I know it's frustrating when you can't get an estimate on this, I mean, how can you go forward without having a ballpark estimate. We got bids from about 5 builders. Their price ranged from X to 2X. The X bidder didn't even look at our plans or spec sheet (carpet in his bid when we wanted hardwoods throughout), and the 2X had just come from a high cost area to our much lower cost area. We were uncomfortable with all of them, so we built it ourselves.

Then we submitted our plans to individual subs and got portions of the house bid out. I'd made a rough budget worksheet based on some of the builder's forms and took a guesstimate at what each piece would be. I was hit or miss, but the total was actually pretty close to what the total bids came back.

We spent X + 11%, so we came in on the lower end of the builder's pricing.

Don't be afraid to submit the plans to local subs for bids to get a ballpark estimate.

Blorgensplor, if you didnt say you were from the Âburgh, your grammer would have given you away. I, too, plan on building outside of Pittsburgh (Westmoreland county) sometime in the future. I can understand your frustration with the difficulty in nailing down even a rough estimate. IÂve been dealing with that frustration myself for a year. How soon I can build depends on how much it is going to cost to get something roughly resembling what I want. IÂve had to change my plans many times over.

It sounds like you havenÂt done much research at this point. The best things I can suggest would be to keep reading this site on a regular basis (I check in almost every day) and check out new builds in the area. Visit production builders like Wayne, K Hovanian and Shumacher to get an idea of the quality of their finishes. Then visit open houses for some more upscale new builds on the market. Even spec homes can have quite a range of prices and finishes. This will give you some idea of what you want and how much it costs and why some homes cost a lot more than others. Go to home shows and kitchen/bath showrooms. Ask around if anyone you know knows anyone who has built. Then get a little nosy and ask about their experience. To be truly educated takes A LOT of work and a lot of time.

I have to disagree with dixiedoodle because a house in this area can easily be $315,000 (plus land) or more if you want granite throughout and decorative woodwork and top of the line fixtures and marble/hardwood floors etc. And a house in Fayette county is going to be way less than one in Cranberry. Land will make a big difference too. I recently toured a very nice new build in the Penn Trafford area for $380,000 which was similar in size to what youÂre talking about.

But I do agree that not putting in a basement and garage and only doing two bedrooms is a really big mistake. YouÂll never be able to sell it. People expect basements here unless itÂs an attached patio home. Even if you donÂt think youÂll ever sell, you never know what might happen so you at least need to follow some of the basic standards of the area.

Just to cap this off with a little of what you wanted to know anyway, based on my experience doing all the things mentioned in the second paragraph, you CAN build a 2500 sq foot house in southwest PA for $75/sq foot, but it will either be very basic and built by a production builder or built largely by you. $115/sq foot is a pretty good ballpark for a nice but not spectacular house. $140/sq foot will get you a more custom higher end look. But the skyÂs the limit. And that doesnÂt include land.

Hope that helps.

Actually arisonn, I live in west virginia right now.

I know you can't get a 100% accurate answer. I'd be happy with an estimate that's +-$50,000. I'm not looking for 100% custom(i see people talking about carpenters building stuff on site for them...that's totally not for me) or anything extreme high end. Just a average/little above average home that is designed how I want. I'm aware of the attic/garage/basement thing. I've never had an basement or garage. Another thing that turned me off is that I read something about the area flooding during a hurricane. Wouldn't that be bad for a basement? The garage right now is a maybe just because of the weather. Two bedrooms is a staying factor. This is a house I want with my partner and we will only have 1 kid at most. The house is big enough already and see no use for for more. Even if it means sacrificing resell value.

blorgenslpor,

our home is very different from what you describe so I'm not sure the details matter so much for what you are trying to do... As I mentioned before the online calculator was way off for us when I ran it yesterday. It used to be different a couple of years ago when we were in the planning stage and for us was more accurate then. If I use the closest quality levels to what we are using in our home it overestimates the final cost by about 50%.

There is another thing you could try if you are willing to spend some money, go to any houseplans site that offeres an estimate for their plans and purchase the estimate for a plan that is as close as possible to what you want to build. We did this and it was the closest on line items and the bottom line was very close.

We had originally planned to completely owner-build but changed our mind along the way. We used a builder for the first half and took over at drywall. We did not want to ask builders for bids when we did not plan on using their services so we did alot of research on our own. When we eventually decided that we would use a builder we got three bids.

When we were initially researching as potential owner-builders planning a budget we spoke to people who had owner built and were willing to share their budgets with us. We went to a home tour where several daylight walkout homes of similar size and finish to the one we are building were showcased, this was really helpful. They were selling lots as well, so just take the lot cost off and we had an *idea* of what the house itself cost. When we were interviewing architects/designers they gave us ballpark cost per square foot for our area. I researched new construction cost per square foot for our area online by going to real estate sites. We are able to pull permit valuations in our county and these are fairly accurate. We knew that certain aspects of our build-the excavation and foundation would likely be more expensive due to our lot conditions so we always factored that in. Basically what I'm saying is that after all of this research we were able to narrow down to a range of what our home would likely cost. We have had some unexpected surprises along the way as it seems everyone does but we have compensated by changing some things and contributing more of our own labor. In the end the house will cost what it *has* to cost plus what you decide. You could think of it this way, there is a 'base' price for any home on any lot, the number below which it cannot be built. Once that is determined you can add to that on every line item with your choices.
Our home is a just under 4000sf daylight walkout on a sloped lot. We already had water, septic and power in when we started.
When we were planning we determined that our home would cost between 100-105 psf and that is just where we are coming in. One architect told us $100 psf plus upgrades plus Gc fee...builders quotes $115-140 psf, so those 'ballparks' given to us a couple of years ago held up. Hope that helps.

Thanks again for more information guys.

One more question though. Some people mention doing parts of the build their self. I've never done anything that dealt with building a house so I have zero experience. Is there anything I could do at all that would save some money?

Being able to do a job and doing it correctly and in sequence and on time for the GC are totally different things. Many people have experience painting. They think they can do the paint on their new builds to save some money. BUt, they don't have professional equipment such as scaffolding and a sprayer, and they hold down a full time job which means they either must take vacation to do this, or do it nights and weekends. That will interfere with the GC's schedule for other trades that follow behind the painter. That slows him down and creates havoc with his scheduling---and not only on your home but any others he is also building. Most builders are VERY leery of working with DIYers as any labor on a build---for VERY good reason. It's like the old sign says, "$10 per hour for labor, $50 per hour if you watch, and $500 if you help."

So, if you plan on DIYing some portion of your build, you need to either acquire the tools and skills to do the job to professional standards including timing---or you GC the build yourself where YOU are the responsible party for scheduling the trades and the quality control for them. With zero experience, I don't see you doing either, even if the build is several years off. However, there IS time for you to gain more knowledge by DIYing projects in your own home. THis will give you better appreciation of the work and $$$$ that needs to go into building a new home and some measure of knowledge to be able to screen your potential builder applicants better when the time comes.

live wire, you made some really great points. Thank you.

My plan though is just small thing. Like have the GC not to do and let me to do it to save a bit. Like the second bedroom. It'll be for a kid that even farther down the road. I don't see a point in painting/furnishing it now so we'll probably leave it empty (use for storage if anything) and paint/furnish it when the time comes. I would defiantly not want to get in the way because like you said, it'll actually cost more :P

oh well..i'm ignorant on the subject. That's why I've came here, to soak up some information

Not painting or furnishing a bedroom is not going to do anything for your bottom line...the painting cost of one room is negligible and furnishings fall into a completely different category! The best thing you can do to save money is RESEARCH! Know upfront what you want (spec everything out) and have it in the contract...no allowances. Become familiar with building...materials, methods, and timelines. Do careful due diligence on your builder before signing a contract as choosing the wrong builder can not only cost your money but (not to be too theatrical!) cause your and your family an enormous toll in stress and sleepless nights.

You are doing the right thing by coming here to do research, but with your extremely limited understanding of the buidling process...it is not enough. You need to spend a ton of time learning the process before you go anywhere near a contract to build a house.

JHow is it negligible? According to the calculator it'll be about $12,000 for painting. With about 13 rooms in the house that's like $800-900 saved for not painting a room. Not trying to start an argument because as many say..the calculator isn't that good for specific things just for a bottom line estimate.

Any advice on where to start dixie? No offense but you're being quiet harsh with your information but giving nothing to back things up.

Things i've gotten so far:

house will cost anywhere from $100-$140 per square feet
don't DIY unless you know exactly what you're doing
estimating is extremely hard
and a few other bits n pieces

I would still like more information on what to look into to understand building a house. And if all possible a estimate for a close value. Or at least information on what makes a house cost more/less. Thanks

I think we need to consider that sometimes people are just putzing around on the board looking for some general info- which is just fine with me and how I initially approached this forum.

Treating people like idiots for not have a thorough academic approach to home building is not kind, to say the least, and may scare people away from asking questions in the future.

'Cmon, where are your manners?! We may be in cyberspace, but seriously...Are we all perfect?

^^^^ Yea really. This house is like 8-10 years from now. I just like planning and learning about things way in advance. No reason to get harsh. I know I'm totally ignorant on the subject. If I was an expert, I wouldn't be here.

still looking for information as stated in my above post

blorg,
Here's what I learned (sort of the hard way) because we didn't hire an architect until late in the game.

1. The more corners- and the more intricate your roof- the more expensive. Price will go up quickly.

2. Basements are not much more expensive than pouring a slab 4 ft down (frost line in your area?)

3. Kitchens and bathrooms are expensive (a collective DUH all around from the peanut gallery, I'm sure :)

4. Anything other than carpet on your floors will add up fast.

5. Stonework of ANY kind is expensive- so keep that in mind with regard to masonry work for fireplaces, exterior trim, etc.

6. Spring for better insulation and windows if you can.

7. Shop the web for house plans that are close to what you want. This will take time and there isn't a shortcut here (unless you hire an architect). Don't plan on just buying a house plan online without SOME sort of modifications. Add 3-5k for architect drafting changes, minimum. Buy the plan- give it to some builders for bids- and see if you are blown out of the water with the numbers or not. Our plan was something like $800- money well spent on the initial bidding. We had to totally reset our expectations for building since construction in our area is $250 sq ft (with modest upgrades).

8. Expect at least a year from plan to completion. I don't care how quick your builder is, it won't happen.

9. Don't let anyone else tell you how many bedrooms you need.

Good luck

That is very good advice from dixiedoodle. Pay close attention to it whether you understand it or not.

As for determining the cost of a house when you have no experience in construction or design, it's a fools errand, no offense intended.

The biggest mistake that inexperienced homeowners make is to stubbornly insist on planning by the seat of their pants with advice from other homeowners and to hold on to every dollar in the design stage in order to reduce the cost of their project. This approach often leads to big surprises later and too little too late savings. The postponement of finishes in one bedroom is a good example. Sure, if you finish houses as a hobby or a profession you can finish up yourself for a modest savings but not if you shop at Home Depot and have no use for the leftover tools and materials not to mention that the value of your house is reduced at a critical time in this poor economy.

If you need cost expertise relevant for your location and project you should bite the bullet and pay an experienced person like a local contractor or lumberyard to do it for you. Get the results in a spreadsheet format that you can modify later and buy a good residential cost book for that purpose.

Thanks mighty. I've never been on this forum to make friends. I initially joined to learn about building a home, and I stuck around to help others with their home building experience. You might not like it, or you might find my advice critical, but whatever...my advice of telling you that you have no business building a house with your current understanding and recommending you to do research and due diligence before signing a contract is REAL advice and will serve you as well as (and IMO, better) than someone telling you that bump outs and lots of corners cost more than a square foundation.

I just re-read my last posting, and I really didn't see anything harsh in it. And FYI- asking for an estimate on a project 8-10 years in advance...what do you really expect to do with that info?

Anyhoo...good luck with your project.

Sorry to complicate this thread further, but I have a tangentially related question. If this is considered OT, someone let me know and I will be happy to start a new thread.

Above, blorg suggested not finishing a bedroom because they will have no need of it at first and was told that he would not save much in the long run as a result. Seemed like the general opinion was that it was a bit naive not to finish it off.

The question I have is this. The three-story home we are planning for has 3.5 BA. Because my DW is currently unemployed (living abroad for my job), we don't expect to be able to finish everything right away. Our ideas are to (1) leave the walk-out basement completely unfinished and (2) to only rough-in the plumbing for the master bath and basement bath.

We imagine these projects will take a pretty good bit of T&M to later finish off, but with only one income and the current credit market, we don't expect to be approved for enough to finish. We have close family who have home-building experience, enjoy teaching, and would help us to do the remaining projects correctly ourselves.

Thoughts on leaving rooms roughed-in and coming back to them later?

This was a good thread for me.

I am in the beginning stages, and of course my first question was, how much is it going to cost to build a house.

Then I heard and read all the "well that depends..." So then I began to research each one of the "well that depends", and researching the things I would like to have, the things I really need, the way our family lives now, the way we might live in the future like when all the kids are gone.

The trouble initially was that I wanted to know how much per square foot it cost to build, so then I would know how much house I coud afford. But with all the variables, I couldnt get an answer because it was like, okay what house do you want to build, and I was like, well I dont' know because I dont know how much it cost to build. It was kind of a vicious circle. It was pretty much I cant tell you what it cost to build until you tell me which house, and I cant tell you which house until you tell me how much it cost to build.

But in doing more research, I learned things previously mentioned in the other posts, like more corners, more cost. More roof lines and pitches, more cost. I had always heard it was cheaper to build up than out. I've always had a basment so I felt like finished space there was a good way to get less expensive space.

It was helpful for me to talk to a few people who had recently built in my area, I talked to a couple of contractors initially, just to get an idea what I might expect costs to be in my area.

So if $100 a square foot was an average, that was at least a place for me to start. Then I could start looking at homes with X amount of square footage.

The as I researched, I discovered the things that I liked and want to explore further, like geothermal, solar panels, radiant flooring, etc. All things that cost more initially, so I either need to include that in costs, or maybe back off the square footage to stay on budget.

So I know it is frustrating that no one can say, okay a 2400 sq ft house will cost X amount. I was hoping for that magic answer myself. But it isnt like going to the real estate office and you ask what is that 2400 sq. foot house on the corner of Main Street. Those costs have already been determined. The same 2400 sq ft house across the street may have a custom kitchen, custom bath, marble floors, solid gold this or that, so it might cost twice as much. It is much the same as buying a new car. What does it cost to buy a car, or what would it cost to have one built for you at the factory? Well, that depends :-)

So I mulled over house plans. At least one contractor told me that one particular style I was leaning towards, might be more like $115. Also a friend just built a 5000 sq ft with many features that I like and upon completion it was about 82.40 sf, so at least that gave me a starting point.

So armed with the information of fewer corners, fewer fancy roof lines, I also really liked the farmhouse style anyways, so that just helped to solidify that design in my mind. So I could at least start looking for that kind of design and within a certain square footage range based on information gathered in my area.

So now I have a style in mind, a plan in mind with a nice layout that woudl work for us now and in the future, I have ideas of some of the things that I want to include and change, so now I have ideas and things I can take to my draft lady, and at least get some initial plans that are suited to us. Then I can take those plans to some general contractors and they can get the plans to some subs, and then I can get some bids back and then I can see how much it is going to cost me.

I dont' really know any other way. I am just winging it but trying to research and learn as much as I can not only from reading this forum, but also from talking to people, contacting various resources directly, asking lots of questions, etc. But even this forum, I was glued to it one whole day reading one post after the other. I mean hour after hour after hour, just reading old posts. I still spend several hours a day, just researching this forum. And from those suggestions, it leads me to other sites to research.

I guess I probably am not offering any real advice either, and I may be going about my build all wrong, but one of the first things I did was study house plans. See what might work and what might not. Then I tried to find out averages of what that style might cost in my area. I also drove around town, picking up real estate flyers of houses that I liked, and figuring up what they cost per square foot. At least that all gave me a starting point. So now I have a style, I have a square footage in mind, I have ideas of things I want to include, so now I have ideas to take to the draft lady and she can modified a plan to fit my family, and then I will have something to take to a builder and get a bid for what it will cost me to build that exact house the exact way that I want it. I am hoping I will have researched enough of my "wants and needs" in advance, that I can fit it all into the budget.

But I continue to pour over books, magazines, brochures, watching hgtv, looking over a ton of websites, reading this forum, researching even more based on those findings, and I am hoping that it will all come together :-)

blor.....it's good you're learning about building at this stage.....but ya gonna be asking these exact same questions 9 yrs from now. EVERYTHING will change in that time. Houses will probably be anywhere from %50-150 higher then.....hopefully......If ya gonna build on a slab, you could leave off carpet...tile....etc on the floors and just use rugs in areas to save a bunch of money on the build(have installed later or you DIY for tile...etc) Maybe you need to talk to a local building inspector to find out what you 'don't' have to have finished to get the CO....then go from there.

8-10 years away? While I applaud you on early planning, it is very difficult to plan a house, let alone anything in your life that far in advance. My life has changed in less than 5 years more than I could ever imagine. For example: Had 2 additional babies than planned 13 mo apart,(only planned 2 or 3 but have been blessed with 4), spouse had severe life changing accident,(lived on almost no income for 6 months and the rest of the year a pro rated salary and spent life savings on bills), spouse had major career and salary change due to accident, other loved ones passed away, I became ill...need I go on? My biggest suggestion for the time being is to save, save and save. You may or may not be using that money for your build.

Next,read and keep doing your research. Go to the library, talk to builders, go to open houses in the area that you would like to build in, esp. new construction, etc. Building products, building practices, finishes, laws, taxes, etc. change a lot in that amount of time. Keep up to date on those things.

If you are serious about having children living in this home, I would suggest rethinking your plan. Children change everything! You will need the storage space...trust me on this one! Garage...wouldn't build a home without one. If you live on a larger lot, you'll need lawn equipment storage anyway.

You mentioned flooding. Depends upon where you live. Can't remember if you mentioned if you own the property yet? Near rivers, creeks?

Will your homesite offer public sewage and water? Or will you need to dig a well and have a septic system? All the latter need to be planned, tested, approved and installed. Could be expensive. Not to mention the other utilities and excavation.

There is a lot to think about...but you should do fine on your time line LOL! Good luck!

As I mentioned, one of the best ways to gain knowledge is to DIY a couple of home improvement projects on your current home. Renovate a bathroom. Do a master addition or family room. Build a garage. Do something that will positively affect your equity in the home that you will eventually sell, and DIY it. Learn from your mistakes. If you can. IF you can't gain enough knowledge to plan and carry out (successfully) a much smaller renovation, then you really aren't a suitable candidate for building and shouldn't consider it. Renovations are training wheels. Building a home is a BIG BIG project compared to a bathroom, so even if you are successful at doing minor jobs, you may not be able to handle all of the elements that go into a complete build. But, that's what hiring a builder is for. But, unless you do gain some knowledge and experience, you're gonna throw a pile of cash at some one and not be able to judge if you are getting a quality job or not. And, insulting those who have been there and know how far the journey is that you have (barely) begun will not end up helping you at all in the long run. It will only embarrass you later as you realize how much dixie is right about your cluelessness. Cluelessness isn't such a bad thing. as it can be erased with enough education. Aggressive cluelessness certainly IS, and doesn't bode well for any eventual project that you might tackle.

As was mentioned before, location is everything. By example, I live in N.E, Ohio. Last December there was a human interest story on our local TV news channel where they showed a brand new 130sq.ft 3br home on a 3acre lot in Canfield, Ohio. (For the record, Canfield is an upscale, quiet little bedroom community where realestate prices are notoriously high for this area.

The contractor works for a large national company and he stated that his company builds the exact same house, to the exact same specifications all over the country. He then stated that this house built on a 1acre lot near S.F, Calif. sells for $790,000+,

Researching insulation, roofing options, HVAC options, structural options (framing vs SIPS vs ICF), etc, would be useful at this stage. Researching the bottom line without wanting to bother with the rest is a waste of time - ridiculously so this far in advance.

I'm intrigued by the thought of a 3 bedroom 130 sq. ft. house. By my calculation, three single beds themselves would take up nearly half the space.

gopintos, without giving any advice..I got a lot of advice out of that. Thank you.

And to all those jumping on my case about dixie. I don't see the big deal. Instead of giving help, she was rude. Being blunt and aggressive with information that isn't asked for.

All I asked for was a rough estimate and some help on other things. I don't know if you guys just think you are better than everyone else or what. But you aren't know it all's. And neither am I. Like I said before, if I was a pro at this..I wouldn't be here. And I'm sure dixie wasn't a pro either.

I would just like some information to research on. I know 8 years is a long way(8-10 is the max..it'll actually be 6-8 but still) but I've always done a lot of things in advance. I know prices change a lot...especially in an economy like this. But the majority of the big picture won't change. Kitchens will always cost more, bathrooms will too...etc. Just looking for tips.

Question: People keep mentioning house plans. How would one go about making their own plan and submitting it?

Blorg,

I wish it were that simple! There are several different routes you can take when looking for a house plan and each comes with its own set of repercussions. One, you can hire an architect- mightyanvil may be able to give you some advice as to how to hire a reputable one. Two, you can try to sketch out a plan and have someone draft it. This might be kind of tricky, though, if you've never built a house before and it's a big gamble for the same reasons. Three, you can find a house plan online. There are risks there, too, since you have to really know what you want and have an eye for visualizing the finished product. We went this route; however, we knew exactly what we wanted and were willing to invest several weeks finding the right plan. Even though we found a plan online we still hired an architect (as we began bidding) to make some design and drafting changes.

Any estimate your receive now for a build 8 to 10 years down the road is totally meaningless. In that amount of time the building industry, materials, region, market and your life could be unrecognizable from today.

The thing you can do right now, is just pay close attention to the houses being built and sold in the region you want to build. Go to Realtor.com and any other regional real estate agents websites and watch what is being sold. When the time comes to build, you will know exactly how much houses cost in your region.

This is only what I have done. Right or wrong, this is how I have approached it.

I started by looking online.

Many of the online sites, give you the "advanced search" option. You can really narrow down your searches that way. I had a list of things we liked and wanted, so those were the things I was looking for in a plan.

I looked at both the exterior and interior layouts.

I had been pretty much only looking at one style, but then I opened up my search to include other plans as well, just to see what else was out there.

Two styles really jumped out at me and really appealed to me. Two totally different styles, but basically the same layout on the inside. Probably due in part to the other "search options" I was looking for.

I also downloaded a couple of free software programs. Contemplated buying one, at times I would sit down armed with paper, pencil and erasers, but when I would start to try to draw something, it was starting to look like the plans I had already seen.

I had one contractor tell me, that of the two styles, one would probably cost about $15 more per square foot. Since I want to go with other things that cost more upfront, I opted away from that style, so that really helped me to start honing in on "the one".

I saved all the plans I liked in My Favorites in a House Folder. Within that house design folder, I have several other folders also. Trying to put similar features together.

Then I went through each folder, and started the process of elimination. I picked each plan apart, with the list of must-haves. If it didnt have it, or I didn't think I could add it, I just deleted it.

Then the ones that were left in the running, I printed out each and every one, and picked them apart even more.

My layout on the inside was basically coming up the same, so I had to decide what features I wanted on the outside.

Through some of my research, I discovered that several of the lumberyards offer free design, well of sorts. I can take my ideas to them, they draw it up for X amount per square foot. Then if we get any supplies from them, for every $1000 we spend, we get $20 back towards the cost of the design.

Another builder would just have their architects draw them up.

Since you have some time, just surf, surf, and surf some more. There are lots of house plans online. Then you will probably find that you are leaning towards one style over another, and then you might find sites that specialize in that style over other styles. Then you can really think about what you like, visual how you would use the space, refine your searches, refine them some more.

At times, I even opened up my searches, rather than to refine them. Once I thought I knew what I liked, I wanted to see what else was out there that I might be missing. I even opened it up to bigger square footage than I wanted, just so I could see other floor plans. Many of those floor plans also had pictures.... real life photos, that helped me to visualize. I was able to see things that I liked and would like to include.

I also researched through this forum, and in doing so, it helped me to make my decision on a house that I would have otherwise missed. It was basically the same one I wanted, only smaller square footage, and I really wanted to narrow down the square footage so that plan fit the bill. So now, I just need to take that plan and have it modified with the changes that will work the best for my family.

I also discovered through all this, that I kept coming back to the same plan (exterior & interior) and it was the same plan that I liked very early on. But by looking as much as I did, I feel like I got a good idea what was out there, and this style just kept tugging on me regardless of whatever else might have caught my eye. But by looking at all the other plans, it helped me to determine what I liked and what I didnt like, what would work for us and what wouldnt work.

It still remains to be seen if this was the right thing to do, as now I am trying to get my husband's final input before I take my plans to the draftslady. But at least I know what I like and what I want, and he wasn't so overwhelmed with this entire process. Throughout the process, I would send him plans and say do you like this or this, and try to include him in some of the narrowing down process so not to overwhelm him. I was already factoring in my searches the things that he stated he would like to have, so if a plan didnt have those features, it was voted off the island.

I am winging it, but that is what I have done so far. I also emailed some of my friends, and asked them what features they like about their house or don't like, and what they would like to have in a home to make it more functional. Got some great ideas that way, since we kind of all have the same hobbies, same lifestyle, same likes and dislikes, etc.

But for me, I started with online house plans and did the advance search and put in some features that we wanted, and expanded it or refined it from there.

gopintos, again..thank you for all the information and advice. It's much appreciated. I wouldn't mind picking through plans but I still have my issues. I've been looking at and messing around with house design software (the stuff that cost like $100) and I like the thought of designing from scratch my own house. Plus how me and the significant other have planned the house is sort of unique. We each are into totally different things so we each want a "hobby" room where we can do our own thing in without getting in the way of everything else. We both have never been huge family people so a dining room is useless. And more than 2 bedrooms is useless. We're just aiming for something that we like 100%.

In this situation would be best to go from scratch? I know I can't design the whole thing myself. Just get a rough outline of the things I want, then take it to a professional.

There is a lot to learn and you have a lot of time to do it. Maybe try a class at your local community college.
As for the attitude from other posters, that is mild compared to what you will find out there in the construction industry. I had a great builder, but many of his subs looked down on me because I was female and couldn't possibly understand... Never mind that we planned for years and were pretty well informed. DH is in HVAC and is no stranger to construction. I picked many brains here, all worthwhile comments - even the ones that seemed gruff.

At the risk of somehow offending you again, I do have a comment/question...why are you limiting your search or planning to 2 bedrooms? I don't know what sort of hobbies that you or your partner are into, but I can't imagine many that would be performed in a house that couldn't happen in bedrooms 3 and 4 of a 4 bedroom house. You are correct that there are not many plans available for the size house you are planning with just 2 bedrooms, but there are tons with 4. At this stage of the game, why would you limit your search? The only thing that makes a bedroom a "bedroom" is that it has a closet...that is easily changed on plans.

I don't understand that if you want 2 hobby rooms.....why not make it a 4 bedroom house? At least this way if anytime down the road you need to sell.....it will actually sell.....2 bedroom house would be on the market forever.

Dixie, the only reason you offended me before is that you bluntly got out an opinion with no advice in it(well, I understand you took it as advice, and it kinda is..but not what is needed). The "hobby" rooms are small. As in 6x15ish or along those lines. In other words, smalled than bedrooms so it would just be added on cost of a few hundred more square feet to find a house with 4 bedrooms.

I know the risk of it not selling. But I still don't see the point in designing a house for the person that is buying it after me. I thought the whole point in building a house was so it could be your dream home, not your potential 40 year down the road buyer.

I built my house hoping that it will still be standing 100 years from now....

So, design a couple of small 10 x 12 bedrooms as your respective hobby rooms. It will actually be a lot more costly to do what you're suggesting in putting in such small awkward spaces. Plan for a "regular" 4 bedroom house---and hope that you don't have triplets right off the bat.

Here's a start. Not sure of your style or taste, but it's a good base to add and subtract and rearrange. Have fun tweaking!

you don't need a computer program at this stage as you will still be learning terminology.
use some graph paper and a template for baths, kitchens
bedrooms etc. you can buy templates with these and lay your rooms out to suit yourself.
heck..you've got ten years to play with it!
educate yourself on how to build for your climate.
www.buildingscience.com is a great resource.
learn about insulation r-values, window SHGC's,
and hvac equipment efficiencies..to get a basic
understanding of where these industries are today..
then update your info as your time to build gets closer.
who knows what they will come up with in 10 years.
don't be offended by anyone offering their pov or advise
when you post on a www fourm - there is no politeness guide.
most are not looking to offend, just offering their pov
or advise. take what you need...leave the rest.
btw...one of my favorite all time homes was just a drawing on the back of an envelope..but the builder was an exceptional carpenter.
oh and fwiw..I'd make those hobby rooms a bit bigger.
hobbies seem to grow as years pass.
best of luck.

Good info above :] thank you.

As said above it won't be 10 years, I was just giving a wide range. It'll actually be about 6-8 (still far away though).Good advice though. I do need to look more info roofing options, windows, insulation, etc. That's a great idea. I'll look into that.

Due to adding the garage the layout for upstairs has changed. One of the "hobby" rooms will now be a lot larger (the size of a bedroom basically). And I'm not worried about the hobbies growing. It's just things like painting and computers. Not collecting things.

live wire oak has it right. design a four bedroom with a couple of 10x12 rooms. the money you think you'll save by going with smaller rooms is meaningless. we learned long ago that however big you build, it still fills up pretty quickly.

Well, as it is right now it's a 3 bedroom house basically. But as I said before...I see no point in designing *my* dream house for the person that is coming after me. I'm not aiming to save money by making smaller rooms, I'm just don't have a use for larger rooms.

I guess you could think of it as insurance. Yes it's your dream home, but just in case something happens and you have to sell your dream home, design it so it won't become your nightmare that nobody will buy.

That's a good way to look at it. Thank you to everyone, this forum has been really helpful so far. Learned a lot just by browsing and hope to learn a lot more.

Now back to information gathering. More estimating type stuff. Lets say you have about a $2,500 house payment. This is house, insurance, and taxes. Going with that payment, would would you say the monthly income would have to be to support that and other monthly spendings?

I was trying to answer some of these questions myself and saw the eplans cost estimator service. Does anyone have any experience with it and how accurate it may be?

Hi blorgenspor, we may be in similar situations. We're also trying to figure out the costs involved with building a house rather than buying, so your thread has been helpful.

Regarding your information gathering post, about the $2,500. I believe the qualification rule, before mortgage companies threw caution to the wind, was that your mortgage should be no more than 30% of your income. So, $2,500 is 30% of ~$8350. That would need to be your combined gross monthly income to quality. I'm not sure if the qualification calculations include tax & insurance or not.

You might want to check out the "how much house can I afford" calculators on sites like http://www.bankrate.com

30%...okay that's helpful. But it's a new one :P I've tried looking at this stuff too and most people say around 40%. Actually I've probably seen 43% more than any other number.

I was just doing some math on what I think payments will be and how much we can afford.

This is what I'm thinking:

$2500 house payment/taxes/insurance over estimated :\
$1500 car/gas/insurance/taxes this is really over estimated
$500 food
$1000 bills electric/gas/water/tv/phone/etc over estimated

that comes up to $5500. What am I missing? By looking at that a $6000 monthly income after taxes seems like it could support that. I over estimated everything too just to make sure. I really have to be missing something.

Look at the items you spend money on now. Clothing? Entertainment? Medical? Personal expenses? Then, remember maintenance on the house, such as lawn care, appliance repairs.

8-10 years away? While I applaud you on early planning, it is very difficult to plan a house, let alone anything in your life that far in advance.

Agreed! Partners change, and suddenly there is a passel of stepkids, an infirm relative...

But dreaming is fun.

1) Instead of 2,400 square feet, what do you really want or need in a house?

2) Pick the site first, then the house plan. For reading I recommend Sarah Susanka's "Not so Big House" series. An easy introduction is her essay collection Not So Big Solutions For Your Home. You might also enjoy Alexander et. als' Pattern Language to help put your ideas into words at this stage.

-Lena

Congratulations on reading half the thread then posting.

Anyway, what's with everyone bashing the idea of planning ahead? Did all of you just go "I want to build a house" then start building it the next hour? I think not. I know even a few years is a long way off...but it's just a bit of planning. Do a bit of research here n there. Talk about want we want in this room...that room. That kind of stuff and slowly it'll form into what we want. I do appreciate that you are commenting on the time line, but I find it a bit confusing. "Don't plan so far ahead"...but I'm sure if I was going to build 3 months from now I would be getting "You should of started thinking about this years ago!".

Blorg,

I've tried to help you out here- I thought I had your back a few times when some of the comments were a little "challenging" but I think you've just lost me with your last post.

Everyone is just trying to offer you the feedback you asked for- maybe it's not being fed to you the way you'd like but I think you've gotten an excellent amount of free, educated advice.

Those building seem to agree that house needs change over time. For the sake of example the requirements of an 18 year old are very different from the needs of someone who's 28 or 36 or 48 or even 54. In essence, the group is trying to help by suggesting that you will very likely want different things in 8-10 years.

Good luck & hope it all comes together!

Aggressive ignorance is never an attractive trait. Especially when free education is offered. That is only one of the things that you'll find changes as you age. Hopefully, that is.

AMEN, live wire oak.

when i compare the way we lived ten years ago to today i'm dumbfounded. our needs, as well as our wants are completely different. i'm sorry, this just seems like such a silly thread. trying to come up with how much something will cost to build in ten ...or even eight years from now is unrealistic at best.
and no, we didn't just decide to build a home and then start construction three months later. from the time we decided to build to get to construction was about 2.5 years. much of that time was spent deciding what we wanted, how we wanted the house to function and how it could be designed to grow and accommodate our family as our children grew. i can tell you now that ten years ago i NEVER would have imagined myself with two children. yet, now we are a family of four.

good luck with all your planning. just keep in mind the life you lead now and the one you will be living down the road will most likely bare no resemblance to what you have so diligently decided upon.

i would charge 85/ft for basic basic....

95/ft for better

105 ft even better...

we can do it because we are old school.. we know how to cut costs... we do our own stuff instead of subbing out alot..