A Breakdown Of The Key Costs In Building A Home

Are you thinking about building a home from scratch? You’re making a bold move, but one that can pay off in the future. The advantage of building a house is that you have complete freedom to design it however you like. For many, this is as close to a dream home as you will get. It will obviously take longer to build a house than it would buy one that already exists. This is a small sacrifice if you end up with a home that’s perfect for your family.

The most common question surrounding custom home builds is: how much will it cost? We can’t give precise figures as it depends on many different factors – such as where you live, where you’re building the home, etc. However, we can provide a breakdown of the key costs that you will incur.

Material Costs

Naturally, you have to pay for all the materials used when building your home. This can cause huge price fluctuations between two very similar homes. Obviously, the more expensive the materials, the more costly your home will be.

Construction Costs

Following on from the cost of materials, you have the cost of constructing the home itself. Here, the main structure of your house will take up the bulk of the costs. This includes the walls, roof beams, and any cladding that goes around the building. Clearly, these costs are heavily influenced by the materials you’ve chosen. Opting for a brick-based construction is usually seen as the cheapest method.

After this, the next biggest construction costs are the foundations and floor, following by your roofing. Yes, materials are a factor yet again, but the land you build on will also play a vital role. If the land is quite unstable or not that suitable for a house, it will cost more because you’ll need a more advanced foundation.

Planning & Design Costs

It’s unwise to try and design a home on your own. No matter how creative you are, you need to enlist the help of someone that’s done this before. Typically, you’ll look for the assistance of companies like Hansen Living to plan and design your new home. Homebuilders like this will understand all the building regulations and help you create a home that will work. As a result, you have to pay for these services.

Labour Costs

Furthermore, you have to pay for all of the manual labor that goes into building a home. It’s possible to offset these costs by doing some of the work yourself. However, you’ll probably need a stream of tradesmen to deal with plumbing, electrics, etc.

Hidden Costs

This relates to lots of costs that happen behind the scenes and often go unnoticed. Normally, this will include:

• The cost of planning permission & building regulation applications
• Any waste clearance required on-site
• Demolitions
• Landscaping services
• Site surveys
• Inspections

Overall, building a house will involve lots of different costs. The best advice is to calculate how much it will cost to make your home. You can find calculators online that provide an estimation, which will let you know if it’s cheaper to build or buy.