young family with or without children has different needs and desires than a retirement couple.

I agree with you 100% on this. My concern with home building, and with doing so with a limited budget, is that you can spend allot of money hiring people do do things for you that you can easily do yourself, or have done for free. While it's true that a house is allot of money, it's also money that you will get back, or make a profit on if spent smartly.

Spending a couple grand for a plan that any compentent builder can draw himself on his computer is money that could go to more importat things. The last two times that I saw this happen, was done on small home construction. Both were two bedroom homes. One was 1,200 sq ft, the other right under a 1,000 sq ft. The bigger home cost almost $2K for the plans to be drawn up, while the smaller house was half that price at $1K. In both cases, the architects put in features to the house to make it as nice as possible. Good selling points for the clients, and something that they got excited about. What they didn't know, and nobody informed them, is that those features could have easily been changed over to something similar for allot less money. Because the archetect put them in there, they kept them.

The larger house cost $180 a ft to build and is a nice little home. If it went on the market, it might get half that. His wife was pissed at the final total of the cost, but they wanted it perfect, regardless of price. The smaller house is budgeted for $70 a ft, but will probably go over. it's a total mess with big spending on things like the fireplace, 6ft tall windows, custome scored and stained concrete floors and built in shelves all over the place. It has one bathroom, crappy cabinets and formica counter tops. It's gonna appraise in the $50 a ft range when done.

In both cases, they could have built very nice homes that would have been worth what they spent on them when done by having a better plan. While I'm sure there are plenty of archetects out there who understand building and that there are ways to do something for less money and get similar results, I haven't come across this myself. If you are building high end, last home you'll live in, and you have the money to spend, then that's a smart thing to do. If you are planning on being the GC on the build to save money, then hiring others to give you ideas that you probably can't afford anyway is what I'd call a questionabe expense that really isn't needed.

For those of you thinking of building a home, figure out what YOU want. Buy a couple hundred dollars worth of magazines over the next year. Tear out the pages of everything you like. Put them in order so you have all the bathrooms, kitchens, fireplaces and whatever in the same place. Keep looking, because the longer you look, the more your taste will refine itself. What blows you away today will probably leave you disatisfied tomorrow. Relying on the taste and ideas of a person selling you those ideas can often lead to your home being what the architect or designer likes.

As for a master plan with long term goals, that can go either way. If you come up with the perfect plan and stick with it, I agree that you can save allot of money this way. The concern is that the bigger the plan, the more changes happen to it over time, and all the money you spent on the plan, and working towards it can easily be thrown away when you come up with something new. I know that I'm guilty of modifying a plan all the time. I have a good idea of what I want to do, but it seems that the longer it takes, the more I learn, the more the plan changes. I laugh at myself when this happens, because I know that my original idea wasn't as good as my most recent one, and I wonder if I'll come up with another idea that's even better. Sometimes it's hard to commit to a plan for that very reason.

Every home can be improved on. Even when it's perfect, we change as people and we see things differently. The goal is to build the best house that you can afford that satisfies you for the long term without spending more money then you have to.

Eddie

 

[mjncad]

Tlbuser and EddieWalker make good points. Over the course of 24-years I've worked with a number of architects. Out of that crop, I only respected two because they had common sense and kept their artistic egos in check. Something most archijerks don't do.

One of my pet peeves with the home-building industry is its lack of building for the long term. In addition to the obvious observation of durability and reliability; I'm also referring to livability. By this I mean something that can serve young able bodied people, and yet be accessible and livable for elderly people. This means wide doorways and hallways for wheelchair access, straight stairways as much as possible, one story homes where practical. I could on and on with examples; but I won't.

The other thing about residential construction is that it's at the bottom of the barrel regarding the engineering and trades disciplines. This is not meant to slight the skills of craftsmen who design and build truly wonderful homes; but it's an unfortunate fact. At the top of the A/E/C (Architect/Engineering/Construction) heap is the industrial (e.g. refineries, power plants, etc), followed by commercial, then residential.

I used to subscribe to 'Fine Homebuilding' and I often wondered where these craftsmen were that built those houses. They seem to be in short supply where I live.