Intrinsic
Person of Whiteness
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Had a big meeting with Builder today and reviewed our entire project budget. First time we've seen a full total and reviewed all numbers. We went through probably ~80 line items and the allowance and cost quotation. I'll summarize most of the stuff below.
Keep in mind, please, I'm mostly posting this as an outlet for the stress involved during the process. This thread is pretty slow these days with the current home pricing situation, economy, and so forth. I thought it may be interesting to some people or a useful resource if anyone looks back and wants to go through a custom build process. It won't (can't) be apples-to-apples given regional variations in material and labor and individual wants and needs.
All of these categories have multiple sub-items so I'm just representing the total. Most of the categories also had quotes from suppliers / providers representing the actual quoted cost. And most categories included some type of an allowance for us to find what we want (doors, windows, appliances, lighting, door knobs, etc).
We're over budget already. I wanted to be at $850,000 but we also allowed our designer to go over our square footage. We started at 3,800 sqft and eventually settled at 4,200 and change. So, that almost single handedly explain the budget overages.
Framing, I specified 2x6 instead of 2x4s. Looking at the lumber quote the cost of a 10' 2x6 spruce stud is $7.65/ea and we need around 700 of them for framing downstairs and 500 of the 9' 2x6 at $6.56 for upstairs. So, 1200 2x6s. Again, that was my decision. A 2x4 is something like $5 per, is that $2,400 difference in framing material really breaking our budget? No, I don't think so. Plus, we have a bigger cavity for insulation.
We have 4 different heat pump Lennox HVAC quotes, we'll probably go in the middle with that. I am going to ask to see the Manual J/D/S because right now they're sized as a 5T downstairs and 4T upstairs. 9T sounds ridiculously out of line given our wall and attic insulation as well as our higher end windows. I do have concerns that is grossly overquoted, but it is a 4,200 sqft two story house.
I mentioned in the Home Networking thread that part of our Electrical quote includes $10k for "security and networking" and that includes: $800 security system, $1,700 (4) cameras, $3,000 for 12 data drops, (3) Sonos Amp for $3,000 (includes labor, wut?), (3) speaker pairs $1,350, network rack $800, for a total of approximately $10,547. I may just have him take everything out but the data drops. 12 is very low for my requirements of like 2 CAT6 drops per room.
Cabinets are $51,525 which is a first pass estimate. We have to sit down with the cabinet makers (custom local shop). I haven't had a chance to pour through that. We aren't doing anything crazy custom here. Standard shaker, paint grade, all drawer lowers. Includes bath, mudroom, pantry, kitchen.
Ask away and make me justify stuff. I'm pouring through the quotes. Also spoke to the bank and current rates are around 6.75% for construction and 7% for a jumbo permanent or 6.375% for a normal. If we can buy down on the 2nd close below conforming rate (it'd be approx $57k) we'd save quite a bit on interest. And then we could buy down to 6% pretty cheap. But, that won't be for 12 months when construction is complete. Maybe Iran stuff will settle and rates will drop.
Keep in mind, please, I'm mostly posting this as an outlet for the stress involved during the process. This thread is pretty slow these days with the current home pricing situation, economy, and so forth. I thought it may be interesting to some people or a useful resource if anyone looks back and wants to go through a custom build process. It won't (can't) be apples-to-apples given regional variations in material and labor and individual wants and needs.
All of these categories have multiple sub-items so I'm just representing the total. Most of the categories also had quotes from suppliers / providers representing the actual quoted cost. And most categories included some type of an allowance for us to find what we want (doors, windows, appliances, lighting, door knobs, etc).
We're over budget already. I wanted to be at $850,000 but we also allowed our designer to go over our square footage. We started at 3,800 sqft and eventually settled at 4,200 and change. So, that almost single handedly explain the budget overages.
Framing, I specified 2x6 instead of 2x4s. Looking at the lumber quote the cost of a 10' 2x6 spruce stud is $7.65/ea and we need around 700 of them for framing downstairs and 500 of the 9' 2x6 at $6.56 for upstairs. So, 1200 2x6s. Again, that was my decision. A 2x4 is something like $5 per, is that $2,400 difference in framing material really breaking our budget? No, I don't think so. Plus, we have a bigger cavity for insulation.
We have 4 different heat pump Lennox HVAC quotes, we'll probably go in the middle with that. I am going to ask to see the Manual J/D/S because right now they're sized as a 5T downstairs and 4T upstairs. 9T sounds ridiculously out of line given our wall and attic insulation as well as our higher end windows. I do have concerns that is grossly overquoted, but it is a 4,200 sqft two story house.
I mentioned in the Home Networking thread that part of our Electrical quote includes $10k for "security and networking" and that includes: $800 security system, $1,700 (4) cameras, $3,000 for 12 data drops, (3) Sonos Amp for $3,000 (includes labor, wut?), (3) speaker pairs $1,350, network rack $800, for a total of approximately $10,547. I may just have him take everything out but the data drops. 12 is very low for my requirements of like 2 CAT6 drops per room.
Cabinets are $51,525 which is a first pass estimate. We have to sit down with the cabinet makers (custom local shop). I haven't had a chance to pour through that. We aren't doing anything crazy custom here. Standard shaker, paint grade, all drawer lowers. Includes bath, mudroom, pantry, kitchen.
Ask away and make me justify stuff. I'm pouring through the quotes. Also spoke to the bank and current rates are around 6.75% for construction and 7% for a jumbo permanent or 6.375% for a normal. If we can buy down on the 2nd close below conforming rate (it'd be approx $57k) we'd save quite a bit on interest. And then we could buy down to 6% pretty cheap. But, that won't be for 12 months when construction is complete. Maybe Iran stuff will settle and rates will drop.
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pre-Construction | $850 |
| Foundation Cost | $76,913 |
| Framing Cost | $203,635 |
| Plumbing Cost | $53,600 |
| HVAC | $45,150 |
| Electrical | $73,347 |
| Insulation | $17,372 |
| Drywall/Paint | $55,012 |
| Trim | $151,412 |
| Flooring | $49,900 |
| Exterior | $62,215 |
| Outside Concrete | $16,275 |
| Landscaping | $49,364 |
| Utilities | $4,100 |
| Clean-Up | $7,750 |
| Total Cost | $866,896 |
| Overhead (5%) | $43,344 |
| Builder Fee (10%) | $85,689 |
| TOTAL | $996,930 |