Materials cost effective

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jjohnston

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I will start the process of building a house soon. Well, the contractors will build it, I will sit back and watch them do their thing. I do know that price per sq ft in my area it a pretty big range. I've seen some that look to be $100 up to $160 or more. The builder I'm working with says his builds are typically $150/sq ft. But he said that includes using high end finishes etc.

I am curious. My biggest concern with the build is getting the space and layout we want. My thought is, I can replace a counter, floor, cabinets if I need, but I can't easily add another 200sq ft to the house.

I really like the builder, like the quality of work we've seen from his models.

So my question is, what types of finishes etc, can I strip down, and to what? I've done a little looking and see that I could go with a solid countertop instead of granite, engineered wood floors instead of solid hardwood (or even laminate). Poplar for wood or maple, instead of some of the higher priced woods (not sure what all the options are, and price range).

But what are some other things I can look at to keep the cost down? I don't want it stripped down to no frills, but if I know my options, if he quotes out solid gold door knobs, I can at least know to use oil rubbed bronze (just as an example).

any incite is greatly appreciated!
 
Cheap cabinets, Formica counters instead of granite, cheap light fixtures and faucets, landscape yourself, unfinished basement.
 
Thanks, we are definately doing an unfinished basement. I am curious what to look for in materials primarely. Like alternatives to high end.

solid countertops instead of granite
engineered wood instead of solid hard wood
XYZ material this instead of that.
for cabinets, poplar instead of mahogany?
 
Solid surface counters can be more expensive than granite depending on the type of granite. Go with laminate if cost savings is your goal. Upgrading to granite or some higher end solid surface later is a relatively easy upgrade and you're not throwing away anything that expensive.

A fiberglass tub/shower unit would be less expensive than a full tile bath. This too could be swapped out later as your budget allows.

With mortgages relatively cheap right now doing the upgrades now if you want them eventually will be cheaper than putting in something only to tear it out in a couple of years.
 
Yeah, we will definately do a cost comparison between them. But its hard to go to the builder and say I like your counter, but I want it cheaper. Its a bit easier to go to him and say what would the cost difference be if we used, laminate instead. If granite counters cost $3,000 and laminate is $1,500 than we would probably do the granite. But if Granite is $20,000 and laminate is $3,000 we would probably opt for the laminate.

I thought solid counters were cheaper than granite... But then, there is a lot of info on the internet, and its hard to know what is true, and what is not.
 
"solid countertops" covers a lot of types (concrete, granite, soapstone etc) so more specific info will bring you a tighter cost comparison. You also need to take a look at different materials, so you can decide just how thrifty vs. regretful you want to be. For instance, there are several grades of kitchen cabinets. You may be happy with budget stuff, but you will have to live with them for a while, so take a look first.
 
Ok definately, I think the builder has a design center we can see stuff at.

as for the solid counter tops... I think I was thinking something like Corian?
 
Get your plans as finalized as you can BEFORE you start. Change orders can be very expensive items.
Corian is not a cheap counter. A bit of internet research tells me 3-5 times more expensive. $15-20 per linear foot for laminate to $45-$80 for corian.
 
sorry yes, its more than laminate, but less than granite.
 
Around here Corian is more expensive than some of the granites. When you go exotic on the granite it gets pretty expensive, but we have a lot of granite companies and they're very competitive right now.

It may be more cost effective and certainly greener to put in what you want long term than to put in something to get by only to tear it out in a few years.
 
Yeah, I understand that. I'm just thinking of it this way. We know how many sq ft we need. But if the build is on the high end of the range, we have no way of affording it. If its on the low end of the range, we may as well build a couple of them (not really but you get what I mean). So somewhere in the middle is what we want. I have seen cabinets made out of maple, and poplar, and like them both. But wasn't sure what the cost of that compares to cabinets made out of higher end wood is, and what higher end wood is.

I guess its we are going to upgrade where we want/can but I like to have knowledge in my back pocket to be able to say. OK, we are way over budget, so lets change this material to this, and that to that, and boom, now we are in. ya know. I like to know all my options and angles. I know its not always possible...
 
I think you have the right idea. Knowledge is the key to good decision making. You can ask about specific materials here, but you should also take advantage of the search function on this site to look into previous discussions. There is a lot there to be read. Also on the internet in general (as if I had to remind you of that!:p)
 
You are talking to a custom builder. The finishes you are after are more found in a spec house. Iw ould go look at at new houses for sale and if you find something you like in the quality of work and finish, tak to that builder, they are usaully cheaper, they never have the expence of a show room they just send you to a list of there suppliers.
 
Prices can be very regional. Your best option is to get quotes on different materials from local vendors. The same vendor can probably provide different cost options.
 
I have a feeling a builder with the reputation of building upper end homes will have a minimum standard he will want to put his name on. Cost of materials of the items mentioned above will impact the final price but I don’t see them as making a huge impact on the final price, from middle of the line to good quality stuff. Labor is a big part of it along with structure costs. I can see upgrades driving the price up a lot more than downgrades lowering the price. Things like leaving the fireplace out would clip a good amount if the plan called for one. Maybe regular siding instead of full brick. You don’t want to pay to have cheep windows installed but omitting huge glass architectural features will clip a lot of cost. As to the design I would say a simple two story vs. a sprawling ranch will get you sq ft at less cost. A simple roof without a dozen facets will save cost. I wouldn’t overlook the basement sq footage in the design even if left unfinished going extra high in the basement adding egress type windows and having room for utilities to be covered over and still have 8 foot ceilings when done will make it easy to DIY some area in the future. If you don’t finish the basement have the plumbing in place roughed in and capped.

Most large houses I see if you take the attached garage off are actually pretty small. If you don’t need a 3 or 4 car garage go with a single or none and add a detached down the line. Around here most people don’t use their garage except to hold a lot of junk and then have a detached garage pole barn construction setting a couple hundred feet away in rural settings.

You didn’t mention if the new house will be in a gated country club setting where there will be imposed a lot of rules as to how it must look or if you will be building on your own property in a rural setting where you will have more freedom?
 
I guess my next question would be. If his price is because of his minimum standards, who owns the plans we just came up with? We paid him $2,000 to design the plans with us... if we have to go to a different builder due to his minimum standards do we need to figure out a whole new layout or can we take the basic layout to a different builder. all we have right now is a general layout of the finished two floors.
 
That's a good question. If you paid money for the design, I believe it should be yours. If there is any kind of contract or 'letter of agreement' with the builder, then there is probably language in there about the ownership of the plans.
 
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