Hi Cpartist... No, we definitely didn't steal the materials, but we also didn't just go down to HD to buy everything either. There are lots of ways to save money if you're willing to look. For the kitchen we have an L-shaped section of cabinets which includes a built-in sink and dishwasher on one side, a refrigerator on the other side. and stove in the middle. There is also a second short wall of cabinets across from the L-shaped section that includes a double GE convection oven which only cost us about $150. We got it for free because it wasn't working, but it just needed a new board installed which is where the $150 comes in. The cabinets definitely aren't as nice as our cabinets at our main home in Florida, but they certainly aren't made from particle board or something like that. The way we built the house so cheaply was by doing the work ourselves; having the time to spend looking for the best deals on this or that; or finding great deals on items that we could fix or re-purpose for our needs. The wood floors we got from the Lumber Liquidators annual sale. In the bathrooms we installed stone tile in the showers, tile on the floors, and used granite topped vanities bought from Costco for a couple hundred dollars. Ultimately, though, I think the biggest thing that people are missing here is the difference between single level and multi level construction. The biggest expenses in building our house, besides from the high end windows and doors, were the roof and the foundation. Framing out a house is cheap and easy. Adding an extra floor to a house is incredibly cheap and easy, and it basically doubles the square footage. We're working with three stories including the fully finished walk-out basement. That's essentially three times the square footage for little extra cost. We actually could have spent far less on the house. The windows and doors were by far the largest expense, but they are incredibly high quality and they are very well insulated.

Hey bobyoe! Glad you straightened that out for everyone! However, your comments do raise an issue that "$ per sq. ft" obsessed folks need to think about when they talk to a builder. It's the cost of the whole project that counts, not just the cost of the house. Plus, the features, finishes, and location of the house within a market area can make a 10,000 sq ft house cost less than a 6,000 sq ft. house. No one gave us a good ballpark estimate for things like professional fees, permits, impact fees, drainage systems, or site work before we started. Most of those items were not related to the size of the house. Those costs will end up being about 18% of the total project costs. No one could convince my "$ per sq ft obsessed husband" that the features he wanted in our house were equivalent to building multiple luxury kitchens. He is convinced now :-). Same thing goes for the outside entertainment areas. He thought the covered areas should be priced like a garage. Wrong. The spec'd finishes bring the entertainment areas to a higher cost for build out than any non-plumbed room in the airconditioned space. The thing that I think we could all agree about is that you can buy an existing home at a significantly lower cost per sq. ft. in today's market. Major builders are dumping new 5 and 6 bedroom 8,000 sq ft homes in our county for $600-$800K. Yeah, they are in outlying areas on small lots, but they are brand new homes. So, in addition to size and features, you have to price in: 1. supply and demand, and 2. location within a location. We are in Palm Beach County, Florida. Our lot costs vary from $20 million per acre on the ocean in Palm Beach, $10 million per ocean front acre 15 miles south on the same island, $2-5 million per acre intracoastal waterway on the same island, and $50,000 for a 1/4 acre builder's lot 15 miles west of the ocean where the national builders are dumping their inventory. Why bring lot costs into the discussion? It's because builders will hit you hard for building in an area of high land costs. I guess they think they are entitled to a big premium if you are paying premium prices for your lot. That's my 2 cents for the day!

per sq foot costs are almost impossible to guesstimate. Too many variable involved. How much of your sq footage is "cheap to build" space like bedrooms and garage as compared to how much is "expensive to build" space like kitchens and bathrooms? Is the house shape a simple rectangle or one with lots of corners and things like bay windows? All on one floor or two or more floors? Basement? What kind of roofing? What kind of siding? What kind of foundation? Lots of windows and doors or a bare minimum? Lots of built in cabinets/bookcases or a bare minimum? Will you be going "builder grade" on all or most of the plumbing and electrical fixtures or do you want the ability to upgrade? Building in town or out in the country? If out in the country, do you already have septic installed? Electricity run to the site? Water already on site? Will you need to build a long driveway? Etc? Etc? Etc? You might TRY to linked site which purports to give you an estimate of the cost to build in various zip codes. I don't give any guarantees on how accurate it is but it can't be any worse than the off the cuff guesses you're likely to get on this site. Here is a link that might be useful: residential building cost calculator

People are right when the say that sq ft and quality don't go hand in hard. Or that sq footage and actual liveability in home don't mean much, either. Would definitely rather have a 3 bed-3bath 2700 sq foot home than a 5 bed-3 bath----more rooms but smaller would not make comfortable living to me...liveability is all in design--not just size I use sq ft comparison when I check MLS listings all the time...if you know the market, it tells you if home in particular area is going at discount -- maybe because of pre-forclosure issues, maybe because it has been listed for long time--maybe there are design issues---pool vs no pool In the DFW area P/S/F is used to market and is what the TAD--local tax authority--uses most of the time to evaluate homes--sq footage--how many garages--if there is a pool--and neighborhood/lot prices...ar what they list on each property valuation sheet they rarely (if ever) do an on-site walk-through inspection so the finish out has little to do with what the appraisal is...they go by neighborhood values. Mainly increase in valuations can happen by neighborhood, not individual homes ... When a subdivision goes in the builder turns in development plans/lots are sized, amenities like community pool is there is one are calculated, so lots/land have valuation set. The homes are built--they know what sq ft the builders are doing because those plans have to be turned in to city and they see them for valuation. If the builder builds a spec and completes w/o a contract, title company notifies TAD. Builder is paying the first year prorated tax, depending on whether he gets contract. When it sells, people are not required to turn the selling price over to TAD--that info is protected in TX--so the builder's valuation is what the new home owners have...because the tax base is set to only increase certain amount from year to year,,,the valuation can be pretty low the first two years...after that usually gets closer to market value... People have to get permits for things like adding a pool or remodeling to add rooms---so TAD can keep up w/upgrades like that usually...so an individual home might have increased appraisal with improvements/extra sq ft after the initial appraisal. The hinky part comes when builders turn in one set of plans and then people contract to have attic space built out or maybe a 3rd-car garage added ...that sq footage almost always does NOT go into the TAD records...a pool is almost impossible to not have valuated to increase taxes... MLS sq ft descriptions around here often say "Total sq footage does not reflect TAD info" or "Sq footage based on currant appraisal"--which means a physical walk-through and measurement of rooms was done by home appraiser, usually from the bank or mortgage co buyers are using... Some times the people at TAD actually read the MLS listings and if they see mention of that, send you a nice letter---I have heard of that happening twice...I also saw a house on new MLS listing with a pool and when I checked TAD to see who the builder was, TAD info did not show a pool...so there are some delinquent taxes there for current original owners... O course Sq footage is only one factor in evaluating a home's true value and if you want a home or if it is worth the price the sellers have put on it...but around here if you compared having a heat pump over having more sq footage--most people would value the sq footage...having trees and privacy on a smaller lot is usually more valuable to buyers than a larger, open-to-everyone's eyes-lot--yet home valuation comes only from lot size not intangibles like trees/views... in certain price ranges, wood floors are mandatory and included when you see sq ft...in others if you get real wood floors you are getting a deal...it just means you have to know your market...