Started By
Message

re: Price Sq/ft to build new home

Posted on 4/5/16 at 3:50 pm to
Posted by AUjim
America
Member since Dec 2012
3766 posts
Posted on 4/5/16 at 3:50 pm to
Our area is 155-160 heated sq/ft (lot included) for the ultra high end. 125 sq/ft (lot included) gets you granite, real hardwood, real wood cabinets in a nice neighborhood.
Posted by JonTheTigerFan
Central, LA
Member since Nov 2003
7053 posts
Posted on 4/5/16 at 9:52 pm to
I'm about a month and a half away from finishing my house. I've been subbing it all out myself. It's been a pain in the arse at times but I've really enjoyed it for the most part. I got references from several people I work with for subs and some I just found on my own. I am on pace to come in a little over $90 per square foot living. At that price, I will be at less than 80% LTV according to the pre construction appraisal.

We have done some of the work ourselves. I bought a paint sprayer and have been doing the painting. I used a belt sander to prep the cypress and we stained it ourselves (6-12x12 posts,1-10x10 post, exposed beams in the kitchen and foyer). I also plan to do most of the flooring myself.

The exterior is brick except for some stucco on the front, chimney and bonus room dormer. 2 car garage with attached storage. Gas range, furnaces, 2 gas tankless water heaters. 30 year architectural shingles. Sprayed in cellulose insulation. Wood burning fireplace bricked to ceiling with a hearth, brick arch in kitchen and a brick interior wall in dining room (all old brick). 3 cm granite in kitchen and 2 cm elsewhere. Bonus room over garage with stairs from the dining room. Built-ins around fireplace and mud room coming from the garage.

Just a bit of advice if you do it yourself: all the subs will lie to you and won't be there when they say they will. You can control how much money you pay them but sometimes can't do anything about how long it takes them. I poured my slab January 30 and right now they're finishing the exterior brick and floating Sheetrock inside. They've done a LOT of work in that amount of time but at times it seems like they should be moving faster. I've learned to step back and not let it stress me too much.
Posted by MOJO mod
Haughton
Member since Nov 2010
370 posts
Posted on 4/5/16 at 10:58 pm to
Finished my house in November, came in just a shade above $105 sq/ft. Concrete was largest driver of expense but I had to pour over 225 yards of concrete (big driveway). Subbed pretty much everything out, did all the lot cleaning and smaller tedious jobs myself, but I enjoyed the process. Poured slab on June 30 and finished November 18, with a 10 day work stoppage because we went to Disneyworld. Custom home and pretty good stuff, no builder grade....again the only cost I couldn't control well enough was concrete. That part was probably one disadvantage of doing myself....pretty much paid regular price which to me was outrageous. Last home I'll ever move into....good luck
Posted by lsurulzes
Member since Dec 2005
12 posts
Posted on 4/6/16 at 2:52 pm to
How reasonable would it be for someone to self contract with a small amount of knowledge on building, but a desire to be in control of the whole process? I have been going back and forth in my mind, but keep coming back to subbing everything out myself.
Posted by ItNeverRains
Offugeaux
Member since Oct 2007
28166 posts
Posted on 4/6/16 at 3:06 pm to
quote:

How reasonable would it be for someone to self contract with a small amount of knowledge on building, but a desire to be in control of the whole process? I have been going back and forth in my mind, but keep coming back to subbing everything out myself.


It can be done. If timetable allows certainly go through exercise. You may very well be surprised at how little you save depending on the volume the builder you use does. If you are in a strong market, you may have a hard time locking down reliable subs
Posted by jmh5724
Member since Jan 2012
2657 posts
Posted on 4/6/16 at 3:20 pm to
Most people I know do it without any building knowledge. I was planning on doing it myself but since my wife went back to work I just didnt have the time between that and the kids. The biggest obstacle is time.
Posted by JonTheTigerFan
Central, LA
Member since Nov 2003
7053 posts
Posted on 4/6/16 at 4:30 pm to
You don't need any extensive knowledge. Just do your research and make sure you know the sequence of events so you can keep things moving. Also compare apples to apples with your subs. My framer included putting up the facia, soffit boards, exterior molding, posts, etc. My friend is building right now and his framer didn't include that in the price but he didn't realize it until the end. Same goes for material. Also my bank has been very easy to work with. They don't hold me to a draw schedule so I can call or email when I need a draw. Good luck.
Posted by FelicianaTigerfan
Comanche County
Member since Aug 2009
26059 posts
Posted on 4/14/16 at 6:48 pm to
In curious about this. Have the land already.

West Feliciana parish. Would like to do 1500-1700 living and probably another 1000 in porches. Stained floors, carped in bedrooms and open floor plan. 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath. Gable roof and either brick or hardy plank siding.

Anybody have an idea of what Id be looking at as far as an estimate on price per sq ft
Posted by Croacka
Denham Springs
Member since Dec 2008
61451 posts
Posted on 4/14/16 at 7:23 pm to
With a builder, probably close to 110-115/sf living


It would be lower but that's a lot of area in porches

Posted by FelicianaTigerfan
Comanche County
Member since Aug 2009
26059 posts
Posted on 4/14/16 at 7:56 pm to
quote:

would be lower but that's a lot of area in porches


Would be smaller but we spend more time outside than in so good porches are a priority
Posted by buford4LSU
Thibodaux, LA
Member since Jan 2008
2599 posts
Posted on 4/14/16 at 9:33 pm to
Building custom home in Thibodaux
Turn key job - 160-170 per living and 104-110 total. Lot not included. Granite, custom cabinets, brick and engineered hardwood, no fancy clay tiles,
Posted by donRANDOMnumbers
Hub City
Member since Nov 2006
17354 posts
Posted on 4/14/16 at 10:10 pm to
Looking at a neighborhood in Lafayette now wher it will be around $190. Kill me now
Posted by lsufan1971
Zachary
Member since Nov 2003
23686 posts
Posted on 4/15/16 at 8:34 am to
quote:

Northshore/Covington area rural lot. Looking to evaluate build vs buy. Typical Acadian home.



It is going to be cheaper to buy rather than build in most cases. I wanted to build last year but ended up buying a house that was a year old. I saved myself about 30K buying and got a bigger house on a bigger lot on a golf course. I was quoted for a 2500 sq ft 135 sq ft and 153 Sqft not including my lot. I bought a 3000 sq ft (living) for $133 sq ft.
This post was edited on 4/15/16 at 8:35 am
Posted by HamCandy
Team Meat
Member since Dec 2008
923 posts
Posted on 4/15/16 at 10:04 am to
I'm building now. On the Northshore. With a builder.

If you want a nice Acadian style house that you probably have seen on Houzz and you want a good reputable contractor who can do it high quality and in a reasonable about of time, $125.00 per SF UNDERBEAM is a bit on the high side, but you might have expensive taste.

When I started looking into this a year ago I came to the hard realization that porches and covered ext spaces cost a lot. So you can have a 2100 SF living house thats total 2900 SF underbeam and it cost a LOT less than a house thats 2100 SF living and 3400 SF underbeam.

So like everyone has said above there are SO many variables to consider. Here are my main three that change the price ALOT.

1) Living SF / Underbeam SF
2) Do you want a contractor to handle everything.
3) Location Location Location.

FYI: I'm at $108.00 per SF Underbeam not including the lot and $128 per SF Underbeam with the lot. In Cov on 1/2 acre.
Posted by JonTheTigerFan
Central, LA
Member since Nov 2003
7053 posts
Posted on 4/15/16 at 10:10 am to
quote:

Anybody have an idea of what Id be looking at as far as an estimate on price per sq ft


Here are some of my prices on the house I'm building:

Form- 50 cents per SF surface area
Dig footings- 50 cents per SF surface area
Finish concrete- 50 cents per SF surface area and concrete was $100 per yard from Parish Ready Mix.
Frame- $3.75 per SF total area
Roofer-$37 per square of shingles. (I had about 70 squares)
Sheetrock guy-40 cents per square foot of sheetrock (they supplied everything needed to float and texture)
Cabinets-Mine were just under $11,000 but I have a ton of cabinets in this house.
Brick-Material was around $10,000 for 17,000 brick outside and 2500 old brick for inside. Bricklayers charged $350 per thousand outside, inside varies by job.
AC was around $11,000 for a 4 ton unit and 1.5 ton unit.




Posted by lsufan1971
Zachary
Member since Nov 2003
23686 posts
Posted on 4/15/16 at 4:04 pm to
quote:

Gable roof


A hip roof will be cheaper at least when I was pricing it and insurance is a little less.
This post was edited on 4/15/16 at 4:05 pm
Posted by Franktowntiger7
Ponchatoula
Member since Dec 2010
2726 posts
Posted on 4/15/16 at 6:16 pm to
I could do it for $100 per sqft all day.
Posted by iknowmorethanyou
Paydirt
Member since Jul 2007
6614 posts
Posted on 4/16/16 at 12:37 pm to
quote:

neighborhood $190/ft


There are other neighborhoods in LFT.
Posted by Rev1897
NOLA
Member since Dec 2008
782 posts
Posted on 4/16/16 at 3:58 pm to
We are finishing our house in River Ridge outside of New Orleans. We did a lot of things high end--marble in every bath, 27,000 bricks on exterior, more than 200 cubic yards of concrete (big lot). Also spent about $20,000 on the fence and chain wall.

We subbed ourselves and I would not recommend it. Luckily we met good Subs and I had a lot of help from contaractor friends and clients. Just pay a general, a good one, and be happy with the product you are paying for.

Right now we're at $147/sq ft with the lot and we're almost done. $104/sq ft without the lot. Moving in next week.
Posted by lsurulzes88
Member since Jan 2007
405 posts
Posted on 7/5/17 at 10:45 am to
Jon,

I am in the process of getting bids for my house and would like to get some names from you, if you don't mind. Let me know and I can post an email.
first pageprev pagePage 2 of 3Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookXInstagram