House building costs?

Question

I am thinking about buying some land and building my own house. Is there anyone out there in the house building business who can give me some figures for average material costs per square foot?

Answer 1

It depends on your location and what materials you want to use. Most contractors use the same flat rate of $ per square footage in each area, it is the materials and labor that costs the most. It also depends on what house plans you want to use. Obviously, pine wood for framing is more expensive than oak but do you buy it treated or treat it youself? Tile floors are cheaper than hardwood floors but which one will last the longest? Do you want tall ceilings, do you want crown molding, do you want a slab or a crawl-space? You really need a better sense of what you want before you can determine the cost. Start with your floor plans.

Answer 2

A good contractor now will probably charge about $125 per square foot. May even be more now with the past housing boom but I am guessing this will be about the average. Might be able to get these figures off the net but I could only suggest searching under "average cost to build homes per square foot".Good luck.