Building home in Seattle: Cost/Sq.ft?

[Jared]

Greetings,

I know that the cost per square foot for building a house gets tossed around way too much. I'm more interested in getting a general feel for what it costs to build in my area.

I'm looking to build an average quality home around 2500 sq.ft. Can I get away with building a house between $100-$125 per sq.ft? Of course I'd be willing to cut corners on materials in order to meet that budget.

Any figures, personal experiences, or general advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[RicodJour]

Cut corners on materials to meet a budget... Uh huh. This wouldn't be your first spec house would it?

There's too much shit in the world as it is. Cut down on the size before you start cutting corners on materials.

R

[Michael Bulatovich]

You're starting to sound like Bogie (Frank McCloud) in Key Largo:

Johnny Rocco: There's only one Johnny Rocco. James Temple: How do you account for it? Frank McCloud: He knows what he wants. Don't you, Rocco? Johnny Rocco: Sure. James Temple: What's that? Frank McCloud: Tell him, Rocco. Johnny Rocco: Well, I want uh ... Frank McCloud: He wants more, don't you, Rocco? Johnny Rocco: Yeah. That's it. More. That's right! I want more! James Temple: Will you ever get enough? Frank McCloud: Will you, Rocco? Johnny Rocco: Well, I never have. No, I guess I won't. You, do you know what you want? Frank McCloud: Yes, I had hopes once, but I gave them up. Johnny Rocco: Hopes for what? Frank McCloud: A world in which there's no place for Johnny Rocco.

[++]

You can always hire a cost consultant, but if you are a small contractor or building yourself, there's always Means's guides:

Means applies a cost differential for every locale and every constructio material and subspecialty. For example, perhaps your locale has cheaper bricklaying but more expensive finish carpentry, average drywall, more expensive precast concrete,+ whatever. Knowing your local cost data can actually help you design because you will be using trades and materials cheaperfor your locale. But having a professional suggest the life cycle cost of one design over another is a valuable above those calculations. For example, the energy savings of one kind of building envelope above another.

For Seattle, I'd definately consider the effect of mold on any given building material....

G.