Estimating the Cost of Your Home...
Estimating your building costs is an important step in your home building
project. Developing a solid idea of how much you are going to spend is crucial,
in fact. If your estimate is not accurate, you could run out of money before your
home is finished! We've seen it happen before!
First, let's discuss how NOT to estimate your building costs. Most folks like to
talk about how much a house costs per square foot. If a house costs $100 per
square foot to build then most people make the assumption that they can build
a 2,000 square foot house for $200,000 and a 4,000 square foot house for
$400,000. This method is highly inaccurate, though. There are many factors
that effect your ultimate cost per square foot and you simply can't apply a
square foot principle across the board. Why? Variables such as:
We have seen almost identical size homes range in price per square foot by
nearly double before!
So what do you do? Or as the saying goes, "How do you eat an Elephant?"
One bite at a time! Although it may seem like a daunting task to undertake if
you've never built a house before, it's not as hard as you might imagine. If you
are planning your first building project, then getting a little help with the
estimate is in order.
To begin, you should definitely consider buying a home plan that includes
material lists. This will go a long way towards helping you complete an
estimate. You'll be able to provide these lists to suppliers who can then quote
you prices. You'll also discover that many of the building steps or "categories"
will be handled by subcontractors who will supply materials and labor, so all
you'll need is to get three bids from different subcontractors. We provide a
comprehensive discussion of each of these home building categories and how
to estimate them in our book.
Enjoy browsing our website and buy our e-book, The Ultimate Guide to
Contracting Your Own Home: Save 30% to 40% on the Cost of Your New
Home for an in-depth look at the entire process including many insider tricks
and secrets!
Estimating your building costs is an important step in your home building
project. Developing a solid idea of how much you are going to spend is crucial,
in fact. If your estimate is not accurate, you could run out of money before your
home is finished! We've seen it happen before!
First, let's discuss how NOT to estimate your building costs. Most folks like to
talk about how much a house costs per square foot. If a house costs $100 per
square foot to build then most people make the assumption that they can build
a 2,000 square foot house for $200,000 and a 4,000 square foot house for
$400,000. This method is highly inaccurate, though. There are many factors
that effect your ultimate cost per square foot and you simply can't apply a
square foot principle across the board. Why? Variables such as:
- the amount of finished and unfinished areas (square feet),
- the materials used (types and amount of windows, for example),
- the finishes (trim, flooring, light fixtures, etc.) used,
- the number of bathrooms and their features,
- the types of mechanical systems installed,
- the difficulty level of the building site itself...
- the list goes on and on.
We have seen almost identical size homes range in price per square foot by
nearly double before!
So what do you do? Or as the saying goes, "How do you eat an Elephant?"
One bite at a time! Although it may seem like a daunting task to undertake if
you've never built a house before, it's not as hard as you might imagine. If you
are planning your first building project, then getting a little help with the
estimate is in order.
To begin, you should definitely consider buying a home plan that includes
material lists. This will go a long way towards helping you complete an
estimate. You'll be able to provide these lists to suppliers who can then quote
you prices. You'll also discover that many of the building steps or "categories"
will be handled by subcontractors who will supply materials and labor, so all
you'll need is to get three bids from different subcontractors. We provide a
comprehensive discussion of each of these home building categories and how
to estimate them in our book.
Enjoy browsing our website and buy our e-book, The Ultimate Guide to
Contracting Your Own Home: Save 30% to 40% on the Cost of Your New
Home for an in-depth look at the entire process including many insider tricks
and secrets!
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Helping You Build Your American Dream Step-by-Step
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