How to build utility room on slab under piling house?
Warren White
4 months ago
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 months agolast modified: 4 months agoDeWayne
4 months agoRelated Discussions
building a house in North Texas under $150k?
Comments (46)Well, we built a 1600 ft shop, with just our own 4 hands, for today’s equivalent of $78,000. It’s 2x6 construction, 10’ ceilings, heated and cooled, with an epoxy floor. The only paid labor was for lot dirt work, the slab pour, and the trusses built. That was right at 15K in today’s money. Those are friends and family prices. All of the rest was materials, and we built it better than our house. The total includes tool purchases that we kept, but which the pros would likely already have. Like a drywall lift and roofing nailers. We built the forms, did the termite treatment, framed it all, roofed it all, did all the electrical, and all of the finishing. It took over 2 years, with both of us working 2 full time jobs. There’s no plumbing, but, I figure that we could put in an IKEA kitchen, and 2 basic 5x9 vinyl floored bathrooms with an acrylic tub/ shower for 30K, plus the added rough in plumbing from a pro of maybe 7K. But again, that’s with us doing almost all of the work. We’re talking materials only, and an existing water supply, and either a city sewer, or existing septic. Aiming for 150K, that would only leave 35K for all of the work that we did ourselves, to be done by pros. I know for a fact that would not be nearly enough allotted for labor, as I deal with the construction labor market on a daily basis. To build that shop as a house today, with the plumbing and more lower end choices, such as eliminating the 2x6 construction, exterior foam sheathing, upgraded windows, and architectural shingles. etc, I think I could get it done for just at 180K, GCing myself. But that would be too big a pain, as I work too many hours to fully babysit a work site. And, the whole point of wanting to build it ourselves was to be able to build it better than low end. Add back 50K for a GC and the upgrades. 230K, for something fairly basic in shape, with upgrades to the bones, but not crazy finish upgrades. That would be my estimated a bit better than a starter home price....See MoreBuilding custom home- how much should we spend on cabinets?
Comments (86)First, cabinet costs increase every year by about 3%. So the person who had a really nice kitchen installed 12 years ago will be surprised to learn that to replace that kitchen with exactly the same product will likely cost $17,000 today. But I would bet that kitchen doesn't have a single blind corner turn-out or some other nice features that many homes need today. How high are your ceilings? Big cost driver. Homes with 8 foot ceilings are cheaper to do than 9 foot or 10 foot ceilings. Those are major cost drivers. Paint versus stain adds about 10% to cost--add a glaze and you just added another 15% to the paint. Do you have any unique architectural features you want. Those can add up quickly. How many bathrooms do you have. And laundry rooms and bookcases--they all add up. I see nothing wrong with IKEA if you want or need cheap and thin. Oh, and made in China. Most IKEA cabinets are made there. Possibly they use child labor or prison labor, who knows. But best bet is to assume it is 6% to 12% of new home construction, all dependent on the above factors and more. More complex jobs will have a higher percent and less complex jobs will be a lower percent. Track builders regularly do their cabinets at 4% of total job cost, but they are usually very cheaply done, not of plywood, not 3/4" thick and usually underscale for the spaces. Happens often. Those home buyers are my customers 5 to 10 years out as their cabinets discolor and become a bit worn. So dear lady, for your $12000 cabinet job, I would like to put them next to a high quality job and watch your face. There is a difference. But there is nothing wrong with a modest approach from a good cabinetry group--they can make it look like a million dollars and give you a real warranty, unlike the guys doing these things in their garage. You get what you pay for in a very competitive industry and there is no rule of thumb, just a wide range....See MoreHow much would it cost me to build a home? As in ME, no contractors.
Comments (37)since you appear to have missed the real point entirely, the range is so large that OP's q cannot be answered with a useful number. Can you please tell me where I missed that point? I know you made up the number for dramatic effect, so do most people here other than the OP. However, when the OP thanked you for providing a real number, I felt I should give some anecdotal data that was based on reality rather than a made up number. My post was not overly optimistic or unrealistic about the task of building a home yourself. You were the one who then took issue with my real numbers to try to defend the numbers you made up for dramatic effect. It was a surreal journey... Had the OP not said, " Thank you @strategery for the only actual answer," or if you would have clarified your point to the OP in the day that followed the OP's thanks, then I would not have commented at all....See MoreHow much does a plumber charge for installing DWV under a slab?
Comments (8)My house was built in 1940, and we did a basement bathroom conversion from a single toilet and washtub drain to a full bath, utility sink and washer. You should first look at your main vertical soil stack and also at the point where your water supply line enters the house, because this will give you an idea of the path for the existing drain pipe (main soil drain usually exits the house on the same path as the incoming water supply). Assuming the drain under the floor is on a line between the soil stack and the incoming water line, how far will your new bathroom be from that line? You must plan to demo the entire floor under the new bathroom, and enough of the cement floor to reach the existing drain pipe. Now determine where you are going to run your 2" vent stack for the new bathroom. It must go at least to the attic, where it could join with a larger main stack to penetrate the roof, or it will be a dedicated run to exit the roof. Once you get that figured out, you should lay out the new bathroom and figure out how all the vent lines and drains will tie together. The drain "flow" must be toward the existing drain, including the required slope and use of proper fittings where pipes connect. I have found that an experienced plumber can lay this out quite quickly, and its a lot faster than trying to read through how-to books and code compliance info to figure it out yourself. Also consider where windows will be, if you need to install a vent fan and/or heater, etc. Look at your existing electric wiring and breakers to determine what you need anything new for this area. Adding a few LED lights is a minimal load, but an electric bath heater and the mandatory 20 amp GFCI will require new wiring and breakers. From there you need to make your project plan and start finding contractors, or just find a general contractor to do it all. You could certainly do the floor demo yourself, but then you have plumbing to install, cement to pour, framing, wiring, etc. You will also have to comply with local code for insulation, water management, etc., but its usually not that complicated. Bruce...See MoreMark Bischak, Architect
4 months agoBeverlyFLADeziner
4 months agoGina Gilgo
4 months agoGina Gilgo
4 months agoDavid Cary
4 months agolast modified: 4 months agoKR KNuttle
4 months agoNorwood Architects
4 months agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 months agoKR KNuttle
4 months agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
4 months agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
4 months agocpartist
4 months agoWarren White
4 months agoWarren White
4 months agoDavid Cary
4 months agolast modified: 4 months agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 months agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
4 months agoDeWayne
4 months agolast modified: 4 months agocpartist
4 months agoWarren White
4 months agoDeWayne
4 months agoWarren White
4 months ago
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