in a few years

I'd echo what cpartist says, but also point out that in a very short amount of time, material prices can change quite dramatically. I remember one year when OSB prices tripled in the space of a couple weeks, due to natural events. Other prices, such as metals (think roofing and piping), are quite low today, but can be very volatile.

Custom, to your plans and specifications, will always be more than to a cookie cutter builder's plans. A builder can preorder a whole rail car of tile for his subdivision, or a whole container of prefab granite slabs from china. You will not get one single break in the economy of scale.

If you have a few years until you build, then you have time to bone up on construction. Realistically bone up. As in buy the tractor that you need to take care of the property from now until you build, and build a shed to house it. By the time a few years of traveling down to the property every weekend to bushhog and screw together lumber and nail shingles, you will have an idea if you can really deal with that as a lifestyle. That lifestyle will alt a couple of years in order to build DIY.

Oh, and avoid hiring friends and family. You risk ruining that relationship entirely. A weekend with beer and pizza in order to raise the trusses up is one thing, but hiring your BIL to wire the house is a big pickle keg you'd do best to avoid.

This isn't an answer to your question, but I am curious why you would choose a 1960s plan from the NDSU website. I hope it will be reviewed against current standards/materials.

I went back to the source web page and enjoyed looking at the wealth of historic building and facility plans there (most of which are not homes).

Like omelet I'd encourage you to research more current plans, particularly with regard to energy efficiency. It sounds like you may be the sort of folks for whom low long term operating costs are important. In that case modern framing methods, sealing, and insulation should be in the plan from the get-go. A lot has been learned over the last 60 years, it's worth taking advantage of.

Cost varies hugely with region and with material costs that can fluctuate a lot. I've been a resolute DIY remodeler for decades now and am convinced it is a great way to have fun and save a lot of money. (OK, I have a weird idea of what's fun.) You can DIY anything, it doesn't always make sense to DIY everything. Some things are just too physically difficult to be worthwhile (hanging blueboard or drywall), require equipment that's too expensive (asphalt paving), or have an untenable learning curve (for me, plastering)

Investing time and energy in learning about building pays back whether you do it yourself or just deal on a more even footing with contractors. Watch This Old House, read all the back issues of Fine Homebuilding, take out all the books in the library about home building. It will all help you to understand your options, their relative difficulty (and therefore cost), and will help you to build a home you will love.

+1 on the inadvisability of hiring close friends and family to work on your project. You really want to be able to deal with your contractors on a business basis. To do otherwise is a recipe for disaster and disappointment.

Nothing really wrong with those old plans, they just don't reflect how people live today. Typically rectangular, they are designed for an easy build and for a country location. Notice the convenient bath by the back door where dad can clean up after working on the farm all day.

If you are planning an owner build, you should be able to put together a materials list and price much of it at your local lumberyard. Prices do change as said above, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, and can go up or down.

Consider software that will allow you to model the house and will generate a materials list. I can recommend one of the Home Designer titles.

You can take your plans to Home Depot or a lumberyard and they'll do a quote. They won't tell you what all the wood is for (e.g., this group of 2x4s is for exterior walls, this plywood is for that, etc), but you'll have a list.

What Ichabod said- go to your local lumberyard and give them your set of plans. We knew who the home builders in our area used and received a quote. They also can be a wealth of information for any subcontractors you might need. This website also helped me understand the order of things, and this website has a wealth of information if you are looking at building an energy efficient home.

"Nothing really wrong with those old plans"

Not sure I fully agree-- in terms of overall forms, mass, and even floorplans, sure. (I'd love to live in a real 1890 Victorian or 1760 center hall colonial myself), but the beauty lies in the details. I'd want plans that use 2x6 walls plus exterior rigid foam insulation, specify sealing of all the penetrations, show advanced framing methods for corners, anticipate modern HVAC inside the conditioned envelope of the house, anticipate modern plumbing and electrical needs, and a myriad of other details. With most builders, if you don't show it in the plan your chances of getting it are close to zero. Even if it is in the drawing it's often a contest to get it built that way.

Also..for more up to date plans, this passive solar book put out by the North Carolina Energy Office has about a dozen home plans in it. Can't hurt to look.

My mother-in-law just mentioned that they have a family friend who builds houses so we might call him in as a resource. The reason we like the vintage plan is because we don't live like people do today. My main criteria was a BIG kitchen that was about the size of a small commercial kitchen and a bathroom with a shower near the backdoor so we could clean up after working on the farm. The farm is about fifty acres and we plan on starting a small market garden. Depending upon the local laws, we might also be doing some small scale commercial food production in the kitchen to sell at the local farmer's market. I want to set up some beehives so we also need space to process the honey. Most modern house plans don't have a kitchen big enough to handle such an endeavor.

Your farm lifestyle sounds great. I wouldn't give up on the idea that you can find a modern plan that can meet your needs. I did a very quick search and want to share one option with you. It's a ranch plan, around 1800 heated square feet, 3 bedroom two bath, large porches, and one entrance from the back porch that leads directly into a full bath. It has an open kitchen that could be made as large and as hard-working as you might want it to be (the adjacent study could be made part of your kitchen process as well). It might not be perfect but just gives you an idea of the options available.

As far as cost, hopefully the local connections you have are able to help provide you appropriate pricing for your area.

Rancho Vista Plan

Megan, We live on DH's family farm in NE Iowa (500 acres which is super small potatoes around here). Anyway we live in an old farmhouse, but the kitchen was added in the '60s. Its just an average size kitchen with one not great gas range and no dishwasher. we litterally have two postage stamps for counterspace.

We have a huge garden, and I can, froze, sell at farmers markets, and do small catering jobs. DHs aunt does the same thing except her kitchen is even smaller.

Have you lived this life? Yes to a great mudroom and a bathroom off of that so you don't track mud and whate er into the house. You do not need a.commercial size kitchen though unless you want it to be a full fledged, year round business and in that instance you must check with the health department to see if that's legal. You will to buy certain equipment amoung other things.

My neighbors raise bees and make their own maple syrup. Honey bees have had a very hard time because of viruses and non native species killing them.

I would try to find someone in your area to discuss these things with if you are new to farm and food production life.

Good luck.

I live on a farm as well, and one suggestion that comes to mind is an "outside kitchen", to confine the mess and make for easier cleanup. That's what I'm planning for our new house.

I'd also suggest taking your kitchen plan to the GardenWeb kitchen forum for input. The folks there will make sure that even a smaller-sized kitchen is efficient and hardworking -- and there is nothing worse than a big, inefficient kitchen. I lived with one for a year and it was exhausting.