Building it ourselves; building costs for expandable cabin/ 16' Victorian cot.

rhondarenay · June 30, 2010, 07:36:17 PM

Hi ya'll,

I and my honey are getting married this summer. We are talking about building our own house. K. is already making sketches of house plans. I came across this sight and liked it. We just want a small house to start with and later add bedrooms etc...Kelly is thinking about 20'by20' to start.

I was wondering...the expandable cabin best suits our ideal. Can anyone who has built this give us an estimate on costs of building materials?

My second choice is the victorian cottage. What about estimates on costs of materials for that one?

I also like the grandfather cottage but I'll stop here.

Look forward to your reply,
RHonda

astidham · June 30, 2010, 08:08:31 PM

http://www.countryplans.com/gf_randy.html

this is the grandfather cottage. cost info at the bottom

June 30, 2010, 08:15:46 PM

That's a real tough question. I'm currently building the victoria's. I live in the northeast (Maine) and all the lumber cost about $10,000, but I've noticed prices are going up. But that doesn't include the windows/doors/roofing/nails. Not to mention the foundation, well, septic. Without getting into specifics I can tell you this: Our project has cost about $60,000 (not including land) But I've done ALL the work (and I'm in year 2 working full-time on this). Hope that helps.

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=8803.0

rhondarenay · July 01, 2010, 05:40:47 PM

Hi,

65,000! Man, that's too much for that little house! I thought building it ourself would be cheaper, after all your not paying for labor, overhead,builder profit. Maybe I ought to look into buying a mobile home.

Rhonda

Txcowrancher · July 01, 2010, 05:59:24 PM

Rhonda
bad idea, a mobile home still needs a well and septic and is not cheap. it can not be added on to really and loses value from day 1. You can build a small house for the price of a single wide and you will be glad you did. we are building our own. but its a little larger 1250 sf total and living in a large 5th wheel/ if you get a trailer cheap, live in it while you build, lots of folks here have done it.
good luck

July 02, 2010, 10:51:53 AM

Hi,

I don't want to get a mobile home but at these prices it will take 20 years to build a house. But I don't want
to give up the dream. Hubby has wanted to build his own house for a long time. He's disabled and so am I but he's having trouble getting his disability. So we REALLY need to build something small.

Rhonda

DirtyLittleSecret · July 03, 2010, 03:01:31 AM

Rhonda,
Dont give up hope. Many of the costs can be turned around just by what materials you decide to use, floorplans, and other decisions. Me, I saved thousands by going with a SunMar toilet. Fortunately, I already had a well on the property. Unfortunately, what I saved I spent in buying quality tools but they will last me the rest of my life...one thing to think about is whether home ownership is right for you. FAR too many people "dream" about owning a home, but dont realize that its financially in their favour to rent. Many times renting is the most financially responsible option. Just sayin' that you should follow your dreams and not those of society. Heck, look at some of the yurts made by Rainier Yurts!
Lastly, welcome to the forums. We have a great community here with a wealth of knowledge. I know that I've learned more than I had ever thought possible from these guys. I'd recommend the "Whole Enchilada" kit as it is highly adaptable, and very helpful for an unbeatable price!

rhondarenay · July 03, 2010, 01:33:25 PM

Yes, I like the whole enchilada plan-I like the sunroom addition but I would probably make that another bedroom. I'm all for getting a plan but hubby wants to design his own house and I don't want to discourage him. I'm not going to contradict anything he wants to do because in the long run I'm getting a house and that's what I want and he's going to teach me the whole time. We're doing it his way-all the way including the color of carpet and type of siding and just everything. He wants blue carpet. I can live with that. I started knitting a brown aphgahn to go in my future home. Oh well, I'll just have to change the colors to blue and purple instead of earthtones. Hubby also wants slab foundation. I want pier and beam, but I don't want to discourage him-so I guess we're going to do slab foundation. He says the termites get to pier and beam. He's been in construction all his life so I'm not going to argue w/him.
Blue carpet, slab foundation it is. This way I get a house. (He's already drawing up floorplans-so I'm not going to discourage him).

Rhonda