The MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!! COST PLANNING | Building a House Start to Finish - Episode 2

Imagine if you just spent $2,000 on a set of house plans that you couldn’t use to build.
If you’re thinking about building a new home, and you don’t know where to start, you’re gonna wanna hear this. On today’s video, We’re gonna talk about the cost to build a new home and the most important factors that drive that cost.
It blows me away to see how many homesites we come across where there’s a big clearing with a driveway, but no house, or a completely abandoned concrete foundation. When it turns out the county had already issued a site assessment for that lot - illustrating a 100 year flood plain and setbacks from a critically protected watershed. Or the owner had enough money to build a house, but not the extra 50K it would cost to clear the lot, build a driveway and cross a creek to get to the house site.
That’s crazy! Why is this happening?
More often than not, people find some misleading information on the internet about the cost to build a home, and then start to plan around that fictional cost. There’s a never-ending debate in the building industry about the best way to summarize the cost of a home. You might have heard someone say, “We built our home for $150/sq ft,” or “I heard the average cost of a new home was $100/sq ft.” I wanna help you understand the major components of building a new home so you can ask your contractor the right questions, and make sure you know exactly what you’ll be getting for the cost presented to you.
If you can ask your builder how much they expect each of these things will cost, you’ll be well on your way to designing a home that you can afford to build.
It’s really important to take the time up front to lay out all the costs involved from start to finish
Let’s start with the first and most important: HEATED SQUARE FOOTAGE.
This is the area of your home that is conditioned with Heat and Air Conditioning. Your liveable square footage. These are all the indoor spaces like the Kitchen, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, closets, and any other space that is within your insulated building envelope.
The bigger you build, the cheaper each square foot will be. For 1000-1300 sq ft custom homes, we budget $220+/sq ft. For 3000 sq ft homes and larger, we typically budget $150-200/sq ft of heated area. You might be thinking:” WOW! That’s a big range” And you’re right. Those are big ranges. The actual cost will vary based on the scope and level of finishes that we ultimately determine during the design development phase. For example, We build air tight homes with lots of custom detailing and high end finishes - and so our cost per square foot is higher than your average builder. But at the same time, we are very hands-on. We do the work ourselves and typically cost much less than your typical high-end builder that hires out most of the work to expensive specialists that drive up the cost.
Moving on to #2: DECKS.
Decks are simply a wood frame and floor system outside your home that usually rests on a simple concrete pier foundation. We budget about $20-30/sf for decks, depending on the type of decking boards, how high it is above the ground, installation details, things like that.
#3 COVERED PORCHES:
Covered Porches are some of the most coveted space in a home. They provide a sheltered transition to the outdoors and are a great place to hang out with friends and family when the weather is nice. We usually budget $50-75/sq ft for covered porches.
#4 GARAGES:
The average cost for an attached garage on a custom home is $75-100/sq ft.
#5 SITE WORK:
The Site Work is the biggest variable when you’re building a home, especially on rural land with no infrastructure.
if you’re developing a vacant lot on rural land that has no water, sewer, or power infrastructure, its gonna be critical to explore what those costs will ADD to your building project. Clearing a wooded lot for your house site, installing a driveway, crossing a creek, installing a septic system and drilling a well for water are all typical costs for developing rural land.
During this critical COST PLANNING phase of the Pre-Construction process, we determine your goals for the design and ASSESS THE SITE for all of those infrastructure costs like building a driveway, clearing, grading, well and septic.
PERMITTING is one of the FIRST and MOST critical steps.
If you are in fact building a new home on a rural lot, you’ll need approval from the Planning Department to make sure the land is zoned as residential. you need to observe certain setbacks from.
Once you get through the Planning Department, your next step will likely be the Health Department, who will inspect your land for suitable soils to install a septic system to dispose of your human and water waste.
The biggest fluctuation and uncertainty nowadays is the volatility of lumber and material costs. building costs can be estimated accurately based on UNITS like square footage, lineal feet, cubic yards, etc.
#costtobuildahome
#buildingoffthegrid
#build

[@Lifeinvillagess]

You have such a deep understanding of nature and survival

[@arthendrickson4860]

Awesome speaker (e.g., clear pronunciation and enunciation, no “ums“) and great information.

[@HeirloomBuilders]

Thanks, Art! I wrote a script for this video, and it seems to help with all that. Cheers!

[@Ulbre]

As this is part of a series titled "Building a straw house from start to finish", it would be great if you can pass those cost planning estimates on for this particular build.....give us a real idea of "how dirt cheap" a straw house is. Maybe you do this in later episodes...which I will be watching.......cheers

[@HeirloomBuilders]

We’re plastering the house now, which is the most labor intensive part of the whole project. I’ll have actual numbers on everything soon for future cost planning of a professional built Strawbale home and get back to video making when we wrap some of this up. The owners have been crushing the sweat equity, so we’ll have details on that as well.

[@Ulbre]

@@HeirloomBuilders thank you for taking the time to answer,,,awesome

[@coloradowellness8534]

Love that y'all did this. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@HeirloomBuilders]

Thank you.

[@hayleydwyer6768]

This video has a lot of great practical advice and info! Was this video geared more towards conventional building or did it also apply equally to natural building and DIY construction? (Future straw bale home owner here!)

[@HeirloomBuilders]

Thanks!!! The details in this video apply to all forms of construction, but the cost for heated square footage will vary depending on the type of walls and foundation you plan to build. The pricing here (for heated square footage) is for a conventional but high performance home.

[@suzanevolves26]

Super helpful, ty!

[@demitaylor8873]

can i use straw to build with in TN?? i live in the mtn ridge and its usually wet about 200 days out of the year..

[@Robin-mm6mo]

Very helpful information - thank you!!

[@Zgriffinable]

Just found out there's such a house near by at Lake Martin just outside the village of Breaux Bridge, LA.

[@khandam7709]

great overview!

[@leebstill]

Very helpful.

[@L46C3]

Great presentation! Thank you. We are in the planning stages today. Where is episode 3? I see that this vid is at least 2 years old. Are your prices per sq foot still valid in todays market with the lower lumber prices but higher pay scales, fuel, appliances, etc.? I know you spoke of conditioned sq footage but did it include foundations? I know, basements are not conditioned... I found you site by watching your Hardie installation guideline vid. Thanks again.

[@HeirloomBuilders]

Prices are about 15-25% higher now with custom homes. The unfinished basement square footage would be about the same as garage square footage costs

[@L46C3]

@@HeirloomBuilders You surprised me with your speedy response. TY! Is the definition of a custom homes - higher priced finishes -?

[@HeirloomBuilders]

@@L46C3 a custom home is a design that you develop on your own, or with a builder or architect, that has unique finishes. They can be twice the cost of a modular home or a design offered by a large builder that only offers a few different finish options .

[@L46C3]

@@HeirloomBuilders Thank you for giving me your time..

[@mashoutman]

Well done. Very thorough explanation!

[@HeirloomBuilders]

Thanks, Troy!

[@mcassity]

Great breakdown, appreciate it 👍👍

[@judmcfeters9054]

Not to mention material costs have increased DRAMATICALLY in the past year!!!!!

[@HeirloomBuilders]

It’s been a roller coaster ride of price fluctuation this year. Not a very fun ride if you ask me!

[@Sniffl3s-fl]

Y’all should really consult some country boys, straw and hay can randomly combust while it is rare we have seen it. I wouldn’t think it would be a problem initially but a few years and some settling couple cracks here and there and here comes some fire

[@HeirloomBuilders]

That’s only if the moisture content is so high inside the bale that thermophillic bacteria start breaking it down and generate heat that the drier straw on the outside of the bale catches fire. You’re right about it needing outside air to combust. With a properly plastered Strawbale wall, there’s no air leakage. A poorly planned Strawbale home that’s not plastered could catch fire.

[@Sniffl3s-fl]

@@HeirloomBuilders buddy out here in the country we keep our bales in a separate area, it just happens. Like I said it’s not an immediate issue I’m sure your doing that right, over time cracks happen moisture will get in. Also if you want something really dense look into alfalfa 3 ties completely compressed would be interesting to see if there is a difference in the insulation factor

[@Sniffl3s-fl]

@@HeirloomBuilders I’m not knocking you I think it’s great actually, I think it’s safe to assume most people wouldn’t know the fire risk and definitely wouldn’t think that water would be the reason it catches fire. I would also be interested in seeing a more conventional build on the bottom with the straw walls for the second floor, we lose so much efficiency with our 2 story wonder if this would be a solution

[@jonathanlochridge9462]

@@Sniffl3s-fl Cool idea.

[@saramartin623]

How can I get in touch with you guys? I noticed you’re in NC. Would love to have a consultation on a straw bale home I’d like to build north of CLT.

[@HeirloomBuilders]

Hi Sara, email me at [e-mail] or visit us at www.heirloombuilders.com

[@jeffthepoet7]

want prices. w/o them less views and interest

[@jessepaynter3752]

Soooo..... what about field mice, and rabbits. They can dig through the walls. And they eat straw.

[@HeirloomBuilders]

They can’t get through the 1” of plaster to get in there. And there’s no space in a dense packed straw bale for making a home

[@jessepaynter3752]

@HeirloomBuilders I know for a fact my turtle can dig through plaster, he eats it. So I'm willing to wager that if you build a pen and put rabbits in it they will get out. And if they can get out they can get in

[@HeirloomBuilders]

@@jessepaynter3752 they don’t have any reason to eat through plaster to get to straw (since there’s no food value in straw)

[@jessepaynter3752]

@@HeirloomBuilders they are animals, they don't use reason. And your house would be 30+ degrees warmer, that's the incentive, not the straw. I like what you do, I just don't believe it has longevity. Still very impressed. Just pretty sure if you live in a place with alot of field mice or vermin your probably in rough shape come the 3rd or 4th winter

[@bobbydelcavallo7181]

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳💖💖💖💖💖👍👍👍👍👍

[@DDL2728]

More knowledge?? It'll be good 👍 😊

[@DDL2728]

This is great information for people who are wanting to build. My husband is a retired residential contractor, & we went through a lot to price homes for people, trying to make sure we gave them what they wanted/could afford. It's amazing how much they have no clue about costs - so many variances. Good job!!

[@DDL2728]

@Just think Thank you!! 💓

[@HeirloomBuilders]

I always consider my job as being the team leader in building projects, where the owner is part of the team instead of someone that we are just hoping to make some money off of. Like you said, it takes a lot of effort to balance all the clients needs/wants with their budget and what they can afford.

[@DDL2728]

@@HeirloomBuilders Perfect!! You are building their future, & you want it to be the best!! ❤