Tinkering with faucets and finishes won't save you 200k.

How many builders bid your project?

You need more than one price as mentioned above but depending on your area and all things being correct that pricing may be right. This is the dangers of thinking of a house price on a square foot price basis as not every square foot is considered equal. Now assuming the pricing is going to be about what this contractor quoted you the only way to save 40% is a massive square footage drop and lose upgrades. This is all based upon the very limited info you have provided to us.

Post your plans, please.

Yes you're not going to save 150-200k on choosing vinyl over wood flooring or less expensive faucets, unless you're choosing faucets and flooring that are normally in multi million dollar houses.

The question is if your area normally costs out at $150-$225, why would you think you could get it completed for $110-$125 a square foot. There seems to be a disconnect. You might have been closer if you use bottom of the barrel builder grade materials, but no builder is going to build a house with wood floors and other higher end materials for bargain prices.

You'll probably need to cut out square footage, a bathroom, etc and lower your expectations.

You wrote:

added a pocket door to access the den (former bedroom) from the foyer hall as well as the back hall original bedroom opening.

Pocket doors are very labor intensive, hence more cost to build.

Changed the open dining room into a library with french doors on 2 sides,

Again, french doors are well over double the cost of a single door. Add in glass and it brings the cost up even more.

moved the fireplace to an inside wall.

Inside wall means running duct lines which means more expense.

Added a deck,

Again, much more expense.

increased the garage length so my cars would fit with enough room for a shelf in front of them,

Maybe you need to just have the cars fit, without the shelf.

added a walk down to the basement through the garage which gave me room for a "human door" into the garage.

So now you have a second staircase? Staircases are thousands of dollars.

Mapped out a root cellar in part of the basement, and much more.

It's the much more that I'm guessing is also driving up your costs.

You need to regroup if you are that over budget at this point. It's not a finishes discussion - it's the overall project.

Doesn't sound like the right time for you to try to build this house ...

Finishes are not going to get you where you need, but I have one reccomendation for when you get there. Will you even care in 5 years if they are popular or not, top of the line or builder grade, etc? I go builder-grade on nearly everything but floors, as who cares, and I certainly don't remember, everything I passed on down the line, especially when they are items like faucets and lights that may be replaced with trends every 15-20 years.

With that much to cut, you need to have a sit-down with your builder and look at his budget, and where he sees "easy" items to downgrade, do differently, or things that can be done later. For example, gutters, windows in garage doors, painting more than 1-2 exterior colors (our paint people are crazy, we did one on a 90% brick home, I'll do the window trim later) on exterior, etc can easily be 15k right there. I always use a builder grade tile in the bathroom, as I like the generally neutral stonish tiles that blend into the background, allowing my cabinets and counters to shine. We are also doing our own landscaping, as our builder noted that 10-15k is usually spent on landscaping for homes in our neighborhood/price range. I like to garden, small plants grow, and I don't mind doing it at all. He's grading it and leaving it, it'll look nice within a year or so with seed and small plants growing, and no-one will really care. You spoke about exterior things, such as porches- if you mean a deck, or something that's not part of the foundation, I'd nix it as something to do in a few years.

My suggestion is to concentrate on the things which don't change- foundation, walls/framing, and insulation, then cut or downgrade everything else, as these are much more easily changed.

Here is a plan, it has been changed since I had this scanned but is should be close enough. I only have the first floor available electronically because that is all I needed to get flooring quotes and I didn't want to scan in the elevations etc until everything was final since the UPS store isn't cheap for copying plotter sized plans. The bottom where the deck is, is South East. It is built into a hill so under the deck is a walk out basement. Yes we have/need 3 cars. The longest car is 17' so there is not much extra space to walk around it even if there aren't shelves in front of it and Houzz recommends garages be 20-24' long so ours right in the ballpark.

Right away I can see that this is a fat roof plan. That alone will cost a bundle to build. In fact that will be a HUGE part of the budget because of the roof and the trusses.

Then you have the bay window in the dining area, the double set of french doors to the library, the sliders to the outside from the master (although there seems to be no way out to the rear from the living room or dining area), the two doors out from the garage, the angled door into the guest bath (angles cost more), etc.

If you want to save money, start by building a house that has a much more simple roof. Think letters, L, T, H, I. You don't say how large your property is, but if you have the room to spread it out, you'd be much better off creating an L shaped house than what you have.

And totally unrelated your kitchen is very inefficiently laid out right now. I would definitely go to the kitchen forum and talk to the kitchen gurus.

Sorry to hear about your troubles - getting overwhelmed is a common experience when you are building a house. Also, a caution, almost everyone spends more than they think they would, so if you think the house will cost you 500k, very likely, it will end up costing more when you actually build it.

Does this quote include finishing the basement ?

I don't think it is possible to cut cost of 150-200k without cutting the size of the house. Of course, getting quotes from multiple builders will help in understanding the cost of build. Our initial plan was much larger than the house we eventually build, cutting square footage was one of the best decisions, we ended up with a house that is efficient and the size that we have now is more than adequate.

I can understand that you may get attached to this plan, assuming you have spent lot of time on it, still, I would suggest, looking into cutting few things so that, the size of the house meets your budget and lets you have some contingency.

Few ideas

- do you really need library, den and a living room ?

- since you have a hallway bath, is a powder room needed ?

- the deck is quite large, it will darken all the rooms in the back too. A good option will be a smaller deck off the kitchen and dining

- front porches are nice to have but not a necessity.

- second walk-in closet in the master suite can be eliminated

- definitely have one set of stairs - Stairs cost a lot and they also take up valuable square footage.

- Don't finish the basement for now.

- I wouldn't compromise too much on finishes because, cheap faucet, appliance are sometimes of poor quality, that needs replacement in few years. I would suggest to shop around to see how you can get reliable quality finish at the most competitive price. For example, IKEA kitchen cabinet, basic delta\moen faucet, pedestal sink from Kohler.

Thanks for your suggestions:

CP: The bay window in the dining room is a sliding glass patio door so there is an exit there. It is on 63 acres of mixed woods/farm/prairie but its hilly (unglaciated region) and we want to limit the impact to the farmable areas as much as possible so odd shapes don't really work. And with the township driveway rules we cannot put it on the top of the hill where it's flat and wouldn't require retaining walls.

Lakeview: yes it is hard because all my life I have lived in small spaces, tiny farmhouse growing up and sharing bedrooms, small house now without even a dishwasher, and I have worked 2 jobs ever since I was 18, even in college I had 2 jobs so it is hard to give up the idea of finally having some space. I will go over all the suggestions and see what can be done, every room you list does have a reason. Library/Conservatory is because my SO plays piano, oboe, sax & flute and has no place to actually play right now. Den is actually BR 3 and resale value demands at least a 3 BR house in my market. Living room.. well living room is where the TV will be, family will gather etc. Our faucets are going to be Delta.

I think a big part of the issue is that it's in the country, and septic, driveway, etc adds a lot to the base cost. Costs we cannot reduce because we are doing the minimum required for code. Perhaps the deck can be done in a few years, or by a handiman instead of a contractor. Maybe some closet doors or the french doors hung in a few years. I already am making a list of what I can hopefully do, kitchen backsplash, painting walls, installing towel bars, kitchen knobs, with limited time due to 2 jobs it will be nights of no sleep I think. But yea, small stuff doesn't equal $150K.

and we want to limit the impact to the farmable areas as much as possible so odd shapes don't really work.

L shapes, T shapes, H shapes and I shapes are not odd shapes but are standard shapes for starting when building. The footprint would be just a bit wider. If you create a more simple form, your roof costs will go down significantly.

If the purpose of a den/3rd bedroom is just for resale, couldn't your son's instruments live in a 3rd bedroom and you could skip having a library? A conservatory sounds lovely, of course, but if it's not in the budget...

Speaking from experience, it sucks the joy out of a new home when the last 10% of the project--closet doors, tile, decks, etc-- take years to finish. Personally, I wish we would have just had it all done at once instead of kidding ourselves that we'd save some money by doing that "non-essential" stuff later.

The OP wrote, "...Our cost is coming in around $430K, and that doesn't include the driveway, or appliances, or lighting which we are buying on our own and letting the builder hook up. So we are looking at realistically $500Kish. We don't make that kind of money...So we are expecting to have to try and cut about $150-200K out of our house plan..."

Sorry to say but it is not possible to cut 47% of the budget ($200K out of $473k). Your only realistic option is to redesign and cut square footage and complicating construction. Changing finish materials will not accomplish your goal.

Good luck!

First, I agree with everything that's already been said:

- Yes, go with a more standard shape so that your roof won't be forced into a massive size. I understand what you're saying about preserving farmland; I also have a farm, and I understand that the more land you farm, the bigger your paycheck every fall ... but you're not talking about more than 20-30' total ... the savings on the roof is huge in comparison. In addition to the roofline, you're looking at some wide open spaces; these aren't cheap ... they also aren't typical of the yesteryear plans you say you want.

- You say you want space, and I get it, but you don't want BIG ... you want right-sized, and I don't think all your space is allocated in a logical manner. For example, you have a bunch of empty space between the garage entrance and the dining room (it's almost as big as your den!) ... and 5' wide hallways aren't really useful ... loads of empty space in the middle of the master bath ... yet the tub is squished into a corner ... and you're very short on space in the hall bathroom; so short, in fact, that a person who bends over to spit out toothpaste will bump his butt on the door. And I'm not sure how you'll arrange furniture in this living room. Overall, you can decrease this square footage AND STILL have a nice, big house ... it's just all about proportions.

- You can reconfigure this kitchen in a smaller space and get better function. A U-shaped kitchen is perfect for the cook who wants to cook alone and wants to have everything at his or her fingertips ... so sticking an island in the middle of it ruins the function.

- You say you have three cars ... do they all need to be parked in a garage? (The answer's no, though you may want them all in a garage.)

- You're looking at FOUR living areas for a three-person family: The living room, the library , the den, and the basement. I understand wanting your son to have a place out of the main living area to play his instruments ... but he can play in his bedroom. Or the basement, which makes a lot of sense.

Good luck, but I think your best plan of action is to go back and right-size the plan.

I ache for you. Right after my parents married in 1940, they purchased a 1 1/2 acre lot with lots of lovely big elm trees. They then hired an architect to design their "dream house". My father was in his early 40's and my mother, her mid-30's, so home ownership was a LONG time dream for them. Then WWII came along and all home building stopped - building materials could not be bought, workers were all in the military.

When the war was over, the GI Bill came into play which put home ownership as a possibility for many who would never have dreamt of such. It also caused building costs to skyrocket. My parent's dream house could not be affordably built. So, the architect designed a Cape Cod with the idea that the 2nd floor would only be roughed in (plumbing and electrical) but not finished. They started construction on this much smaller house, and the day after the foundation was poured, my father was transferred by the telephone company to a city 70 miles away. They had to sell a partly finished house and lost money on it.

One hundred middle and upper level management employees had been transferred to a town of 80,000 people. There were not that many appropriate housing units available for so many families, so real estate values of existing homes DOUBLED, and building costs went up as well. My parents bought a small, flat lot without a blade of grass or a tree on it and this was KS. They had to again downsize the plan of their house in order to afford to build it, which they finally did, my parents now in their early 50's mid 40's. It really was a very small house but at least it was theirs and not a rental house or apt.

So, I DO understand what you are going through and the outcome may be far from what you've worked hard for and dreamt of all these years. I'd try to have an architect design a house that could easily be added to over time as you can afford to do so. A wing here, a wing there. If it's planned for ahead of time (and pipes and wiring are planned as well), you may someday get the house you want. And yes, prices will only continue to go up. So make sure you have the absolutely essentials in your house. I would not compromise on cheap construction or cheap windows, but appliance and fixtures may have to be builder grade.

If you haven't read The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka yet, I highly recommend you read it before moving forward.

I played with the plan for few mins and was able to reduce the size - not sure how much since I was not able to read all the measurement. By no means I am suggesting you go with this modified version, this is just to show you that, your original plan has some wasted space and complexity that can be addressed, You can indeed have your dream house with less square footage and simpler plan that also meets your budget concerns. I would suggest working with an architect.

Anglophilia...I enjoyed reading your story. DH and I are living in the home that his parents built in 1954...a wonderful 1100 sq ft brick ranch with 3 bedrooms and one bath. I'll bet they felt that it was a palace. They raised six kids here. Amazing :-)

Jeyne...please find a good designer or architect and redesign your home. Or choose to wait until you can save for that larger home. The last thing you want is to be stressed out financially because of your home. Not only that you can figure the home will be 10-20% higher than your estimate.

may I ask your ages and family makeup?

We have all learned this lesson the hard way. We are with you. I don't care how much money you make, what kind of house dreams you have had, the day of reckoning arrives.

In my case, it was a lovely home plan with double story porches and lots of useless space. I get the first cost estimate. We didn't have that kind of money, either. Our builder had a conference with us and I went looking for a plan that would achieve our goals without a lot of needless waste. Southern colonial with four corners, small entry porch, bigger porch on back of house. No more two-story porches. Porches cost money.

We had purchased 20 acres of beautiful pasture land with a shared lake. The original home place was a real historic plantation that could have come out of Gone With The Wind. I wanted to honor that by building something complimentary. We ended up building a historic reproduction with top of the line materials, all 3,200 sq.ft. No basement. It turned out beautifully. Our nearest neighbor, a builder, had purchased 20 acres, too. Only he was building a 6,000 sq.ft. McMansion, not including basement. He had the gall to criticize our home as too small. He was just pissed that we didn't let him build our house. What a hack.

My point is, I don't care how much you make, we all have limits. Maybe you need some help with the plan. You can do better. It's better to wait and get it right. Let's get you set up for success.

Your I Wants have run away with the plan. You need to start over completely. Make the list of I Needs. Start with a rectangle. Not a square. Start with shared bedrooms and bathrooms, and one place to eat. Start with no giant kitchen and master bath. In other weds, lop off the entire top part of the house. You don't need that. You just want it.

Your I Wants have run away with the plan. You need to start over completely. Make the list of I Needs.

I actually struggle with this a bit, myself. Technically, we don't NEED to build a new house at all. The house we're in functions as a shelter, if a cramped and aggravating one. So, finding the line between "need" and "want" is a challenge. I'm trying to view elements of "function" as need and things that are strictly decorative or optional as "want." I NEED a kitchen. I WANT a double oven. My biggest issue is where "comfort" fits on that scale. (because I think it's more a scale than two boxes). Because building a bare bones house that isn't comfortable doesn't make a lot of sense, either.

Thank you all for the advice. I will take all your suggestions to heart. I am too emotionaly wrought to "start over" right now. Maybe I will just go live in a tent.

You've been on a roller coaster for the past several weeks. First thinking you had THE PLAN, and then finding out the plan was way over budget and then finally showing it here, and finding out that maybe it could be better organized and smaller to meet your needs while being less expensive.

I will tell you there is no "one" perfect house because all houses have positives and negatives, even when we have them custom designed.

Take a step back, go read the book I suggested as it really helped open my eyes on how to make better use of the space in my house, and then seriously consider engaging the services of a person of design talent to create a house for your site that will do what you want, and how you want it, within your budget.

I'm very sorry for your experience. In part, you are a victim of the use of the misleading "cost per square foot" metric to infer the price to build your custom home. The article in the link below should help clear up why it's a bad metric, if only for the lurkers.

http://www.builderonline.com/money/economics/the-square-foot-pricing-mystery_o

Jeyne, I hear you. It is such a punch in the gut to get that number that is just far too high. Whenever you have healed enough to start again, make sure you tell whoever is creating your plan what your budget is from the beginning. When we started this, we felt like if you tell a person your budget, they'll be sure to use it up. They will, but a good one will use it up in the best possible way. As you interview people (architects/ designers/ builders) try to get a feel for how they look at budget. We talked to one builder who we could tell had no intention of sticking to our budget or even listening to us about what we wanted. We didn't go with him, which is awkward because we go to church with the co owner of his business.

Also, as you check references on your builder, ask how well they stayed on budget during the build and why.

We need to be careful on the "wants / needs". Unless you are living in a cardboard box - very few of us here "need" to build a new house.

"Den is actually BR 3 and resale value demands at least a 3 BR house in my market"

Not sure if it's been said, but in order to consider the den as a BR, you'll need to add a closet.

Like the others have said here, your situation is upsetting - but trust me, you want to deal with this NOW and not later. If your bid came in at $450k, budget for $550k. One thing I'd suggest to those who cannot do that, is to find a builder who offers a fixed bid contract. This may mean that you pick a floor plan from the builders portfolio, or that you only have certain upgrade options, but it does guarantee you'll stay on budget.

Without the library you'd have a 3 bedroom house. You can call a room whatever you want but if it has a closet and is large enough for a bed, it can be called a bedroom. Since your plan shows the den with a bed, you have the bedroom.

As others have suggested, get rid of the library, and let your SO move to the basement to practice.

Here's an idea although not ideal because you'd be losing lots of light. If you can move your garage over more to the left, it would give you light in more rooms.