How much can i expect to save by builing my own home?
Question:I plan on contracting out the excavation, footer, and block. Most of the rest will be done by my old man and myself, including framing, roofing, siding, windows, drywall and the mechanicals. I already have an acre to build on, however it is still up in the air as to where exactly it will be located. I will have decent amount tied up in getting utilities to the site and not sure about the septic system requirements here.
Answers:
You are ambitious at least. This is very do-able, and you can expect to save a considerable amount. I built my own shop. Foundation, frame, roof, and siding(Hardi-plank), came to about $27.00/sq ft. No electrical, or mechanicals yet, I'm tired.
The key to pulling this off is to "dry in" the house as quickly as possible. Try to schedule the framing at the beginning of a holiday, and invite lots of friends. Once you have it dry, you can take your time with the rest.
You can save alot building your own home. Usually when you call a contractor to build something for you, that charge you almost double the cost of materials. Thats a good place to start, add up your materials cost and multiply by 2. Depending on the quality of the work the contractor does it can be more then that or less then that.
depending on area and mechanical selection about $110 to $125 sqft. Thats laber include
If you are not paying your self and shop right, about $85 sqft
On average a general contractor (GC) will put a 17% mark-up on a new construction home. If you only GC the house you can expect to save this much. If you also plan on doing some of the labor, you can save as much as $50/hour for carpentry labor, $100/hour for plumbing and electrical labor. There are many drawback to being your own GC. You have zero buying power, the people you do hire are not going to be as eager with callbacks as they would for a GC that gives them a lot of business, and you will end up paying more for materials than a GC would. An established GC could save you as much as 7% on the lumber bill alone.
I got the specials from menards last week, they're selling layouts (blue prints) and materials to houses. From what I saw on the paper they had like 15 different layouts, and they were actually pretty decent. They ranged from $55k to 10k. I'm pretty sure it was Menards if not check Lowes.
I did this 6 years ago...I spent about 140,000, similar houses with fewer upgrades where selling for 140,000. I figure that I got about 20,000 in upgrades for my trouble. I contracted most of the work, so by doing most of the labor yourself you should save more.
Important: When you call for bids make sure you sound like a contractor, (Lastname) Construction Co. Know what you want. If suppliers think they will get more business from you they will be more likely to give you a discount.
You will have to do everything to your local codes, make sure you know what your doing, or you will be doing it twice. It was a great learning experience for me...hope it goes as well for you.
GL
I have entirely built all the homes I lived in. If you really do it all youself-- you cut the cost in half. If a builder would charge 140k to build a house, you can normaly do it yourself for just the materials cost of 70k.
ABOUT 500 TO 800 DOLLARS
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