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We are thinking about building a home and been looking at lots. We also found a home kit we like complete with cabinets, door knobs and all (1757sq ft).....My question is what other cost am I going to have to worry about????
We are going to try to pay cash so I don't have to include all those cost. Another thing is we get the building permit free after approval. Also we already have a fridge, stove, micro, and w/d...
The lot we are looking at is pretty clear just would have to be scraped a little to even it out. We plan on putting in on a concrete slab but I am not for sure what all that would cost as well.......any info would be appreicated...
What about pre fab? Does anyone know anything about how much the walls and stuff cost? Is it comparable to doing it yourself? Please let me know of any cost as I am trying to come up with a good budget.....thanks.......
A good source of kit homes is to look at those available in the Menards Home Center Stores. A typical home kit might cost about $60K as a possibility. However, there are many required extras such as the concrete foundation (perhaps around $4,000 ?) depending on your specs. Do you want four bag concrete? Or as much as six bag concrete for the foundation? Other items not covered in your Menards kit would include electrical wiring, plumbing, and you name it.
If you are getting a free municipal building permit, you are very fortunate. In my home town of Wheaton, Illinois, building permits cost $4,000 per house. But then new houses in this town are approaching one million dollars on a postage stamp sized lot.
Location: My heart is in Wyoming, my body is soon to follow.....
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Keep in mind that these "home kits" don't always come equipped with everything you're going to need. And they don't always line up exactly the way they're supposed to. There is definately a need for framing knowledge when putting one together. I would suggest hiring a framing company to put it together if you can find one willing to do it. I don't know how much they include in these kits but you still need someone to put it together. Here's a run down of what goes into a house material and labor wise to help you out. Excavation, foundation, flat work(basement floor, garage floor, driveway), framing labor, windows and doors, roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, siding(stucco, brick, etc.), gutters, insulation, drywall, painting, trim labor, cabinet installation, countertops, flooring, mirrors, garage doors, utility trenching, final grade, engineering/survey, temp power fees, dump/toilet fees, city permits, insurance. Like I said some of these things may be included in the kit but if your not doing them yourself then you will pay to have someone else do them. Things like electrical and plumbing you have to have licensed technicians do.
As far as pre-fab. Again they generally need extra framing to make them work, and sometimes they require a lot of extra framing, or re-framing walls depending on how bad they are.
It may be worth paying a contractor to build you a house. Yes you will pay extra for their profit, but if you do it on your own your going to pay extra also as sub's charge more to a single person than they do to contractor's. And you have the headache of dealing with bad sub's if you don't have someone willing to share with you who knows what they're doing and who doesn't. I hope this helps you out.
Last edited by Earniefan; 07-17-2007 at 10:01 AM..
Slab 5K
Pier and Beam 6K
Stemwall 10K
Full Basement 15K
Pay a contractor to put in the foundation, plumbing to the house, and electrical to the house. You can do just about everything else yourself and for a lot cheaper. The main problem is time. You have a job and can;t take 6 months off to build it yourself. Or can you?
Once the foundation is in, you should be able to "dry in" your house with a few friends in about 2 weeks if you know how to work a hammer and a level. Go take a look at your garage from the inside. It's the same principal only the house should be framed with 2x6's. Once the frame is up, you have what is called a shell.
Once the foundation is inspected, your other 2 required inspections will be the framing inspection, and the dry in inspection. The framing inspection will look for level, and spacing. The dry in inspection will check out the electricity from the grid to the house and the plumbing from the grid to the house. Once that's done, you are free to finish it any way you choose so long as you aren't going to cut holes in the frame walls to add more windows.
Believe it or not, a home owner is allowed to do all the electrical and plumbing work inside the house. The home owner is not allowed to bring in power lines from the grid or install the breaker box, but the owner is allowed to do all the indoor wiring.
So technically, you can have a shell wired and plumbed in about 3 weeks. Sleep on cots and take the rest of your life to finish it off. It sounds like a great idea to me, but then again, I have the desire to do it.
The other main issue is how many stories? If we're talking ranch. It's a breeze. Two stories will be a bit hair raising and may require heavy equipment.
Thanks for all the replies......just seen them.sorry....We do have a menards here. that is the house plan I like 1757sf 2 story....you can look it up on the website...I think it is called monticlaire........
My hub is very handy and knows how to do all the work himself. We found some more land and it has to be cleared off but know someone with a bobcat that he will let my hub rent.
Anyway, I think we decided on a wood foundation instead of concrete. He also worked as an electrician for a while so he can do that as well. We have remodeled several times and he even did that on the side for a while.
Our problem is we never started from scratch! He does work but only 4 days so he would still have three days off.....We love doing this kind of work and I help him alot .....even if it is running to get the materials you all know that can take a whole day sometimes.....
The home kit is suppose to come with everything including ele, plum, wiring,faucets,lights, smoke detectors, water heater, chaulk, they gave us a print out of 18 pages and we couldn't find anything that wasn't included.....the catch is you'll wanna upgrade on somethings.....but if I could get a house built and paid for I would be happy.....
foundation, a/c,landscaping all those are not included......
the electric company said they didnt charge to hook up but the water said it would be 5200..........well see......
Im also considering building or getting a contractor to build a kit home.
I was thinking of buying a traditional home but would need 20-30 years to pay it off and cant see working that much longer.
So Im like hey I can afford to buy land a prefab and retire in 10-15.
I have only worked as a laborer and know enough about construction to know I dont know anything. So Ill have to hire a builder, but would be willing to help do the labor. But the unknown costs scare me. A person told me the other day he was quoted 10K for a well in North Texas.
Land, Prefab plus 5K for slab and maybe 10k for well? Its adding up hella fast.
My example
Land off a lake with a sorta, kinda, if you get on your stomach and look between those two trees, view of lake $40K (Not even on a lake lol, cant find that for under 70K)
Prefab $40K (1BR/1BA with Loft and porch)
Prefab 2 Car Garage $6K
Slab $5k
Well $10K
------Known costs for the "Cheap Home Kit" - $101K !!!
Site Prep ? Leveling lot, driveway etc
Plumbing ?
Septic ?
Permits ?
------Unknown extras just to make it liveable - $$$$$
Total cost of Cheap Kit house including contractor and labor $200K?????
God now I'm depressed just gonna buy a darn lot and put on a $3K used 5th wheel till the neighborhood goes upscale. Which is when they rezone then boot me for not having a house and just go live under a bridge.
What if you want changes to a kit to add an extra Bedroom, need all new blueprints and what would that cost? The Kit I'm in love with is 1 BR with Loft. But I really want a second BR plus keep the loft (for guests).
None show finished homes with the costs involved to make it so for that home for examples. That fact makes me think in the end this inexpensive Kit home will cost more then a regular home. And Ill be 80 before I can retire and will probably pass away at 79 then :/
We're currently building a 2,000 square foot house on a 1/2 acre lot in Kankakee County. We're general contracting it ourselves but hiring subcontractors to do a lot of the work. My husband did the septic system, electric and some of the excavating. We also plan on insulating, painting, and doing the trim carpentry. We've budgeted $180,000 for the entire project and so far we're on track. The bank's appraisal on what the house will be worth when finished is $230,000. I suggest getting quotes on most/all work to be done before you start so you'll have an idea of how much you'll be spending and you'll know if it's financially possible. Labor and material costs vary greatly depending on where you're building. Building this house in Will County, where we live now, would cost much more. Mostly because the labor on framing/roofing, HVAC, and plumbing is more expensive. Also, land is much more expensive. If you can do a lot of the work, you'll save that much more. Check out Owner Builder Guide: Better Manage Your Home Building or Remodeling Project
It's a site with a forum for those that are building their own houses. It's been very helpful to us. Good luck!
We're currently building a 2,000 square foot house on a 1/2 acre lot in Kankakee County. We're general contracting it ourselves but hiring subcontractors to do a lot of the work. My husband did the septic system, electric and some of the excavating. We also plan on insulating, painting, and doing the trim carpentry. We've budgeted $180,000 for the entire project and so far we're on track. The bank's appraisal on what the house will be worth when finished is $230,000. I suggest getting quotes on most/all work to be done before you start so you'll have an idea of how much you'll be spending and you'll know if it's financially possible. Labor and material costs vary greatly depending on where you're building. Building this house in Will County, where we live now, would cost much more. Mostly because the labor on framing/roofing, HVAC, and plumbing is more expensive. Also, land is much more expensive. If you can do a lot of the work, you'll save that much more. Check out Owner Builder Guide: Better Manage Your Home Building or Remodeling Project
It's a site with a forum for those that are building their own houses. It's been very helpful to us. Good luck!
Thanks for the website.....Ill have to check that out........We are still tossin up selling our home.....If we don't get to build, we don't want to sell. Contractors are throwing up a bnuch of homes around here and selling them for 100-125 comp. You know if prolly only cost him 60-70 to build the darn thing though....
While I am waiting for my automatic drip coffee to finish, I thought I would look at your questions again. I haven't recently read these threads so I can't recall if you talked about moving to Illinois.
IF you have an interest in moving to a very nice area, DeKalb, Sycamore & Cortland, IL - - then take a look at Cortland. One can get a brand new house in Cortland for about $150K. Visit "www.cortlandil.org" and click on one of the subdivision pictures for a perspective. That is the type of area in Cortland that will have a new house for the above approximate price. Of course, there are always additional hidden costs with a new home.
Building a new home is so overwhelming that you might want to consider this DeKalb County area. However, as a caveat, it is very difficult to get employment unless you start your own business. That's because in this area, there are many Northern Illinois University graduates also looking for employment.
Just a short note about construction materials. Try not to use cheap materials such as vinyl and chipboard to build with. Vinyl is plastic, and will slowly breakdown in sunlight. After about 10 years, you'll begin to see warping, and your vinyl windows will lose their function in about the same time. From what I understand, the Germans invented vinyl as a building material, and because it didn't stand up to their standards of quality, dismissed it entirely. Also, vinyl promotes the growth of mold and mildew.
Just thought you'd like to know. Doug Bergren
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Do You Have A Menards Home Center In Your Area?
