DCRanger--Whoa!!! That cost estimator is WAAAAY off. It came up with $979,383 for my 2494 sq ft house with unfinished bonus & no basement. That's even more than the outrageous quote we got on building the original house we had planned at 4623 sq ft with unfinished bonus & basement with lots of super expensive windows & french doors & expensive finishes! Good heavens!! I just did the math--$392.70 sq ft!!! Definitely something wrong there. Maybe they left off a step & you're supposed to divide the total by 3 or possibly 4? Just redid the quote using Level 6 for everything & deleted the fireplace and it still came in high at $549,323! Yikes!! There is a free cost estimator on www.coolhouseplans.com. You can access it when you click on any plan. They didn't have Thorne Bay, but I clicked on a similar plan with 2934 sq ft and it came up with $88.02 sq ft for Michigan as the average--does not include porches, patios, basement, site prep, well, septic, etc. (NC came in at $77 sq ft) They also have a link from there onto another site where you can purchase a more detailed cost estimator (the $24.95 might just be worth it). Thorne Bay is a beautiful plan with relatively simple lines to it (quite similar to mine, actually). If I was you I would not give up my dream of that house on your 40 acres until you've shopped that plan around to some area builders. Since things are so crazy with the economy right now, I would go to some building suppliers and ask if they can refer you to some quality builders who are in and have remained in good standing through this whole economic crisis. That's how we found ours--the guys at the brick manufacturer gave me the inside scoop on the builder we had planned to use and I finally just asked who they recommended and they had only 2 names for me based on quality & timeliness of paying their subs & suppliers. Also look for someone who doesn't have a lot of overhead as this will also help keep costs reasonable. I'm waiting on my contractor to get back with me on his quote, but he keeps telling me that it will be within that price range of $115-125 sq ft. I'll let you know when he gets back with us. Here is a link that might be useful: coolhouseplans website

:) Yes, the exterior is ugly. I'll grant you that. We suffered from previous owners (circa late 1970s is my guess) and their desire to do asbestos tiles siding over the original. While I'd love to tear it off and put up new siding, there's not much reason to other than curb appeal, and we'd rather put our money into the interior and living spaces. We do have plans to paint, replace gutters, and we are replacing attic windows. Eventually we will replace all windows. Attic was replaced in 2010. Sure, the exterior isn't flashy and lovely and definitely won't win awards, but it is what is and it's what we've got. Maybe historic home isn't the best term, but it would be the terminology used in our town to describe our neighborhood and our house, for better or for worse. It's really what's inside in the interior that we like, along with the location and overall features of the home. Our home has all original oak floors, quarter sawn oak pocket doors and trim and 5 panel doors all original to the house, a huge chapel bench in the foyer that is built in, and none of it has been painted. Sure, it's not a grand historical home, but those are rare in general, and there's probably only 3 or 4 like that in our town. What is rare is the fact that we have all original woodwork, plaster walls in good condition, a few original decorative leaded glass windows, and a gorgeous brand new finished master suite. We have a 5 bedroom 3 bath house with a finished basement family room and playroom, plus a patio. In our town, that is a very rare find. But with all of that, comes the crappy original kitchen layout and back porch/bathroom hack. What we discovered when we looked at homes 6 years ago is that there were FAR worse. Mold, scary DIY electrical, refrigerators that couldn't be opened, and absolutely terrible upkeep and maintenance. It was bad...really bad. So when we found our house, trust me when I say this, it was a total steal and we loved it. Except the kitchen. :) Trust me, I get the rebuild idea. I get it. I'm sure many of you see this and read this and think, "Money pit! Run away!!!" :) But not all of us can or want to tear down houses or replace absolutely everything. If we actually tore down our house and rebuilt it, it would cost more than 2-3x the current value to rebuild it with the same quality and materials and finishes. I appreciate all the warnings and suggestions to consider that, but it just isn't going to happen.

If you are going to do a lot of the work yourself, and only hire out the work for some specific licensed trades and work that specialty equipment or tools or skill are needed, you sound similar to what my husband and I have done on approx 5 houses in the last 10 years, all similar in age and character and condition to the one you are looking at. I know prices vary by region, and I'm probably opening myself up to a bunch of critical comments from people saying either we spent too much and wasted money in one area, or too cheap in another... But I want to try to offer some help in a possible pricing to help you decide if you want to go down this path or not... P - hire a plumber: varies with the house and whether you add a bathroom, but plan for $5k, assumes they take care of big stuff, roughin the shower, code, venting, but you DIY fixture installations - Hire an electrician: similar to plumbing, varies with the house, but assume $3k for them to do layout changes, code corrections, but you DIY fixture installations - if a roof is needed and/ or painting touchups, fascia repairs, etc: big variable but for this assume $8k minimum - assumes siding is in good condtition, $0k or add more - assumes heat / air conditioning / hot water heater are all in good condition, or add more - assumes water in the basement isn't a problem, or add more for dealing with mold, draintile, grade corrections outside, etc. - Hire a hardwood floor refinisher: $2k - assumes hardwood everywhere except kitchen and bathrooms, otherwise add more for carpet/ new floor in other rooms - windows: Varies a lot if you repair or replace, and if replace what quality, but for this rough estimate figure $200 per window x probably around 20 windows would either pay for repair supplies and hardware, or a cheap vinyl replacement, DIY install. $4k - Kitchen materials: ikea cabinets $4k with butcher block countertops, or add $3-4k for granite, $3k cheap ss appliances, $1k tile and paint, you DIY all installation - Bathroom materials: $2k ( tub/shower, vanity, faucets, ligt fixtures, tile), You DIY all installation, Looks like times two in this house plus $1k powder room= $5k., all DIY installation except for the roughin plumbing notes above - light and door fixtures : $1k, all DIY install - basic supplies: Paint, sheetrock, spackle, sanding pads, hinges, eurythane : $3k, all DIY install - holding costs: depends on tax rates, if you need to heat/cool, etc but if you figure $400/ month for 3-4 months (this would have you and your husband there probably 20-30/hrs a week if you are moderately competent but not streamlined professionals at this), adds a bit more than $1k, more if you have a loan with interest accruing. Soooo.... If I add all of this up, I get at least $40k of fixup costs which is you doing almost all of the work. And I should note these are economical material and finishing choices. And assumes you already own all the tools needed to do the work. If you pay $25 k plus $1k in closing costs (no mortgage fees) you'd have at least $66k in to it. If you later sell for $125k, after real estate commissions and another 3 months of holding costs, you may get $110k. So- best case scenario i think you might potentially take home a little over $40k for 3+ months of work. Or, it could be a lot less profit if you hire out more of the work, if you add a 10% error budget ($4k), need new HVAC ($6k), mold/water issues ($?), extensive plumbing (+$6k), exterior repairs ($3-$15k), if opening up walls triggers other code improvements like insulation and vapor barrier ($2k or more), if you add landscaping curb appeal ($1-3k)..... Hopefully you find this helpful, and can adjust this to fit the house you are looking at, your local requirements and rates, etc. It can be fun to bring these houses back to beautiful, and there can be some money to be made doing it. But it's important to run the numbers upfront so you know what you are getting in to. It also makes the work a lot more fun when you feel like you are doing it "on budget"- noone has fun when things are going wrong or you are stuck midway knowing you are loosing money on it. Another thing that my husband and I do, is we each get a $1k "allowance" to spent on "frivolous" things for the house. Well maybe "frivolous" is too spendy of a word, but for certain as you are going through the project you and you husband will have differences of opinion on what to put in the house: Maybe he likes a $2.99/sqft tile and you don't want to waste money and are ok with a $0.99 tile. If he really likes the more expensive tile, that extra $2/ sqft can come out of his "frivolous allowance". It allows both of you to have input and fun with some minor upgrades, but keeps a cap on them. Good luck if you decide to do this - either on this house or a different one! :-)

Note this home is on a concrete slab so I will have to be creative in getting electric to my prep island. The electrician and I discussed running electric down a conduit doubling as see through shelves on the SE corner of the island where the bookcase is on the sketch. I want seating closer to the stove and trash for when my legs and back start aching from standing. The 2nd seat would be for when I need reinforcement on food prep and cooking! I'd rather have touchless trash but will deal with pull out if can't figure out where to put it. I want to keep the sink in front of the window since there is usually plastics and pans in the sink waiting to be hand washed. will the frig and dishwasher be ok next to each other? (I really don't see any other way) I'm attaching the way it looks right now (2 even with taped out areas representing the islandand the fridge)...basically a mess