How to get down to 15.00 Per sq ft when building a house?

Question

scenario

You are building a brick house.

The bricks are free,
the insulation is free,
the roofing is free, and labor is free

Now, what else would have to be free in order to get the cost of building this house down to 15.00 per square foot?

Answer 1

I'll give you credit for TRYING...CONSTANTLY; to ask similar questions. I mentioned in one other answer that electrical service work composes 20 % of the cost of building. I think you can assume Plumbing is about equal. I can't even build dog houses for $15 per sq. ft.

Steven Wolf

Answer 2

I am assuming the land is free as well. That's typically about 30% of the cost of a new home. I would say those that say it costs $150/SF to build are not building an inexpensive homes. One factor is where you are at. In my area, builders are selling homes for under $100/SF, including the land.

Now you're saying you have free bricks (siding), insulation, roofing, and labor for free. That's a good start. Will the labor be able to also do plumbing and electrical? Those are 2 areas that can add up quick. Also, it depends on what you mean by roofing. If you are merely talking shingles, you will have quite a bit in lumber for trusses and sheathing.

Size of home also plays into this. If it's a smaller home, fixed costs (such as permits) and costs not impacted much by square footage may eat up a big portion of your budget.

If you can get all lumber donated/for free and are able to do all electrical and plumbing, you may have a shot at it.

Answer 3

You still have to put in a ceiling, windows, doors, fit out a bathroom and a kitchen, put in a floor, and wiring. 15.00 per sq ft might cover one of those things so just about everything else would need to be free or cheap. Maybe you also have to pay to get services connected like water, electricity and gas.

People have built cheaply by scavenging second hand fittings (doors, windows, baths, sinks etc) and sometimes you can get stuff from demolition sites like good flooring. But $15 is a tough ask. I've just finished gutting and rebuilding a house for about $40 sq ft, doing almost all the labour and using a lot of recycled stuff. I could have cut costs by having a plain concrete slab floor and fitting out the kitchen myself (had a professional kitchen fitter do it for $4K which is cheap). Also I got a fancy sliding door that was $2K but maybe could find a second hand one. Guess I could have cut it to $30 sq ft with a few compromises.

Answer 4

You can build a house for $15/sf this way....

Scenario:
Free bricks, insulation, roofing and labor...humm...

a 1,200 square foot house = budget of $18,000

Permits will set you back a few grand...

If you have to ask this kind of question, my guess is you won't know enough to pass the inspections.

Go to Costco and buy several cases of 8 1/2" X 11" paper.
Print out all of the similar questions you have asked on the same subject (click on your profile) on the paper.

Fold paper -origami style - into items you need, such as cabinetry, lighting, plumbing, windows and flooring. That should get you there.

Answer 5

The $15.00 per SF is out of the question unless it's just super tiny.
The approx cost of building a home with the prices of literally everything rising more and more is right around 150.00 PSF.
So I guess the answer is pretty much everything.....

Answer 6

electric and flooring cost about that much, i would say its not possible, i build houses for about 150/ sq ft