new house construction costs?

[Elite0429]

looking to build a house on our property in just over a year from now. when a contractor says $125 Sq. Ft is that for total sq footage or just living? I see some plans the living is only say 3000 sq ft, but add garages, porches, etc can easily be over 4500 to 5000 sq when all said and done.

[RascalArms]

Way too many variables brother. Are we talking a true custom built home with moderately high end fixtures, appliances and detail work? Do you want granite, marble floors, crown molding, rounded corners, arches, double pane windows and an energy efficient top of the line AC? The location makes a big difference too.

[Elite0429]

that number was just used as an example. I just need to know if price per sq ft is based off living area or total sq ft....

[Elite0429]

i understand the granite, crown mold, etc all add to the cost

[jds247]

In the past I always bid total sf.. it's been 3 or 4 years but in my area that number was close to 85 a ft for total slab area.. things have gone up since then.. if they give a living area only price and u have 2500 ft of porches and garage they will lose their butt.

[Sticks&Strings]

I think it varies builder to builder. We give estimates based on a/c footage, however large quantities of porches and garages can and definitely will affect that number. Just compare apples to apples. That's the biggest thing. We lost a very large remodel job a few years ago. After about a year, they called us back as they had fired the other contractor, whom they had used before, as he had apparently grossly underbid the job and wasnt getting it done. One particular line item we learned about later for an example was the appliances. This house had a huge kitchen and the house was to be a $1 million home when done. The other contractor budgeted $7,000. We budgeted $25,000. This was the same with almost every allowance.

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[Elite0429]

I think it varies builder to builder. We give estimates based on a/c footage, however large quantities of porches and garages can and definitely will affect that number. Just compare apples to apples. That's the biggest thing. We lost a very large remodel job a few years ago. After about a year, they called us back as they had fired the other contractor, whom they had used before, as he had apparently grossly underbid the job and wasnt getting it done. One particular line item we learned about later for an example was the appliances. This house had a huge kitchen and the house was to be a $1 million home when done. The other contractor budgeted $7,000. We budgeted $25,000. This was the same with almost every allowance.

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thanks!

[SaintBlaise]

Take your time and allow several builders to bid your project. Try to know all of your specs, sq ft of each room, for example..how much crown you need...you get the picture. Then when you request bids, you can see how much each line item costs. Our guy tried to over charge us on molding. Luckily my wife caught the issue in time. Bottom line, the more you can convey to the builder, the more accurate the quote will be. Until you have a change out.

[eliteweldingco]

Typically things are figured by living square footage.

[tps7742]

In the past homes we purchased and had built the heated/cooled space was used as quoted. We had our retirement home built a couple of years ago and we had a couple of bids “under the roof line”. That was new to me but I think it all ends up the same if you put apples to apples.

[Elite0429]

In the past homes we purchased and had built the heated/cooled space was used as quoted. We had our retirement home built a couple of years ago and we had a couple of bids “under the roof line”. That was new to me but I think it all ends up the same if you put apples to apples.

Here is an example of a home design my wife and I both like. That's a large difference in price If you figure the price at the living area vs the total sq. ft

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[2good2Btru]

I think it varies builder to builder. We give estimates based on a/c footage, however large quantities of porches and garages can and definitely will affect that number. Just compare apples to apples. That's the biggest thing.

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When you say large porches and garages, how large does it become a difference? Wondering because I’m trying to do some homework before I start to looking into building a house. Say you have a back porch that’s is 300sqft at $125 comes out to roughly $38k. There is no way a porch that size costs that much to build just bc you are building it with your house. Is my thinking wrong here?

[2good2Btru]

I live in a simple house now and I added a 30’x15’ porch a few years ago and built it to match the house as if it was built on day one. Since I don’t live in a full custom house, say when my house was originally built, cost close to $70/sqft(hypothetically speaking) that porch would have added another $30k to the build. That just doesn’t make sense to me, that porch cost me $7k not including the slab or the shingles(roof)

[BertramBass]

When you say large porches and garages, how large does it become a difference? Wondering because I’m trying to do some homework before I start to looking into building a house. Say you have a back porch that’s is 300sqft at $125 comes out to roughly $38k. There is no way a porch that size costs that much to build just bc you are building it with your house. Is my thinking wrong here?

I would raise my price per foot on HVAC square footage, to cover larger porches and garages, not multiply my price per foot the way you explained above.

[2good2Btru]

I would raise my price per foot on HVAC square footage, to cover larger porches and garages, not multiply my price per foot the way you explained above.

So on the final line, it would probably cost the same amount?