I'm hoping that some of you might be able to help me out with building costs for residential homes. Maybe you could list the market you're in and the level of finish on the project along with cost per square foot cost.
Here's my scenario: my wife and I are moving to Texas. After searching for houses for a few months, we haven't found anything we like. So we're considering building ourselves a home.
We started looking at 5000 sf lots. We'd like to spend $150,000 or less on the lot. We'd like to build a 1500 sf home with detached garage. We're generally going to go cheap but energy efficient on all of the fixtures and features.
We'll hire a contractor to build, but I'll do the design myself.
My question: can we build for $300,000 (or $450,000 including land) all in? That's around $200/SF. In everyone's experience, in different markets, is this possible?
I know that where I am now, in an expensive city on the west coast, a house with these specs would cost closer to $300-350/SF to build.
Lots of Dwell magazines show smallish houses for under $200/sf, using simple materials like trim and basic white tile from Home Depot and salvage yard finds for sinks light fixtures etc. Basic sliding doors, windows, drywall and paint, asphalt shingles, Flor and Lumber Liquidators cork, etc. It shouldn't be too hard AND should be fun!
But here's what's a little difficult for me to understand. I've tended to work for firms that do houses in the $600-$1000 per square foot range, i.e. absurdly expensive. The cheapest house I've ever worked on was around $350/sf, and it still had rift oak cabinetry, a reflecting pool, towel warmers, a TV behind the mirror in the master bath, and all that. So I'm not that familiar with inexpensive construction (unfortunately.)
All the information I've found on the web about building a residence in Houston lists prices from around $75-$150. This seems really low to me, but is this what the average home costs to build in middle America (i.e. outside of LA, Chicago, and New York)? Maybe my perspective is warped from working on houses with built-in steam rooms and aromatheraphy toilets.
I suffer from that too, farwest - I said to a group of people today that you can't do a kitchen for less than $75K and as I said it I realized I was wrong. It's just that none of my clients, with their wish lists and desires, can.
In your case, definitely find a good contractor. I'd call architects in town and find out who does good building that they respect. I know my guys who do $400/sf projects can also do a great job on less expensive work, and I trust them to help me find cheaper options for things. For example, we just got some tile from stonelocatordotcom that was inexpensive and FAST - from our regular tile place it was 16 week lead time and 2x the cost.
I misread your phrase above as toilet warmers and thought to myself damn, that's what I need! Actually I'm certain Japan has toilet seat warmers, it shouldn't be that hard to do here.
In my experience, I'd say very few architects have a clue how to do houses on the lower end of the money spectrum.
It's quite difficult. It's the end of the spectrum I'm most interested in.
The obvious parts are easy: leave out the expensive amenities and expensive "surface" materials. So when the glitz and glitter go away, then what?
I may be wrong, but I don't think most architects know enough about construction to pull off creating architecture in a way that would ever save a house client any money.
But kurt, part of our job is to help the client maneuver through the project with a contractor. That's why I said finding a good, reputable contractor who knows how to 1. build things well but inexpensively and 2. work with a designer is so important.
I will grant you this: a firm that does hospitals, retail etc. is likely to not know much about how to do residential architecture well. I say this as a now 4-year veteran of a residential firm who realizes I didn't know squat about the field when I left 12 years of institutional work to start doing houses.
I'm familiar enough with all the types of work you've mentioned from a design level as project architect and, in the case of residential, I've worked several years of construction. I get it.
I hear quite a lot of talk from design professionals indicating that through "innovative uses of conventional materials" they will provide this and that, and that "great design doesn't have to cost a lot"... you know the drill. Easy to say, tough to deliver.
My point is that as the distractions of the high end in-your-face STUFF go away, it's a different ball game.
Building cheaper than high-end is not difficult, but delivering architecture down near spec house range (a constant standard of comparison for architects that do houses) is much harder, and cheaper than that level is perhaps not quite impossible, but close.
See, that's where design of space comes into play, and that's where so many MidCentury Modern houses rock: simple materials that don't clutter up the interesting flow of spaces, views, and functions.
But yeah, "innovative use of conventional materials" is very, very easy to say, while follow through is much more challenging!
lb's got it - all about SPACE. Unfortunately, most designs simply rely on cheesy materials splashed on to add 'quality'.
Personally, Schindler's stuff was quite inspiring (got several tours while in LA). You can do amazing things with space and very, very basic materials.
That's where talent outshines a silly material spec list and snazzy apps.
Those numbers immediately struck me as high. First of all I've read that texas and houston have not been hit by the recession like the rest of the country, which may explain the prices. The real answer to this question is, it depends. Where is the lot? I would not be hard pressed to find a lot in WI close to Milwaukee or Madison for 10-30k. With the contractors so hard pressed for work here, I would also not be hard pressed to find a builder for $80/sf. For 450k I would imagine you are looking at an upper middle class neighborhood for a 1500 sf house or something close to the hip, developed parts of downtown, (if there is such a thing in houston?)
Minimizing your construction costs have been detailed here already. Substituting snazzy materials for home depot, lighting, appliances etc, etc...I have another suggestion:
Simple elegant design has it's advantages not only with what it looks like but what it takes to build both financially and the amount of coordination. Elegant gestures usually make things easier to build and translate to cheaper construction costs. Also, take on some of the legwork and construction yourself.
a FINE CRAFTSMAN AND DO WONDERS WITH A SIMPLE ELEGANT DESIGN PROJECT. a CRAPPY CRAFTSMAN WILL DISTROY A SIMPLE ELEGANT DETAILED PROJECT. PAY FOR A CONTRACTOR YOU CAN TRUST TO DO A GOOD JOB.
Cost per SF - Residential
I'm hoping that some of you might be able to help me out with building costs for residential homes. Maybe you could list the market you're in and the level of finish on the project along with cost per square foot cost.
Here's my scenario: my wife and I are moving to Texas. After searching for houses for a few months, we haven't found anything we like. So we're considering building ourselves a home.
We started looking at 5000 sf lots. We'd like to spend $150,000 or less on the lot. We'd like to build a 1500 sf home with detached garage. We're generally going to go cheap but energy efficient on all of the fixtures and features.
We'll hire a contractor to build, but I'll do the design myself.
My question: can we build for $300,000 (or $450,000 including land) all in? That's around $200/SF. In everyone's experience, in different markets, is this possible?
I know that where I am now, in an expensive city on the west coast, a house with these specs would cost closer to $300-350/SF to build.
From what I hear that should be easy to do. Which city though?
Houston.
Lots of Dwell magazines show smallish houses for under $200/sf, using simple materials like trim and basic white tile from Home Depot and salvage yard finds for sinks light fixtures etc. Basic sliding doors, windows, drywall and paint, asphalt shingles, Flor and Lumber Liquidators cork, etc. It shouldn't be too hard AND should be fun!
Here is a project in Houston done for under $200/sf.:
48' House
Thanks, LB! I was hoping you would weigh in.
But here's what's a little difficult for me to understand. I've tended to work for firms that do houses in the $600-$1000 per square foot range, i.e. absurdly expensive. The cheapest house I've ever worked on was around $350/sf, and it still had rift oak cabinetry, a reflecting pool, towel warmers, a TV behind the mirror in the master bath, and all that. So I'm not that familiar with inexpensive construction (unfortunately.)
All the information I've found on the web about building a residence in Houston lists prices from around $75-$150. This seems really low to me, but is this what the average home costs to build in middle America (i.e. outside of LA, Chicago, and New York)? Maybe my perspective is warped from working on houses with built-in steam rooms and aromatheraphy toilets.
That's Mark Wamble's house!
I suffer from that too, farwest - I said to a group of people today that you can't do a kitchen for less than $75K and as I said it I realized I was wrong. It's just that none of my clients, with their wish lists and desires, can.
In your case, definitely find a good contractor. I'd call architects in town and find out who does good building that they respect. I know my guys who do $400/sf projects can also do a great job on less expensive work, and I trust them to help me find cheaper options for things. For example, we just got some tile from stonelocatordotcom that was inexpensive and FAST - from our regular tile place it was 16 week lead time and 2x the cost.
I misread your phrase above as toilet warmers and thought to myself damn, that's what I need! Actually I'm certain Japan has toilet seat warmers, it shouldn't be that hard to do here.
I got a call back from a suburban home building firm today to do site and planning work for them. Maybe have an interview.
I asked them what their usual cost per square foot was [thinking of you archinect] and he replied with "around $70 a foot."
In my experience, I'd say very few architects have a clue how to do houses on the lower end of the money spectrum.
It's quite difficult. It's the end of the spectrum I'm most interested in.
The obvious parts are easy: leave out the expensive amenities and expensive "surface" materials. So when the glitz and glitter go away, then what?
I may be wrong, but I don't think most architects know enough about construction to pull off creating architecture in a way that would ever save a house client any money.
But kurt, part of our job is to help the client maneuver through the project with a contractor. That's why I said finding a good, reputable contractor who knows how to 1. build things well but inexpensively and 2. work with a designer is so important.
I will grant you this: a firm that does hospitals, retail etc. is likely to not know much about how to do residential architecture well. I say this as a now 4-year veteran of a residential firm who realizes I didn't know squat about the field when I left 12 years of institutional work to start doing houses.
All that's true, LB --
I'm familiar enough with all the types of work you've mentioned from a design level as project architect and, in the case of residential, I've worked several years of construction. I get it.
I hear quite a lot of talk from design professionals indicating that through "innovative uses of conventional materials" they will provide this and that, and that "great design doesn't have to cost a lot"... you know the drill. Easy to say, tough to deliver.
My point is that as the distractions of the high end in-your-face STUFF go away, it's a different ball game.
Building cheaper than high-end is not difficult, but delivering architecture down near spec house range (a constant standard of comparison for architects that do houses) is much harder, and cheaper than that level is perhaps not quite impossible, but close.
See, that's where design of space comes into play, and that's where so many MidCentury Modern houses rock: simple materials that don't clutter up the interesting flow of spaces, views, and functions.
But yeah, "innovative use of conventional materials" is very, very easy to say, while follow through is much more challenging!
"See, that's where design of space comes into play..."
YESSSS! Exactly.
lb's got it - all about SPACE. Unfortunately, most designs simply rely on cheesy materials splashed on to add 'quality'.
Personally, Schindler's stuff was quite inspiring (got several tours while in LA). You can do amazing things with space and very, very basic materials.
That's where talent outshines a silly material spec list and snazzy apps.
Those numbers immediately struck me as high. First of all I've read that texas and houston have not been hit by the recession like the rest of the country, which may explain the prices. The real answer to this question is, it depends. Where is the lot? I would not be hard pressed to find a lot in WI close to Milwaukee or Madison for 10-30k. With the contractors so hard pressed for work here, I would also not be hard pressed to find a builder for $80/sf. For 450k I would imagine you are looking at an upper middle class neighborhood for a 1500 sf house or something close to the hip, developed parts of downtown, (if there is such a thing in houston?)
Minimizing your construction costs have been detailed here already. Substituting snazzy materials for home depot, lighting, appliances etc, etc...I have another suggestion:
Simple elegant design has it's advantages not only with what it looks like but what it takes to build both financially and the amount of coordination. Elegant gestures usually make things easier to build and translate to cheaper construction costs. Also, take on some of the legwork and construction yourself.
a FINE CRAFTSMAN AND DO WONDERS WITH A SIMPLE ELEGANT DESIGN PROJECT. a CRAPPY CRAFTSMAN WILL DISTROY A SIMPLE ELEGANT DETAILED PROJECT. PAY FOR A CONTRACTOR YOU CAN TRUST TO DO A GOOD JOB.
adding notes to a drawing, snook?
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