Love it.

Well I am on my fourth home. Back in 1973 I built a 1800 square foot home with basement so 3600 square feet total plus two car attacked garge. That house cost $28000. My next house in 1984 was a two story with basement at 925 square feet per floor and three car garage. Cost about $84000. The next house was a raise ranch 1800 square feet per floor and two car garage with in floor heat. Cost about $190000. Now our current home is 1500 sq feet per floor and in floor heat in garage as well. Plus a full bathroom in the garage, nice garage. just doing the sheetrock in the basement now, darn dust. We got about $225000 in it. All of my homes had custom cabinet in the kitchen and bathrooms. Now a precut stud 2x4 is $6.00. you need to go to 2x6 studs and insulate with spray foam. I built these home while working full time, doing it after work and weekends. My wife says that's it. I say WHAT! Get prices from Menards or your local lumber yard. I went local lumber yards as the lumber seems better. The windows will set you back a little. i can build a house in my dreams and then the next day it just falls into place. You can wire your own home as well as plumbing but you better know how to do it. I have a son in East Grand Fork Mn who is a contractor and he does all kinds of building. David did not have a chance to build any of my homes as he was to young. Anyway go for it. have fun

More I look into it the more I think one level, built into the hill and just do poured concrete. Insulated concrete forms seem reasonably simple and the house should last forever and be efficient. When BLM decided to burn down Minneapolis everyone decided it was a good time to move out my way, quite frustrating trying to get started now.

The local lumber yard and their employees has given my small company tens of thousands of dollars worth of work, I will definitely be using the local lumber yard for anything I can.

with the price of lumber now days i would go with fox blocks or something like it , I did my basement with them and should have done the up stairs to , my wife and I put up walls in two days ready to pour , pour took two hours , so easy

One level is nice especially as we get older. May as well put in a zero entry tub and hand rails to.;)

I built my house in 2002. I didn't personally build it but was general contractor and jack of all trades. I hired a framer who also did the windows, siding kitchen cabinets, trim etc. I hired the septic, basement, plumbing and electrical all done to code. I did the roof, drywall , decks and a host of other things along with making sure the materials were there when we needed them. This was all while I was working full time job.

The best thing I did was purchase a computer program that can design your house. You can even do a walk through with it. It 'll spit out the exact amount of materials to build right down to the amount of nails needed. It also prints out decent blueprints that we used.

We started digging basement in early June and I moved in the 1st of September. It's a a beautiful single story with large 2 bedrooms on a walkout basement. It has cedar siding with over 600 square foot of deck , 400 foot is covered. It looks out over a heavily cleared timber creek bottom and is just like living in a tree house. I wish I knew how to post pics. Cost was less than 100,000 including land and tapping into neighboring well.

This sounds perfect. Congratulations on your house.




31 going on 67.

The more I look into everything the more doable it seems to build a small house. I have a friend who is an electrician, a friend who is a plumber, friends who have done construction and concrete. Calling in a bunch of favors and getting this done seems reasonable.

If you go with this just be sure to make it so the water can drain around the house.Water coming down a hillside can cause all kind of problems.If the concrete even just stays damp it can cause mold.I sure like my wood stove in the basement.

I built a 30×50 wood frame and trusses, metal roof and sides, no basement. With open cell spray foam insulation, and cost was about 80 a square foot. I did alot of the work myself we gave no code enforcement or anyone to check up on you. The concrete will be a big cost in the basement I would think. I think I had close to 10 grand in the 30×50 slab with a 8x50 and 10x50 porches.

Shipping containers are versatile and less than 2K ea when 3 or more ordered.
NC huntNfish site has some experts.

Look into frost protected shallow foundations.

https://www.homeinnovation.com/~/media/Files/Reports/Revised-Builders-Guide-to-Frost-Protected-Shallow-Foundations.pdf

Less cost, less concrete, no footings that go down 3ft or more.

Lots of technology out there for building and efficient and economical house, unfortunately most builders/architects do as they have always done and don't know or look into newer tech. If you use the newer tech then you have to find or educate the builder on how to use it.

Don't cheap out when it comes to insulating and windows. If your in MN 8" min insulation in walls, avoid fiberglas insulation. Insulation and air infiltration building costs will pay you back over time, nothing else you do while building will do that.

Would someone explain why timber prices are low when lumber is at an all time high? Just too much supply?
It costs more to build a house now than what it appraises for when it's done.

A lot of the mills are still shut down due to CV19. Many of them no longer exist. So YES.....the supply of logs is much greater than what the mills can turn into finished product .

Spent the morning punching numbers. I would love if someone could tell me if I am wrong on any of these. Excavation I can do myself if I do a one story house built into a preexisting hill, the soil is sandy and well drained which should help alleviate drainage concerns.

24x36 one level house
Concrete for floor =11.11 yards 125 per yard = $1,500
Foam blocks for concrete forms/insulation = 180 blocks = $4,500
Concrete for 6" thick walls= 17.88 yards=$2,250
33 sheets OSB for roof= $1,000
26 Sheets of Tin for the roof=$1,170
Trusses=???

So far $10,320 for basic structure and I need to figure out the Truss situation. Also need Concrete footers for walls as well as Rebar. I will look for windows from scratch and dents as well as doors. Obviously moisture barrier/screws/nails etc needs to be added in. A good friend is a plumber and this should be very easy to plumb as it is one bath room and a kitchen sink. Electrical I am unsure of cost, I have a buddy who is an electrician but he has been quite busy.

If well and Septic come in at $15,000 I am thinking it MAY be feasible to pull this off for around $50,000... Am I way off somewhere? What am I forgetting?



Obviously I would need extra concrete to make sure we didn't run low but extra can be utilized in my shop so I am not including it in these prices.

Blown in insulation in the rafters, pea gravel and drain pipe for around the foundation I would make this run nearly to the top of ground level. Water in the house is not fun. O a water stop for between the footer and walls.

Prices of well and septic will vary a lot by geography and and proximity to surface water.

The last one I was involved with was 20K for each.The well and septic. So your location matters a lot.
For trusses, again it will depend on your location somewhat. But a 24 foot wide truss is pretty simple. But with the price of lumber and the hot housing market I would expect to see prices between 150-200 per truss......but that could be way off at this point.

I'm confused on your plan. Are you planning to have concrete walls ?? Where is your electrical going to be located ?

The soil were I want the house is basically pure sand, would pea gravel be better than just sand? I have dug sand out of this hill and sold it for beach sand, that is how sandy it is.

I know a well cost 5k roughly, I am friends with the well guys and they happen to owe me $500 so hopefully $4,500. He told me to plan for 5k and it should be close. Septic...Not as sure.

Thinking of doing this method of concrete walls, the electrical runs on the inside like a traditional house, instead of cutting through the studs and running wiring you just groove it into the foam, same with the boxes.

I did this when I started my house. I’m a new construction plumber and the contractor would let me pick up scrap of the jobs. Rebar for foundation and short 2x4’s and 1x4’s. Just about all of my form material and headers and cripple’s & blocking were free. Makes a big difference in overall cost. Especially as high as lumber costs are now.

The OSB cost is low. You can do your own perc test to see if a conventional septic will be approved. You can set the tank, d-box and laterals yourself and get #2 stone and fabric. I would use geonet drain on the foundation wall and lots of stone fabric and pipe to convey the water away from the wall and footer. Do not skimp on this, you do not want the soil pressure on the wall and water issues.