Estimating Project Costs

What Our Cottage and Cabin houses Cost to Build Your building and materials cost will vary depending on what you put in the house and the simplicity of your choices. The most obvious determinate of cost is the size of the building so we will estimate construction based on the total square footage of the structure. Use the outside dimensions to determine the size. Construction Cost Notes We built our owner-built flat roofed cabin for $10/sf using new materials except for the windows and doors we already had. The gable roof and a loft cabins in the Little House plans would be perhaps 30% more. A good estimate for such a structure might be $15/sf for materials assuming you buy carefully. This is for an insulated rustic cabin without wiring or plumbing but with a simple wood interior. Check the Gallery of houses where owners have shown pictures of their projects. Many have information on their costs. Especially This one and This one. The upgraded 14x24 Builders Cottage, Victoria's Cottage, the Grandfather and 20' wide cottages all have upgraded foundation options, 2x6 walls and better insulation and windows. They also have full plumbing and wiring, of course. These buildings could be expected to run about $45-60/sf for all new materials. The average cost for cabin and cottage construction, contractor built, is about $100 per square foot (house only). So you can see what can be saved by an owner-builder. In addition to the house construction there are site infrastructure costs that are somewhat independent of house size — water hookup or well, driveway, septic system, power connections, etc. A note on estimating materials cost: A cost estimate is best compiled by taking your plan choices to a local builder or nearby lumber yard. Many of our plans have an optional professionally prepared materials list (see order form). A local lumber yard can often suggest materials that are more cost effective or proven to work better with your local climate and code requirements. Building Permit Notes Our plans meet or exceed the general requirements of national building codes. They may or may not meet all your local requirements. Some locations have specific requirements such as high snow loads, wind loads, and earthquake loads. Some jurisdictions will require all plans to be stamped by an architect or engineer registered in that state. Some building departments will not allow all the foundation options we include in our plans. You may need to modify your plans to satisfy these local conditions. Contact a local home designer, engineer or architect if required. Any stock plan, modified plan, or owner-designed plan should be reviewed by a local building professional to make sure it meets local codes and other requirements. There is information in our plans about how to work with the building department and set up a "presubmittal" meeting with the plan checker to see if you need to make changes. You can expect any plans you submit to come back marked up with some additions or modifications required by the local building inspector. Many of these changes are things you or the subcontractor would do anyway. By purchasing a stock plan or plan kit you are taking responsibility for your own shelter. There is much to learn about the design and building of a house. If you do not wish to do this alone, you should hire a local builder or designer who can handle the interface with the building department for you. Getting a stock plan that comes close to meeting your needs and them modifying and building that plan with local help is a reasonably inexpensive alternative to spending 10% of your total budget on an architect and 20% of the construction budget on contractor overhead and profit.

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