The pictures and the plan are not the same house?

Not the same house

Talking to a builder is the only way to know for sure. There are a lot of costs and overheads: loan interest, builder profit like 50k, road, utilities, locality fees, septic ? well? That 42" wall refrigerator is like 8k alone. Grill station with an egg (see pic3) . The house depic sits on a basement, that adds some cost - add the foundation for that thing is massive to support all porches. Masonry chimney adds few k

It's a modified version,

https://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plans/country-home-plan-with-wonderful-wraparound-porch-60586nd/client_photo_albums/442

That said, it's all very location-specific. What it would cost in Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh vs. where I am in Canada would likely be very different.

https://www.architecturaldesigns.com/house-plans/country-home-plan-with-wonderful-wraparound-porch-60586nd

And it is a stick built roof.

Thanks everyone for the prompt replies, and apologies for the pics not being the same plan. We don't need all of the bells and whistles as put forth in the pictures such as the fancy grilling station and 8ft fridge, just the basic layout with open kitchen/living room, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. I had a contractor come out before and it sounded like we wouldn't be able to build anything for under 400k. That may have meant it wouldn't be worth their time for under $400k but I'm not sure. It is in the country so yes, we would need to dig a well.

Hi, Andrew,

The cost to build any home is site dependent. The cost to build a home on a flat lot with no trees will be less than on a wooded sloping lot, for example. Ask local builders to meet you on your property and give you an idea of the cost to construct the plan.

For just a ballpark number ask any reputable builder for a per square foot price estimate...for your area....for instance at $200 per square foot...the estimated cost would be $420,000...in most cases $200 would not be a high end estimate....also this would be a starting point ,....in our area $300 per square foot is the norm...for a basic build.......add wells...garages...bathrooms...grading ....foundation types...septic systems....access to power...driveways...etc.etc. Can sometimes Double the cost depending on your location...

Yeah - that floor plan is really terrible.

Your best answer is the one a contractor gave you. But I would still ask around - maybe the one you asked has a higher price point than others. You might have a conversation with that contractor and see where the costs come from. It maybe that he expects $100k or maybe the lot issues are $100k (clearing, grading, well, septic, utilities and permits). Maybe both. Then you are building the house for $200k but he wants $100k and your area requires another $100k. All really tough to know.

Building a modern house (I am just talking codes) with a shortage of skilled labor and generally high prices on materials (from floods/hurricanes/uptick in construction) is a fairly expensive endeavor. Have you considered modular?

Hi David,

I have considered modular, from what the contract showed me as far as that route goes, I'm not sure the savings are there to be had. My biggest problem is probably the location as it is rural (well, septic etc)and slightly on a grade requiring some excavation. unfortunately that's just a fact and as a result likely looking at $400k minimum even for something modest

The one piece of advice I would give under these circumstances is to make sure you have the best layout/floorplan, and exterior elevations, you can get given the cost of the project. You don't want to pay so much for a floorplan for which you're going to be creating workarounds for as long as you live there.

The house has four bedrooms -- how many people are going to live here? Because if it's more than two, the kitchen and dining rooms are very small. Even with two people in the house, the location of the breakfast nook means it's in the traffic path from kitchen to mudroom, which is very small.

Also, given Pittsburgh/PA weather, do you need more storage for outerwear and shoes than what's shown in the mudroom? Do you need a closet by the front entrance? Which by the way dump the unwary unceremoniously onto the stairs or into the living room.

How will you arrange furniture in the living room?

The angled island is unfortunate, the refrigerator location will cause problems,

If you have only one sink, I wouldn't put it on the island.

It's great that BR #2 has windows on two different walls for cross-ventilation, too bad that BR #3 and MBR don't.

front entrance? Which by the way dump the unwary unceremoniously onto the stairs or into the living room.

And if they turn the wrong way, into the master bedroom! My aunt’s house is like that. Fortunately there is a second door from the bedroom into the back bedroom hall, so they closed the door next to the front entry and never opened it again. It just felt too exposed. Never got around to drywalling it.

I like the laundry room. You can grill on the grilling porch and peek in the window to see if your laundry is done; and you can sit on the toilet in the laundry and peek out the window to see if your grilling is done.

Virgil is right.

There are a lot of variables that will affect the cost of a build. So just having a size and even a floor plan doesn't give you everything you will need to know, unfortunately. Like others have mentioned, costs can vary widely for

- location and availability/demand of labor and materials

- foundation (how much excavation work needs to be done? does it require blasting hard rock? does it require deep or complex footings to stabilize on clay soil?)

- well (how deep does the driller have to go? does he have to bore multiple holes to get an adequate flow?)

- septic (how far does the primary field have to go for good leaching soil?)

- materials and finish choices

We are currently in the design phase with our architect and some of the things he is being especially mindful of in design to keep us in line with our budget is a simple roof and minimizing extra corners (i.e. bump outs, angles, etc). These are two of the primary design areas where cost can be controlled. Square footage is another, but not all square footage is created equal. So, use any cost per sq. foot numbers with a grain of salt.

The way we approached the process was to determine our absolute max budget that we wanted to spend on structures, well, septic, landscaping and driveway. Then we made "must haves," "really want," and "would be nice to have" lists. We brought these to the architect we chose and he also had an in-depth worksheet for us to fill out. We chose a builder and very early on let him know our budget and what we were thinking of for the end result. He let us know we were in the right ballpark and could go forward with such a design. Next, the architect developed a very rough site map of how a house could sit on the lot, using the land survey we'd had done (similar to a bubble diagram but superimposed on our exact lot). From there, we had a rough idea of size, shape, orientation, roof line, ceilings vaulted or not, number of stories, etc. We ran that by the builder again and with his input, felt confident we'd be able to work with that design within our budget. So now the architect is developing the actual floor plan. Our builder will take that and get an initial round of estimates. If we are off with design and budget, we'll make any changes needed before a set of construction plans is developed. It's a lot of steps that require a lot of input from a team of professionals, but it has been invaluable for feeling confident about taking the leap. We will still have unknowns that will certainly create shifts in the budget (hence, always having a reserve for when things will go over budget). For example, our lot is next to another that has a seam of granite running through it, which complicated our neighbor's build. But our lots are both over 3 acres each, so there is some distance. Our excavation could be complicated and more expensive because of rock, or not.

There's a LOT of uncertainties, but I think the best way to manage them all is (1) design such that you're not already pushing the ceiling of your budget and (2) gather a strong team who can work with you through the inevitable bumps in the road.

Good luck! I hope you get all the pieces you need together to move forward to creating a home you love.