Anyone build a house recently??? (mortgage, how much, new house)

[irishmom]

How much did it cost? How many square feet and such. Thanks.

[forest beekeeper]

I am not finished yet.

So far the well, driveway, foundation, walls, roof, floors, wiring, plumbing, heating and insulation; have cost us about $39,600. For tax purposes eventually we will add it all up from our receipts, to set our cost-basis. But not until we are done. I need to do the garage and wrap-around porch yet.

Our home is 40'X60',
one level,
sunken living room [12'X12' with four eight foot couches facing the center with a open firepit as the center piece],
radiant floors heating by both propane and electric [we will be adding wood-fired as a third option],
12' foot cathedral ceilings,
and a 8'X40' lap-pool,
insulated at R-40.

Because we are set back inside the forest, three walls have very large 6'wideX3'tall panoramic windows alternating with 3'X3' sliding windows. So we have views of the forest in every direction except for towards the road.

So far $16.50 per square foot [2400sq ft / $39,600] . When we are completed, I expect the total should be around $20 per square foot.

[irishmom]

Are you doing any of it yourself or is that cost based on having a bulider come in and do it? The more I look at property the more I think we would like to build. I really want a ranch house...eventually we will be old and not want all those stairs, and I'm hoping to not ever move again.

[forest beekeeper]

The well was done by a well driller.

The electric service was brought in by a private electrician who hung our pole, meter and breaker box.

The driveway was done by a site-work and concrete supplier [they own four quarries of their own]. Our driveway is 300' long. They dumped a 3' thick layer of crusher-dust [a by-product of running their rock-crusher in one of their quarries], about 40' wide and 300' long, smoothed it out with a dozer, and compacted it with a vibrating roller. It took most of one day, with four dump trucks running continuous laps between here and their quarry, one guy was here shifting between driving the dozer to smooth it out and the roller to compact it.

The foundation was poured by a foundation contractor.

The walls, roof, floors, wiring, plumbing, heating and insulation; I have done myself. I did hire one guy, he works for the foundation contractor, he came out on a Sunday with his crane and he lifted the vertical girders up onto the foundation anchor bolts while I bolted them in place. Our building has four 'arch-ways' consisting of two pieces which are both 600 pounds and two pieces which both weigh 800 pounds. I had them laid out on my driveway and bolted together into arches. But I could not lift them into place, as each arch is about 2,800 pounds. I needed a big crane. He was here for three hours at $50/hour. Then he got his crane-truck stuck and we spent another two hours digging his truck out of the mud.

[irishmom]

Impressive undertaking doing so much yourself! My husband is excellent at building and finish work...but he is insanely slow at it. He finally finished remodeling this house recently...it only took him 4 years, yes I said 4...to do two bathrooms and a kitchen...*sigh* So although his work is great we will be keeping his handyman skills to a minimum if possible...LOL

Good luck with your new house!

[forest beekeeper]

Well I am on pension.

It does help to get a pension at 42.

[irishmom]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Well I am on pension.

It does help to get a pension at 42.

Wow 42?!? That's only slightly older than I am now and three years younger than my husband is...LOL!

We are no where in site of retirement and probably won't be for another 20 years (figuring our youngest just turned 5 and we would like to see him through college). I do have some friends that have received pensions early...mostly police, fire department and military...of course they well earned it! Enjoy your retirement and think of us poor working saps as you do!

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by irishmom

Wow 42?!? That's only slightly older than I am now and three years younger than my husband is...LOL!

We are no where in site of retirement and probably won't be for another 20 years (figuring our youngest just turned 5 and we would like to see him through college). I do have some friends that have received pensions early...mostly police, fire department and military...of course they well earned it! Enjoy your retirement and think of us poor working saps as you do!

LOL

Yes, My career was primarily underwater onboard various submarines. To get away and do something with a bit less stress, I did volunteer two tours of duty working Law Enforcement, one stateside and one in Europe. I completed 14 years of sea-duty [living underwater an average of 7 months of each year], and six years of LEO.

I am an Electronic Tech First Class specializing as a Mainframe computer system analyst doing inertial navigation [ie, monitoring gravity vectors], and Electronic surveillance / Intelligence.

[sulliborch]

Originally Posted by irishmom

How much did it cost? How many square feet and such. Thanks.

Are you looking to build it yourselves or have a contractor build it?
Where are you thinking of moving to?
Are you going to want a mortgage or paying for it outright?

I know for under $200K you can very easily have a really nice 3+ BDRM, 2+ BTH built.

[bgrasser]

Pro Fab quoted me $125.00 sq. ft. for a pre fab house. A turn key unit on my lot. The price could go up if I want HW floors or
other up grades.