Starting over

[BJ]

i had  a house fire about 3 months ago and i need to rebuild for a family of 6 is it possible  to build a five bedroom house  have it framed to the dryand do the rest myself for 85 thou?  i need a lil help my wife thinks its impossible but i think it can be done.

[PEG688]

 Welcome onboard    Tough way to get here , fire    


   How many sqr. ' are  you looking at , and what does 85 K include ?  Or in this case exclude , I'd assume some things like  ,  Land,  I'd guess, septic , well / water, power to the site or close ,  all are good to go after a fire.

 So your only talking about the house ? And the old place is gone to the dump , no waste to remove from the site?    

 The sqr foot of space your looking at , just for the building , would be  a starting  point.

 Good luck , fill in the blanks , some one will try to help , PEG.

[bartholomew]

Add to that list, is the old foundation still in good shape?

[BJ]

thanks peg, i dont need septic i am gonna build on same land but diff site from ground up i would like to get close to 2000 sq foot. maybe 1.5 story with master in loft of upstairs 3 bedrooms  under that , an attached garage with oldest sons room over that..the garage  is were utilities would be. the old foundation is gone  the fire was over 1800 deg there was melted copper and our iron skillets had holes melted through them,so the block just broke as sone as  touch it. i moved a trailer in for temp but i need to start building  my wife cant take much more  of 6 of us in a 14 x 70 lol.... we are just thankful we are all here together .. oh yea i have a electrician that is gonna do his labor for free ,i help him build his house this past summer.. thanks for everyones help

[Ailsa C. Ek]

Two questions:
    1. Are you planning any bedrooms on the ground floor?
    2. Are you planning on staying in that house for any length of time?

If you're planning on aging in place, a ground floor bedroom would be a good idea.  Can't comment on the affordability aspect, but not re-using the original foundation is definitely going to jack up the price.

[glenn kangiser]

Sorry to hear about the fire, BJ.  Many on this site have built their homes for considerably less than what you have budgeted so I think it is possible considering that costs may vary some due to location etc.  

What type of regulation are you dealing with and what area are you in - I mean -permits required?

Johns plans are easily modified for your needs and very reasonably priced.

[Amanda_931]

Been there on the fire.  I empathize.

I MIGHT have been able to build back using the same footprint as the original house--maybe not, it was zoned industrial, even though the area consisted of a lot of small houses.

A lot is going to depend on where you are, permits, zoning, etc.

[BJ]

hello everyone i am in the country 10 miles out of town not alot of regulations here. the county just let my burry the old house on the spot no ? ask, and yes i did ask lol.so im not sure what permits i need but shouldnt be to bad..by the way im in ky in a small town, i dont think it will be to bad....i do have my own john deere tractor with backhoe attachment and mixer  so i will be able to dig foundation and i have some 1 who will lay block by the hour as long as i pack em to him.thanks every1 ,,,, B.J.

[glenn-k]

If you have a John Deere with a backhoe, You don't have much of a problem - that is what dug the whole Underground Cabin with the assistance of a Bobcat because I already had it.  When you have a John Deere with a backhoe, timbers, boards and a roll or two of plastic, you are only hours away from shelter. Now I'm not even worried about you, BJ.  I hope all goes well for you.  Not that you are considering building underground but an interesting way to look at it - Ideas from "The $50 and Up Underground House book"  -$85000 would build a lot.

[JRR]

Sorry about your fire, BJ.  But I sense that you have a positive attitude and will do just fine.

If you intend to have one, you might consider first building the "barn/garage".  You will acquire a lot of building skills.  A good place to store building tools and materials.  Will go up fairly quickly and cheaply, can have a ground floor, doesn't have to be heated or insulated ... and if you include a toilet and wash basin, will help to keep most all the building process and nuisance out of the trailer.