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Don't Be Seduced
RESIDENTIAL
CONSTRUCTION COSTS
The
prices listed here are for rough estimating purposes only. They include all hard
costs ("sticks & bricks"), landscaping and driveways, construction
interest and closing costs, insurance, utilities, builder overhead and profit
(15%). Prices do NOT include lot costs, architectural fees or real estate fees.
These prices are for above average, custom home construction: nice trim, good
cabinets, nine or ten foot high ceilings, tile baths, fireplaces, masonry
exteriors. Prices are relevant for the suburban
Atlanta
Georgia
metropolitan area. Add about 10% for close-in, high-demand neighborhoods. The
prices listed here are based on new construction; add about 10% for additions to
existing structures. All prices listed are "per square foot" (psf).
This means that the number of square feet of floor space is multiplied by the
psf price shown below to get the total costs of the area in question.
The
most expensive areas of a house are those with the most plumbing, the finest
finishes and the most trim. Smaller
rooms tend to have a higher per-square-foot cost than larger rooms. Kitchens
will usually be the most expensive rooms in the house, followed by bathrooms.
Bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms will usually be less expensive. Of
course, unheated areas like garages and storage rooms will cost much less and
unfinished basement areas are the least costly of all.
·
MAIN LEVEL: kitchen, library, dining room, master suite. This
level includes the most expensive areas of the house, the kitchen and often the
master bath........$120 to $200 psf
·
UPPER LEVEL: children's’ bedrooms and
baths……................................$90 psf
·
FINISHED TERRACE LEVEL: home theatre, office,
bath……..…............$85 psf
·
DRIVE UNDER GARAGE:
.................................................................$45 psf
·
MAIN LEVEL
GARAGE:……............................................................. $60
psf
·
UNFINISHED BASEMENT
.AREA……...............................................$30 to 85 psf
·
ABOVE GROUND SCREENED
PORCH…….......................................$45 psf
·
GRADE LEVEL SCREEN PORCH UNDER WATERPROOF DECK…...$20 psf
·
WATERPROOFED MASONRY
DECK……….......................................$30 psf
·
PRESSURE TREATED WOOD
DECK………......................................…$20 to $40 psf
· POURED
BASEMENT AND FOOTINGS.................................................$35,000 +
For
definition purposes, a terrace level is a basement with at least two sides on
ground level (daylight basement). A drive-under garage is on the terrace level.
METHODS
OF CALCULATING SQUARE FOOTAGE
·
Measurements are taken to the outside of the exterior wall
surface: a brick house will have more overall square footage than a stucco house
with the same stud wall configuration.
·
Interior rooms should be measured to the centerline of any common
walls.
·
When figuring the area of double height foyers and other double
height rooms or rooms with tall vaulted ceilings, increase the square footage by
50%.
REDUCING
RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS
If you are wealthy with an unlimited building
budget, you may skip this section.
It's for the other 99.9% of us.
This
section lists some methods of keeping construction costs low. They often
conflict with what a client would prefer to have, but designing a new home is
all about making choices; many of those choices involve money. It would be a
mistake to let any of the suggestions listed below take on too much importance.
Keep a proper balance between what you want and how much it is going to cost.
One very important point to remember is that there is no "silver
bullet" for reducing the costs of new construction. There is no one
decision that is going to save $10,000 (well, maybe the last one). A house is
made up of thousands of parts involving 20 to 30 different construction trades.
Controlling costs is not a easy task involving the saving of ten dollars here,
forty dollars there and a hundred dollars over there. It requires lots of
discipline.
·
Keep it rectangular. Maintain a simple roof line. The construction
industry is accustomed to 90 degree angles.
·
Keep it smaller and more functional. Bigger is not always better.
Remember that in a few years the kids will all be gone (hopefully), but that
6,000 square foot house will still be there; along with its property taxes and
heating bills.
·
Stay away from highly advertised "decorator" items. You
can buy a perfectly good dishwasher for under $400. It is easy to pay $1,500,
but it won't get your dishes any cleaner. Cancel your subscription to
Architectural Digest.
·
Spend your money on the things you see and use every day.
·
Have everything worked out before you break ground. If you
want to see your budget blown to bits, start making changes after construction
has begun.
·
Don't be a trail-blazer. Forget the idea of a steel framed house
or one made out of light weight concrete. There are a lot of products that are
more suited to making the manufacturer wealthy than to giving you a good house
for the money. The generic stuff that has been around a long time is usually
best.
·
Copy the "merchant" builders. Go to a new subdivision of
moderately priced "spec" houses and see what materials and methods the
builders are using. Take down the brand names of the materials he is using and
copy the names of his subcontractors.
·
The guy who has been building 20 speculative houses a year for ten
years knows how to get value for his dollar.
·
Make a list of "optional" items and how much they costs.
This will be a great help in deciding which gives more value for a limited
budget. Some examples of "optional" items: granite countertops, lawn
sprinkler system, home theatre, upscale plumbing fixtures, brick siding, upscale
cabinetry, upscale kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures.
·
Plan to add later those things that you can't afford today. One of
the most overlooked techniques for controlling construction costs is building in
phases. There are lots of things that you can build into a house that facilities
it’s being added on to later. In addition to physically expanding the house at
a later date, there are things that can be done to allow the addition of
"appliance" type items at a later date. Prewire for a security system,
central vacuum system, home theatre, automatic lawn sprinkler system, intercom
and finish them out when you can better afford it.
·
NEVER, never, never enter into a "cost plus"
contract. When that smooth talking son-of-a-gun starts telling you how much
money you can save you if you will just let him build on a "cost-plus"
basis, call me. I'll get you started on a 12 step program.
PARTING
THOUGHT: DON'T BE SEDUCED. Pay attention to the prices listed at the beginning
of this page. They can be reduced somewhat by taking the actions listed above.
You will run into builders who will say that they can shave 25% or 30% off those
prices. Don't believe them. Put your hand on your wallet.
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"It's
unwise to pay too much, but is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much,
you lose a little - that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose
everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was
bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and
getting a lot - it can't be done!
