Building Costs?

[akemt]

I'm sure this is probably one of the most frequently asked questions...Is there a good thread that lists a number of owner-built costs for different house plans, etc?  It is a bit tedious trying to go through each "owner-built" thread looking for costs.  We'd be doing it completely ourselves (minus the septic which must be done a certain way by code).  We really have to pick our first building by cost.  Once it is built and we aren't paying rent or a mortgage (we're paying both now, sadly!) we should have money to spend for adding on but I want to get something completely up and liveable first...including all the utilities, appliances, etc.  We've got a fairly set ammount of money to work with when our house closes and I am having a hard time figuring out what we can afford.  It doesn't help that everything here is more costly (AK prices include the cost of barging and higher wages).  We also won't be using an inch of drywall --all plywood and no OSB too (uber bad with our moisture here), so that'll add to our costs as well.  I'd LOVE double walled insulation, but I'll wait to see if we can afford that after the shell is up and dried-in.

Suggestions on costs?  Links?  I've read the one link from the main website, but $15-30/sq ft (or something like that) is quite a range when we're talking cash.  And does that include loft space in the square footage?

Sorry for rambling on and thanks in advance!

[ScottA]

I think in that range $15 is rough finnished, plywood floors etc. and $30 is more covetional finnishes. I'm building a cabin now in a cheaper area of the country and I'm estimating closer to $40 and it may go as high as $50. So the answer is...It depends on how finnished you get.

[John_M]

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to determine building costs becasue of so many undetermined factors.

*  Material costs vary from city to city (What I would pay for an 8 foot 2x4 is probably different than what you would pay...some things cost more some things cost less)

* Are you using high end building materials or salvaged materials?

* Are you using the best windows out there or the cheapest vinyl windows you can find?

* 2x4 vs 2x6 construction? (not a huge cost difference)

* Metal roof or asphalt shingles?

* What type of siding (Cedar? Vinyl? Hardiboard? Many more choices)

* Type of foundation (post and pier? crawlspace? full basement?)

There are probably a hundred more questions that could be asked!!

What I have found from reading on this most excellent site is that you can build a house for whatver your budget allows!  You need to be disciplined to spend only what you have and be well prepared for each and every stage of your project.

Figure out the size you want to build and get a framing diagram (John's plans on this website are great!) and then get estimates of what that would cost.  Depending how much money you have left, you can upgrade your roof or windows and a few other materials like siding and you will be "dried in".

Are you doing the electric?  The HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)? What about the plumbing (including the septic)?

There are lots of questions and many answers.  Since most people would never have the same answers, the costs vary tremendously!!

See how far your money will take you and go from there!  Start small and then expand as your budget would allow you to.

One piece of advice however....

..it seems that it always costs more than you originally thought and it always seems to take a little longer than you expected, so leave yourself some extra money on the side and a flexible timeline!!

Good luck with your project.  

[n74tg]

Check out the website building-cost.net.  You can do a pretty good estimate there.  They ask for your zip code so the model takes into account material cost in your area.  On my project I did my first estimate there about two years ago, and then another one just last week.  Nice surprise, building materials cost for my project had come down (by about 12%).  I think it's because the first estimate was done right after Katrina when materials prices went up.



ED: link added - MD

[FrankInWIS]

  That cost estimater is cool!