Carl,
Is it true that the general rule of thumb is the cost of labor to build a house is about $100 - $110 per square foot?
And this is in addition to the cost of the land?
Laurie
Hi Laurie,
Rules of thumb for the cost per sq. ft. of a house are dangerous, for professional General Contractors as well as Owner/builders.
Price per sq ft. can swing wildly depending on many factors. Here are a few of those factors:
Size: The bigger the house, the more it costs overall, but the cost per sq. ft. drops dramatically, as the cost of items such as kitchens is spread out over more square footage, and so on.
Design: The pitch of the roof, the type of roof, the style of the roof, the weight of the shingles, the number of windows, the style of windows, and so on, affect the cost per sq. ft. tremendously.
Foundations: type of foundation, land slope, drainage, and the list goes on, all affect the cost per sq. ft.
Shopping: The same house (plan) can vary greatly by quality & cost of labor & materials chosen. Those who love, and are good at shopping get the lowest cost per sq. ft.!
Determining the cost of building a particular house is the number one job of any General Contractor. Nothing else even comes close.
The advent of construction estimating software has made initial rough estimating much easier, but accurate estimating requires much more time and energy.
Review the many different costs to build the different houses on "Cost to Build a House by State" and you'll see more clearly that the "rule of thumb" is that there is no real "rule of thumb".
Good luck,
Carl
Average Cost to Build a House You On Here » Average Cost , Cost Estimating » Average Cost to Build a House
