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Looking for some advise about building costs in Massachusetts. I am just finishing plans for a 2,500 sq. ft. custom house. I have heard some numbers thrown around – $125/sq.ft., but I know that does not mean too much….especially to me. I don’t know if that per foot number ususally includes everything, including site prep, engineering, permits, etc.
We have already done all the engineering and permitting, and have installed a well on the property. Any suggustions would be helpful-
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Replies
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steve: i don't mean to be a cynic but "sq.ft. price" and "custom" should'nt be used in the same sentence. i've seen custom kitchens come in at over $75,000.00 easy. flooring materials alone can differ buy as much as $20.00 per sq. ft. . lighting, trim, exterior facade, the list goes on. when one builds a "custom" home sq. ft. price is usually figured out after the home is complete. nothing really worth having is cheap and "it costs what it costs". anyway, around my way site prep 'included in price' means removing the fewest number of trees and putting the top soil back with a nice rough grade. the customer is usually responsible for permits and tap ins. everything else, concrete, landscaping, patios, etc. is priced toward what the customer wants.
*Wow! $125/sq ft. for new construction not including land costs would be a bargain in eastern MA, where "custom" construction runs around $200/sq.ft, with ammenities like wood floors, high end kitchens and bathrooms, shingle or cedar clapboard siding, etc.
*Since it's custom, the best way to start to get a handle on costs, is to start chewing it up in chunks.I'd start with getting figures on a shell-erect. Now, you can include your mechanicals, insulation and rock, but beware of those upgrades in lighting, ect, things that require design completion now. The custom work will require specialized subs, so if you get the "bones" of the structure done well, those custom features can wait if the budget has to play catch-up.Your best course of action, (IMO) is to sit down with a top-drawer G.C. and decide on your definition of "Quality" vs. cost.A thread in business with posts by FredB and Sonny spell out some good definitions. Be wary of that C.P.S.F.
*I posted a similar question futher down on this board when a GC gave me a price of $100 k for a 400 sq kitchen, 1/2 bath and solarium addition. I have decided to GC it myself. I believe I will save some money, and get what I really want, rather than having to lower my standards.
*Your points are well-taken Rich, but when you are done there is always a total construction cost and a total SF and the cost can therefore always be expressed that way, which can be useful for projecting costs for a similar house. The trouble is that there are a lot of liars out there, and those who aren't lying don't know what they are talking about and 'throw around numbers' like $125/SF, which is too low (unless you are Pulte or Ryan doing a subdivision).The question is too low for what? Does your taste run to high-end appliances, granite counters, marble baths? Or will Sears best and formica do? If the question is cost for an average custom home in this area I would be surprised to see less than about $200/SF average, just for house construction, not including anything more than 5 feet from the house.Jeff
*in my area 'custom' has become known as a spec. house where the buyer picks floor coverings and cabinets. ( as long as they are within the 3 or 4 choices made avalable). i could rant about this all day. the #&*% sq.ft. builders call themselves custom builders when they are anything but. now the only thing that home buyers are concerned about is sq.ft. price. " ya get what ya pay for".
*Is $$ per sq ft. apples vs. oranges or even meaningless without further definition??I'll betcha Luka's $$/sq ft expense comes out to less than $2.00, maybe even $1.00 (no decimal point error). Some houses a few miles down the road from him (Index to Medina) are well over $1,000.00 sq ft.
*Gosh, I'm glad I live where I do. One of the best custom builders in this area quoted me $60/ft (heated) and $30/ft (garage & porches), and that was more than I wanted to spend. GC'ing it myself my cost will be close to $45/ft -- plywood sheathing & decking, superinsulated with celluose, hardwood & tile floors, custom oak cabinets, lots of moulding. But part of the siding is vinyl (typical for this area), and we've been at it for 16 months now with another 6 weeks before move-in. I estimate that we've saved about $30,000 just in labor, besides what would have gone to the GC (which by the way, I think he'd have earned).What I did not do before I started, was get an accurate estimate on all materials. I should have, and you should to. It's tedious and time consuming, but it's the only way you'll really know what it will cost.
*Bob, $250/sf for the three most costly rooms in a house doesn't sound bad. Hope you save the money you think you will.
*Steve, Obviously it is difficult to estimate building costs without many details. One good source of information for rough estimates are the "Means" Construction Cost books. Go to your local big bookstore (Barnes and Noble, etc.). They usually sell them. They are expensive but you can page through them in a short time in the store and get some good general information. As I recall, the have a fairly detailed breakdown of most of the major elements of a house. Not a bad place for someone to get some very basic preliminary numbers.
*On my house I,m building now. With me doing all the labor, design, permits, and keeping it very basic, plain everything. Its running $37.5 a foot. Now that only materials no labor or GC.
*Steve,You might ask people out there who have recently had a job completed for them to tell you how much they paid per sq. ft., with a brief description of the construction. I'm like Johnnie. I'm building a garage, family room, bedroom addition myself (farming out some of the sub work) and I'm paying about $40 per sq. ft.Roger
*Square foot price does not work. Take if from a builder who has heard it up to here about how "we had our last house built for under $100 a sq. ft." or the big box store said we could build this house for $75...right. guess that means you are the labor! Hey, I'll build you a house made of straw with code-minimum everything, and you can compare square foot costs with your unhappy neighbor who spent $ for the best of everything--what have you learned?It's about quality. Quality of material, workmanship, decisionmaking, getting quality subs, producing either a cheap, slapped up house or a well-built home you can be proud of. It's not about square feet pricing. It just doesn't work.
*Right on Mad DogIf He wants to talk to a quality builder about a quality home he better not bring up the subject of SF cost or he'll be left with a puzzled look on his face
*Cost per square foot isn't an absolute but it's like every other statistic in the world. There is an median cost for construction just like there's a median IQ. You can be higher or lower but most tend to be around the median. My neighbors had a nice addition put on their house, nothing too fancy but it had an abundance of windows and good workmanship, and it cost about $200 per sq ft. Do with that what you will.
*I should be getting an estimate on a custom house this week. This is what I did, you guys tell me if you think this is a good way to approach it- fair to the builder and myself?I gave him the plans and a six page spec sheet with everything from brick to fawcetts with serial numbers, source of purchase and cost. I did floor coverings, windows,plumbing fixtures, masonry heater, cabinets. Other then the paint colours, there are no real decisions or changes to be made. I really want to get through this without any changes to the plans. I would like an estimate of the cost within a few percent. If something disastorous comes up (rock to blast for the foundation, drastic increase in lumber price etc) I am willing to work with him fairly.I don't know if this is the best way to go or not. Any thoughts?ThanksFrank
*I could bid a firm price with that much detail.
*Frank,You're one in a hundred. Most people are clueless about the details--I'm lucky if they've even thought about much of this stuff--they always want price comparisons between various sidings, floor coverings, etc. They don't have plans, and if they do, they are store bought stock plans that they want to modify...Yep, as Piffin said, I could give a good bid on your project, and feel pretty good about you as a client too.MD
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Looking for some advise about building costs in Massachusetts. I am just finishing plans for a 2,500 sq. ft. custom house. I have heard some numbers thrown around - $125/sq.ft., but I know that does not mean too much....especially to me. I don't know if that per foot number ususally includes everything, including site prep, engineering, permits, etc.
We have already done all the engineering and permitting, and have installed a well on the property. Any suggustions would be helpful-