Concrete Slab Cost | Foundation Cost for our Self-Build Home

[@cameronreuss4512]

Dude, this is great information. Thank you for putting this together !

[@averageliving4Life]

Great job guys. Sounds like a awesome record system. Price sounds great too. Even though I'm in a different area, I can still compare prices

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Right on! It's nothing more than a Google Sheets spreadsheet and a lot of tedious data entry 😄

[@keithprinn720]

as long as you are happy that is what counts, your labour and project management 20K easy all saving. congrats

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Thank you!!

[@allansmith350]

you keep incredible records and the prices were extremely reasonable. We had to buy like 200 concrete caps and I swear they were a fortune

[@MasonDixonAcres]

The square ones were very expensive, I do remember looking around a little before coming across the inexpensive round ones and they did a great job for a fraction of the cost. Some commercial jobs require the square ones

[@allansmith350]

@@MasonDixonAcres ah makes sense. Well I guess I have a bunch of the good stuff left over for "someday"

[@chrisgentry4427]

This is awesome. I do the exact same thing with the spreadsheet. Might as well keep track of everything

[@claytonsmith7154]

Thanks for putting together such a detailed cost breakdown. Good job. Subscribed.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Glad it was helpful!

[@xLong_Johnson]

a budget from someone who went the extra mile to get quality, perfect.

[@jameswright-2024]

one thing I would like to ask you. I have always found it difficult to accept the idea of running the utility lines under the concrete (especially footings and other sensitive areas). Have you considered running the lines in a way that would allow them to be buried deep and insulated and enter the sides of the house in locations where they are needed, but at the same time allow access if something goes wrong? Or is that something that building codes prohibit, do you know?

[@Nttt739]

You can

[@annettehough2792]

Good job on keeping excellent records. One day your grandchildren will look back at this and marvel at your work. Seriously, you are doing fantastic and your beautiful helper ain’t bad either. I mean Elaina, not Georgie, by the way.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

That will be pretty cool that all this could be out in the interwebs well past our lifetimes. We couldn't be doing this project without the help of each other!! I forgot to mention it in the video but Elaina has put in just as much of her time and energy! -Alex

[@annettehough2792]

@@MasonDixonAcres You make a great team. I’m sure Elaina knows that you appreciate her. Just a piece of advice from an old lady…we like to hear it sometimes. 😉

[@xidaye1096]

Very impressive! Congratulations!

[@AndresGuzman956]

Such a good video man! Thank you for putting all this information 🤩

[@jennymcdermitt9995]

Hey just found your channel last night I have been binge watching.

[@Dorchwoods]

That's a good price, foundations are insane these days. I'm going to be doing a crawlspace and I'm hoping it's a bit cheaper but we shall see

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Totally agree! Hoping that you can manage to save some money with it!

[@NotTelling51]

Was it cheaper? I'm thinking of doing the same thing.

[@Dorchwoods]

@ling51 not much cheaper at all, definitely worth doing a full basement. It was only like $3500 cheaper to do a crawlspace, so we decided to just pay the extra $3500 for a full basement and get an extra 1,020 square feet out of it, it was kind of a no brainer for us

[@NotTelling51]

@Dorchwoods my mistake I thought you meant as compared to a slab. Sorry bout that.

[@Dorchwoods]

@@NotTelling51 I mean even then, the cost increase to go from a slab to a full basement definitely seems worth it. Every person I talked to with a slab wishes they had just gone with a full basement from the get go. We took that into consideration and didn't wanna be in that same situation 20 years from now

[@ggdrywallllc166]

thank you for all the info i love your channel so glad i found it i will be building my house soon and getting an rv just like you guys lol

[@SavingwithLeon]

Very good details. Good work

[@nicholashall9]

Love the detail!!

[@robertnelson607]

Thanks for the breakdown it was very helpful for what I want to do

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Glad it was helpful!

[@benmaccarty]

This is nuts. Every contractor I've talked to in my area wants to charge $80K plus for a 2100sqft home. At that rate, I'm losing equity. These contractors are bullshit, trying to get their half a year's salary on one job.

[@DaltonBrake-g5d]

Sounds like you may be out of touch with reality

[@dahay79]

Thank you for sharing! This will definitely help me with my self build new home

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Glad it was helpful!

[@WildWolfStyle]

I want to learn the plumbing, rebar part so I can do my own concrete slab..

[@msparacino4191]

Curious why you didn’t do a Shallow Frost Proof Foundation. I’m in Pa also

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Thought about it, decided to go the more traditional route for my first ever project of this scale. It may also have complicated some utility entrances for my specific layout. There are probably a couple other reasons I am blanking on, but overall it certainly could have been done to save a couple grand on footers and block.

[@mightykrum67]

Thank you! This is super helpful!

[@ramble_on1]

Thanks for sharing with us! I feel $15/sqft is still kind of high when you put all cost in. I thought slab on at the highest should be $10/saft

[@MasonDixonAcres]

A slab on grade for something like a shed would be, but when you do a footer, stem wall, plumbing, insulation, radiant, etc. it adds up

[@ramble_on1]

@@MasonDixonAcres you right! You have much more work than just a regular slab on… thanks for replay. Good luck with your projects

[@paulmcdonough9319]

do you do the work? not sure if you know how this labor is day after day

[@darrellsutton7693]

Dude very impressive! thx

[@PDZ1122]

Hm , I'll have to think about a dirt floor with maybe some trash bags for carpeting as a cheaper alternative.

[@markmdmd]

thank you, gonna save this one.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

You're welcome!

[@andrewshakespeare4978]

Nice work!!

[@schrodingerscat7218]

30-09-2023 I will just say thank you (and hit the like).

[@harshabrahmandam8959]

Can you tell me what a 25 foot excavation for a basement will cost?

[@AtabongFonkeng]

Where did you buy your 8" CMU? That price is 50% below the market rate.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Lowes! HD actually had them listed for like $1.30 a block but it must have been a mistake in their system bc the pro desk wasn’t able to order them. They still printed me off a valid quote however, and i took it right over to Lowe’s where they have a price match policy and they were forced to match it. And got free delivery! I should also note that both of these particular stores get their block from York Building Products who has a block plant directly next to them, so that majorly cuts their shipping costs.

[@Gonzalo39098]

Excellent!

[@jameswright-2024]

thanks for sharing

[@a.barker7792]

The pumper trunk was $4600 on top of thar?

[@Nttt739]

What about rental equipment?

[@david39t80]

Tools are sellable. Now subtract the KZbin revenue ;) Good down to earth honest info thank you

[@randyanderson1983]

You used pex-a for radiant???

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Absolutely. Oxygen barrier

[@DanielKezar]

maybe i missed it but i didnt see the video of the slab pour and what went wrong anywhere on your channel. is there something i am missing here?

[@bayareaartist999]

he probably can't make a video because lawyers are involved.

[@DanielKezar]

@@bayareaartist999 If that's the case, I'm surprised he could mention the price of it.

[@bayareaartist999]

@@DanielKezar well he said that he hasn't paid them yet.

[@brendaninglis]

Yeah I’ve been looking for it too. At least I know I’m not missing it

[@TheMindOfOpex]

Crazy expensive! But if you got that throw away money, better to do it this way

[@KlausVargasREALTOR]

5 yards, $878? Wild it’s like $1500 where I’m at

[@VanillaAttila]

Prices are about double here in BC Canada.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Not surprised at all, the PNW is a very expensive spot

[@jameswright-2024]

60 bucks am hour x 30 hours x 12 weeks = $21,600 + $24,700 = $46,300 for a 1440 square feet slab on grade with 8 x 16 footing and 40" block CMU wall over 12 weeks is $32 a square foot foundation job. My contractor wants $22 a square foot (labor and material) to do a walkout basement on sloped land with 9 feet tall block wall with usable space 2000 square feet foundation to including grading the driveway all the way to the entrance with backfill, my family said: "no too expensive." I am not sure what to think any more

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Don't forget about radiant tubing, insulation, drain plumbing, conduit, waterproofing in your case.. there are more variables besides size

[@jameswright-2024]

@@MasonDixonAcres right

[@xj9988]

How much that would cost if you would outsource everything?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Too many variables to guess, since it would involve excavators, plumbers, and concrete guys in your area

[@YoitzRayRay1]

amazing info.....

[@brianwilliams8162]

What part of the country is this?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

PA!

[@dylanyoung7898]

How much did you make off the job? What did you profit?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

It’s our foundation, so $0

[@kaatto2121]

Where did you find the hired labor ?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Recommended from our friend who is a builder, who of course had a bad experience shortly after us and no longer uses them..

[@billygraham5589]

I wonder why the footers and stem walls go so deep.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

frost line

[@leroystepp1628]

@@MasonDixonAcres I do some of this work from time to time. Never understood a frost line. im about 4 or 5 hours south of pittsburg in WV. For examole frost line is 1 foot. Ok top of footing needs to be 1 ft deep. But the blocks come out of the ground. So frost line for blocks is useless.Then we have the foooting a ft deep.Agaian its a ft deep so it doesnt freeze okay i get the concept but your garage will have a door apron in concrete its on ground. Then sidewalks, lots of porches i build are 2 to 4 ft above ground. I cannot count the pours ive seen people framing on top of the ground a 28x32 say, edges about 1 ft wide 1ft deep then middle around 4 inches. Just laying on the grade with 3 courses of block and 8ft studs. Im not saying anything is right or anything is wrong, im saying i dont understand and im 48 been doin this junk part time since i was abt 13 to 15 years old.

[@MontanaGrizzsky]

Could have done a concrete pier and beam for like $3000

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Can't park cars or heat with it 😬

[@MontanaGrizzsky]

@ true that

[@thedp]

reasle of tools you are done with ? price seemed pretty high all things considered :(

[@kingvenderose857]

For the POUR job that they did...😂

[@randydavidson2825]

What about the skid steer? I know you used it. I don't have one... just sayin'.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

That will be included in a future cost breakdown for all the tools we bought, and that machine has played a role in basically every step of the build so I’m not attributing it only to foundation cost

[@RokuAccnt]

how did this cost more than a crawlspace foundation installed by professionals

[@MasonDixonAcres]

If I can park 4 vehicles on a cheaper crawlspace foundation installed by professionals.. and heat the space with it, sign me up

[@gabec6522]

Nice video but like u said 30 hours a week over 12 weeks. If you average that at 40 dollars an hour you adding about 14,500 extra in labor. People need to not base prices from contractors or this video

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Correct, this is a cost video for a self-build.

[@workstationmark4103]

How much would a professional charge?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Tough to say. Depends on scope of work, whether they're buying materials or not, geographic location, etc.

[@bayareaartist999]

double the price and it would take 3x as long.

[@leroystepp1628]

If u lived in WV cut that price in half lol. 490 block x 2.50 = 1225 but wire and anchors maybe 1300. cant remember size but if its 30x40 a footer here would be a dig good enough for 8 inches thick about 20 to 24 inches wide. be 1800 concrete,maybe 1000 in labor dig n pour, then 4000 in con. in floor andmaybe 2000 prep n pour. I know theres more concrete wire ,rebar,ties then moisture barrier anchors but our big expense is concrete its abt 265 a yard in totl when its actually on the job. Ill do this sometimes for a few extra dollars. most of the time i get underpriced though.

[@a.barker7792]

Your labor from a contractor would of been $ 26k alone at $ 65 per hour for 360 hours.

[@coryhunnicutt123187]

Ain’t no way it’s that intensive wow

[@a.barker7792]

@coryhunnicutt123187 his numbers not mine. I agree with you.

[@henrytwigger2245]

6% sales tax, we get robbed of 20% in UK.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

geez that's craziness!

[@gabec6522]

This is cheap as heck. The foundation and slab would of been 23 -25 thousand in my area. Flat work goes for 9 dollars a sq foot.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Wowee. I will say i was very choosy with every vendor for each line item, searching to find the best price on materials. Doing a good bit of the labor ourselves certainly helped

[@Theskylineconstruction]

Finding the cheapest becomes costly. As we see on the concrete company who refunded $500.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

They weren’t the cheapest.. and they never ended up giving me the 500

[@rangerdoc1029]

It's expensive for my area

[@gabec6522]

@@rangerdoc1029 flat work now 12 a square foot

[@Dimrain13]

Why did you go so over built? This is very far beyond code in the north and likely could have been done just as well for around $8k

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Not sure what particular features you are referring to

[@ChuckNorris-ju5fn]

WAYYY to expensive for basically concrete no one will ever see

[@rangerdoc1029]

Insane how in modern times, a 2-year-old video is completely out of date

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Some of these prices may have gone up but some are actually lower now because this was still in the worst of the post-covid material spike. I was really selective about the suppliers for everything, researching multiple for each item and only purchasing the lowest priced. My price for CMU was pretty lucky, HD had it listed on their site for like $1.65/block but out of stock (likely an error), I took that price to Lowes who had to match it for their block which was like $2.15. A complete package from a supply house would have been much more, found that for lumber as well

[@ericfraser7543]

Your concrete guy should have gave you $500 off alone for the saw cut he did not do.... My guy charged me $300 to saw cut my slab in 2020.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Good point! We are still in contention with him and the concrete company

[@FJB2020]

For place and finish it should cost $1-$1.50 per sqft. He definitely took them for a ride on that one.

[@claytonsmith7154]

@@FJB2020 I'm sure it varies by region but in my area place and finish runs $3 per sqft

[@FJB2020]

@@claytonsmith7154 What area? That is really high..

[@bobsalter225]

@Eric Fraser Because it’s not worth cutting the concrete with heat pipes unless you stop trying to be so cheap and pour an extra inch to help insure the pipes don’t get cut. Those pipes will float when pouring.

[@bobsalter225]

Wow, another homeowner who thinks he’s a plumber, concrete, Hvac guy. And gips the concrete guys out of their money after dealing with this guy for a labor only job. Yay, great savings. Quit your day job,now your a contractor!

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Thanks Bob

[@mustacheschonfeld5037]

Bob's salty lol. 😂😂😂

[@bayareaartist999]

Yeah and people used to build their own homes all the time. Hell you used to be able to order a home from Sears. My grandfather and grandmother built their first home back in the 50's which was this size. A self built homeowner doesn't have to be as good as the best in all trades. They need to understand what needs to happen and hire out accordingly. The issue is that he should have paid a little more for the slab pour. That extra money would have gone towards the concrete guys relationship with the plant to guarantee prompt delivery. I just hope he took core samples of the concrete. He ordered 4000 psi? who knows what came in those trucks...

[@chrisgentry4427]

I know the concrete guys have expenses, but not being there when they do their estimates, I would swear they put their pinky in the corner of their mouth like Dr. Evil in Austin Powers and proclaim the cost. "One billion dollars!"

[@adriengamer-4209]

Hell I build same size years ago with cement bags was ,2k

[@MasonDixonAcres]

That must have been in about 1975 😁 This slab took 28 yards.. so about 1,260 bags..