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Variability of cost/sf when building a home
Posted on 4/25/14 at 11:38 am
Posted on 4/25/14 at 11:38 am
I'm trying to get at how much the cost of a home actually varies based on the living area of the house.
I know that choice of fixtures, amount of paved driveway, size of garage, size of porches, contractor's workload, flooring material choices, etc. go into how much a given house will cost per SF. So you probably can't just assume that reducing the size of the house by 300 SF will reduce the cost of the house by 300 x $/sf.
But does the cost of everything else that makes up a house (foundation, walls, etc) truly vary based on the size of the house?
TL;DR question: If I build a 2000 SF house instead of a 2400 SF house with the exact same finishes and features, will I see a significant savings? (somewhere near 400 x $/SF)
Who's the builder around here? Broke?
I know that choice of fixtures, amount of paved driveway, size of garage, size of porches, contractor's workload, flooring material choices, etc. go into how much a given house will cost per SF. So you probably can't just assume that reducing the size of the house by 300 SF will reduce the cost of the house by 300 x $/sf.
But does the cost of everything else that makes up a house (foundation, walls, etc) truly vary based on the size of the house?
TL;DR question: If I build a 2000 SF house instead of a 2400 SF house with the exact same finishes and features, will I see a significant savings? (somewhere near 400 x $/SF)
Who's the builder around here? Broke?
5
Posted on 4/25/14 at 11:40 am to uway
it certainly isn't linear. building a house 2x as big wont cost 2x as much but Im not sure on the exact change in price xfoot
Posted on 4/25/14 at 11:40 am to uway
What was the cost per SF of the initial house you planned? Take total cost and divide it by the SF. Get total cost per SF. then do the 2000SF house times the same number. That will give you a rough cost on savings. That is about as accurate as you are going to get unless the contractor does it.
This post was edited on 4/25/14 at 11:41 am
Posted on 4/25/14 at 11:41 am to uway
This is like asking someone how much a car is. There are so many variables that go into the price of a house its hard to say what it will cost with out plans, and location.
Posted on 4/25/14 at 11:42 am to uway
It depends a lot on where the square footage is coming from. A bedroom with normal finishes is going to be cheaper than the kitchen or bathrooms with plumbing and millwork.
Posted on 4/25/14 at 11:43 am to uway
Yes. Almost everything changes (some items more than others but they change none the less). The $/sf estimate is really just a ball park and you should have someone do a detailed takeoff to get you a more accurate picture.
Now in this scenario of reducing 400sf, the price difference is not a whole lot. Most of your cost reduction would be in the reduced CY of concrete needed or reduced amount of conditioned space.
Now in this scenario of reducing 400sf, the price difference is not a whole lot. Most of your cost reduction would be in the reduced CY of concrete needed or reduced amount of conditioned space.
Posted on 4/25/14 at 12:06 pm to LikeABaussCat
Let me put this another way.
Imagine a 40' x 60' rectangle drawn on a lot. In that 2400sf rectangle you are going to fit a slab house with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, dining room, etc.
Now picture a 2000sf box that are you going to fit all of that exact same stuff into. Same location, same builder, same complexity, same EVERYTHING but smaller SF per room.
If the 2400sf house was $312,000 ($130/sf), will the 2000sf house be considerably less than $312,000? maybe not $130/sf, but somewhere well south of $150?
I realize I could just give a builder two sets of plans and see what he says. I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the cost of an architect to design exactly what I need.
Imagine a 40' x 60' rectangle drawn on a lot. In that 2400sf rectangle you are going to fit a slab house with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, dining room, etc.
Now picture a 2000sf box that are you going to fit all of that exact same stuff into. Same location, same builder, same complexity, same EVERYTHING but smaller SF per room.
If the 2400sf house was $312,000 ($130/sf), will the 2000sf house be considerably less than $312,000? maybe not $130/sf, but somewhere well south of $150?
I realize I could just give a builder two sets of plans and see what he says. I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the cost of an architect to design exactly what I need.
This post was edited on 4/25/14 at 12:09 pm
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