Building a new house

[reds]

What is the most cost effective way to build a house?I am going to build a new house on an acreage so lay out will not matter.Would prefer slab on grade but concerned about frost with no frost wall.So now considering a basement moisture is not a problem.Thanks for all input.

[BallCoeff.435]

Probably no single most cost effective way, but there are some obvious principles involved.

That might include:

-keep the design simple and no larger than you really 'need'. (One of the richest guys in the world, Warren Buffet, still lives in the same little house in Nebraska that he started with, decades ago.)
-don't use unnecessary, expensive ego-driven interior finishings (typical granite/stainless, or exotic hardwoods) unless you can really take advantage of desperate suppliers and installers
-reduce on-site work problems and labour expense, by using factory assembly or product where possible (e.g. modular housing)
-ensure sufficient quality of site prep, design, construction, and materials to avoid really nasty problems later ( http://penhorwood.ca/?p=1 )
-don't confuse flashy cosmetics or complicated design with quality
-be very careful with financing. So many people now are in financial pain everywhere because they bought too much, at way too high a price, just because they though some greater fool would eventually pay even more for it.
-use things that locally can give you some advantage. (e.g. unusual fuels for heating, or wind-turbine off-grid power in a windy area if electricity is really expensive)
-be creative, take the time to find out what new or unusual approaches or materials exist that will give you a superior project for the same or less cost.

[RLG]

Going through the same thing at the moment.
I would like a basement, have been looking at sunshine style (4' in ground). This takes advantage of your frost walls, that I would need if i went with a slab on grade house anyway. You have to pour at least 4' deep frost walls (perimeter) with piles to support slab or you could do piles and grade beams for perimeter/load and piles under slab still. Best to get an engineer involved i have found. Cost effective = sunshine basement imo. My issue at the moment is designing a better water/sump system to protect it.

Above grade I am doing ICF with Sip type panel roof. Not real cost effective, but it elimanates alot of problem areas with traditional buildings. It ends up costing approx 28K more than wood framed. As this will be my home till the end of me, I will get that back.

Some of the issues i have with slab on grade are
- heating system. ductwork is a problem, usually in floor is the best option and that is costly.
- Concrete floor. all your flooring is directly on this, cracking, shifting, shrinkage, moisture, uneven, can all be problems
- Settlement, if it occurs with either way its a problem, but bigger issue and potential with slab. (individual piles)
- a man cave is not the same if its above grade
That being said, alot of guys have recommeneded it to me in another thread, so it must be working for them.

My advice, i'm a journeyman, built tons of houses and renos, if this is your forever home, don't cheap out, build to last forever, peace of mind is a great thing especially when you will have to look at it everyday.

[Raptor]

Hire a contractor. If you Contract the project yourself, it can be expensive if you don't know all the ins and outs. I have saw this many times over. Delays and additional costs are not worth it. Plus contractors can usually get things done faster as they know the trades.
I also know, there are not too many trades people who like working for homeowners directly as the Contractor and that in itself could be a little tougher to find the good trades people.
If you want a great Contractor, I can steer you onto one. (Not Me)
Have fun!

[Reeves1]

Make sure you are well protected from Zombies:

http://www.armorcore.com/about-faq.html

[Ken07AOVette]

Build it yourself with friends and family. I did 2800 sq ft in 7 months, did everything myself with a home owners permit. 4' in ground, no piles needed, 11 years old and the concrete looked like new when we changed out the carpet.
Insulate the hell out of it, spend more to save more.

[densa44]

Back the house into the wind, bend the garage off a bit to shelter the garge door openings and Your front door. Be sure that you are right about the water! There will be old (1950's) aerial photos at the county office of where the water was prior to subdivision, have a look it is free.

I'd hire a General Contractor it I did it again. I was my own contractor and it is almost impossible to get the trades to come. My son and I did most of the trades work ourselves. We got help (not much) from framers, the best group where the dry wallers.

Insulation counts!

Try to enjoy this, it is a great sense of achievement when you are done.

Oh bye the way everything costs more that what you were told or budget for.

Good luck.

[pophouseman]

My advice on the cheapest way to build.......DO IT NOW

-Concrete is cheap
-Lumber is the cheapest it has been in 10 years
-OSB is the cheapest it has been in 10 years (under $6.50 for 3/8")
-Stalled labour market in edmonton and calgary has driven prices for framing to under $8.00 for the first time since 2002

I would reccomend starting your build ASAP as most material and labout prices have nowhere to go but up.

Also if you have any amount of knowledge in homebuilding or construction do not hire a contractor and save your self $50,000

[reds]

First of all thanks for everyones input this is what im looking for!I have built my last house 3 years ago I did alot of work myself and contracted out what I did not have time for.
It is a 28'x42' building esentially what it is is 1176 sq' of living area above a 3 car garage.It sits on a 2' wide footing and a 4' icf frost wall, the rest of the building is stick built.The slab is heated with a tankless water heater and all the plumbing for the living area is in the floor trusses,so heating wise its pretty efficient.
But now I would like to build a slab on grade house were everything is on 1 level just a bit bigger say 1500 sq' plus garage.I guess my main question is is it just as costly to dig and pour a 4' frost wall and drill pilings to support slab or just dig basement and have the extra room?Hope this makes sense.
Thanks

[220swifty]

Originally Posted by pophouseman

-Stalled labour market in edmonton and calgary has driven prices for framing to under $8.00 for the first time since 2002

Way under! $ 8.00 sq ft is big money for us right now, unheard of on a conventional single family.

[BallCoeff.435]

Originally Posted by pophouseman

My advice on the cheapest way to build.......DO IT NOW

-Concrete is cheap
-Lumber is the cheapest it has been in 10 years
-OSB is the cheapest it has been in 10 years (under $6.50 for 3/8")
-Stalled labour market in edmonton and calgary has driven prices for framing to under $8.00 for the first time since 2002

I would reccomend starting your build ASAP as most material and labout prices have nowhere to go but up.

Also if you have any amount of knowledge in homebuilding or construction do not hire a contractor and save your self $50,000

No doubt labour is getting cheaper, due to the big slowdown in house sales and construction - the long grinding correction is clearly underway. (Not as cheap yet as the early '60s though). And no doubt materials are down because Chinese overbuilding is being seen for what it is, and is finally slowing.

No reason that that will change any time soon though. The fundamentals just don't support it - the most important of which is HUMONGOUS global debts of most people and governments.

So no rush to build.

[Grizzly Adams]

Slab on grade is not an option in this climate. You'll need frostwalls at least and that takes much of the economy out of that. Got a book downstairs that describes packed earth construction. Can't get any cheaper than that. Don't think I could have built mine any cheaper, but time was not a factor, since we had a roof over our head. Picked a reasonable size and plan was drawn on a piece of graph paper. Being a man of many talents and having a plumber gas fitter brother, no outside labor involved, besides the excavator. Scrounge factor in much of the material and labor was supplied by the entire family. Only took a year and a bit

Gotta shake my head as I drive around. Average house nowadays is about 2000 squ.ft. and most are occupied by a couple of people. No wonder they're empty every day, cause the owners have to go to work to pay the mortgage. Municipalities love because of the taxes they generate.

[BallCoeff.435]

Reuse the bricks from the previous (shorter) house ,
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/phot...834726,00.html

Double up on piping,
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/phot...771128,00.html

and make it easier for the furnace fan to run:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/phot...771112,00.html

[canuck]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Slab on grade is not an option in this climate.

Actually, it is.
And it has been a common building method in northern European countrys for years.
I helped my Dad build his slab-on-grade home using the CMHC design as shown in this article.
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/publicati...2000-127E.html

Dad did a lot of research on this method before proceeding and it has worked wonderfully for him - he saved at least 15K in foundation costs this way.
You must have proper soil conditions and an undisturbed (or extremely well compacted) base though.

We completed his beautifully finished 1650 ft bungalow for less than 115K four years ago (when things were still booming) using this and other cost effective methods of construction.

[calvin]

i built a 1200 sq ft house a couple of years ago and i built it entirely of wood. bought a book from the preserved wood foundation group and got 'er done. the only thing i had done outside of my scope was a crew to put up trusses and sheet the roof, electrical and heating. the rest i done myself. started after a week of elk hunting in sept. and finished before a week of elk hunting the following year. i figured i earned about 80 - 100 k doing this and taking the year off to do was extremely rewarding. i worked with my strengths and it my wife and i never argued once during the whole process. the only thing she would ask is "do you know how to do that". my answer was either yes or no and that dictated how complicated things were going to get. there is some hindsite issues but maybe the next house will answer those. i loved doing this project with my family as it is very rewarding to be able to fulfill one of the basic needs of providing for ones family. pm me if you want more questions answered.

[nicemustang]

Check out www.polycorecanada.com if you don't want to have an expensive concrete basement. I am putting in ICF (insulated concrete foundation) but it's expensive but awesome.

[roots]

Originally Posted by BallCoeff.435

-reduce on-site work problems and labour expense, by using factory assembly or product where possible (e.g. modular housing)

I just got back pricing on a 3 piece modular and I am not sure if it is cheaper. Matter of fact, the manufacturer just told me of a price increase because of a increase in material cost
Now I am taking my plans to custom builders and getting other quotes.

[pophouseman]

Originally Posted by BallCoeff.435

No doubt labour is getting cheaper, due to the big slowdown in house sales and construction - the long grinding correction is clearly underway. (Not as cheap yet as the early '60s though). And no doubt materials are down because Chinese overbuilding is being seen for what it is, and is finally slowing.

No reason that that will change any time soon though. The fundamentals just don't support it - the most important of which is HUMONGOUS global debts of most people and governments.

So no rush to build.

I have to politely disagree with you. Typically lumber and osb prices rise in the spring based on pressure applied from U.S markets, However as we know their economy is in the tank, so this has not,and will not happen for a while. BUT......what will happen is, you will see by the fall quite a few mill closures. There WILL be some pulp mill and OSB plant closures which large companies do to drive prices up by lowering supply. Unfortunately there comes a point where a company's product 's value is so low, that a company can sell 10-15% more units then the year before and still lose money. I advise start building your house now, as the housing market in Alberta is starting to heat up and labor will go back through the roof by fall.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by pophouseman

I have to politely disagree with you. Typically lumber and osb prices rise in the spring based on pressure applied from U.S markets, However as we know their economy is in the tank, so this has not,and will not happen for a while. BUT......what will happen is, you will see by the fall quite a few mill closures. There WILL be some pulp mill and OSB plant closures which large companies do to drive prices up by lowering supply. Unfortunately there comes a point where a company's product 's value is so low, that a company can sell 10-15% more units then the year before and still lose money. I advise start building your house now, as the housing market in Alberta is starting to heat up and labor will go back through the roof by fall.

I wouldn't bet any money on it. US economy, housing prices are projected to fall further. Only a couple of OSB plants left in Alberta. Many Alberta housing prices are at 2000 levels and further decline is projected. Lots of re-sale housing on the market as well. Not much logic, in building, when you can purchase used , for less than replacement cost.

Grizz

[dogboy]

Install a Fire Sprinkler system
Iv had both my Anty and my moms best friend lost evrething to house fires.
it costs less then hardwood floors and is a good peace of minde, just shop around for a good contracter.
(yes this is my trade but I dont do Homes just Industreal )

[leo]

A huge savings can be made on your roof if the design is kept simple. I have seen it take upwards of 2 weeks to frame in some roof's that have alot of hips, valley's and ridges on custom homes. If going with slab on grade you don't require pilings unless your engineering your foundation. Just go with a typical spread footing, 42-44" grade beam , insulate inside of grade beam with exterior grade styrofoam , bring compaction to 98% or better and pour your slab on top. Stip outside form and insulate exterior after damp proofing the foundation. It does limit you to heating systems, you're right. In slab heat and high velocity works well together as both require a boiler. Good luck.

[reds]

I am now looking into a laminated post building to live in does anyone else reside in one on this forum?

[ganderblaster]

Be careful with crawl spaces and frost walls if building in the summer. Seen a lot of mould issues with builds as if you get water in there during a storm before the shingles are on you are screwed. This is only from what I have seen first hand in my local area where crawl spaces are not that common. But it got very expensive fast.

[ganderblaster]

Originally Posted by leo

A huge savings can be made on your roof if the design is kept simple. I have seen it take upwards of 2 weeks to frame in some roof's that have alot of hips, valley's and ridges on custom homes. If going with slab on grade you don't require pilings unless your engineering your foundation. Just go with a typical spread footing, 42-44" grade beam , insulate inside of grade beam with exterior grade styrofoam , bring compaction to 98% or better and pour your slab on top. Stip outside form and insulate exterior after damp proofing the foundation. It does limit you to heating systems, you're right. In slab heat and high velocity works well together as both require a boiler. Good luck.

I agree. Most roof leaks start in the hips and valleys. Unless you are a pilot that flys over your house every week or live in the bottom of a valley, who really cares what your roof layout is like? I dunno everybody has different things that matter I guess.

[ganderblaster]

Jeepers I really need to start looking at the dates these things are posted with all the people reviving dead threads😂😂😂😂

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by ganderblaster

Jeepers I really need to start looking at the dates these things are posted with all the people reviving dead threads😂😂😂😂

Lol I hadn't noticed the date lol probabl built and sold the house by now.

[Dewey Cox]

One and only post is to revive a thread from 2011.
Off to a slow start...

[RBI]

Originally Posted by ganderblaster

Jeepers I really need to start looking at the dates these things are posted with all the people reviving dead threads😂😂😂😂

Yah , I'm going ...Holy crap is the price on OSB that far down again