Construction Costs

Building a Dream House, regardless of the design, has its inherent financial challenges. As the owner, it is very easy to talk yourself into the very best of everything when you have convinced yourself that this will be your last house. Of course, Dream Houses are often not the last house that people live in, but that matters little on the front end of the project. Once we started this project we were dedicated to seeing it through. We had an initial budget, and we exceeded it by about twenty percent, which I am told is very common with Dream House projects. I have outlined the breakdown of the various aspects of this project to assist those who might be considering a construction project that goes beyond the predictable norm. Building a "standard" house, even a very expensive “standard” house can be accomplished within a very tightly defined budget. Dream Houses quickly take on a life of their own. The process can be very enjoyable if you are willing to go the distance and not lose heart, but the ride can be difficult as well.

Building out in the country has its own unique financial ramifications. An “in-town lot” usually includes basic utilities at the lot line, and the associated costs of attaching to these services is minimal. In addition, an "in-town lot" is usually graded and requires minimal site prep before a basement or foundation can be dug. Our “out-in-the-country building site” required considerable site preparation before the basement construction could begin. These site preparation costs included:
 
Grading a road across the property to the building site……………........………….$15,000
Crushed rock for private road…………………………………………..................……….$5,500
Trenching in Electrical and Phone lines from the road to the house site..….…$8,600
Site preparation, including compaction..…………………………................………….$6,000
Well construction………………………………………………………........................………$10,000
Septic System (underground, with 250 gallon tank and laterals)……....…………$6,500

Total site preparation costs sub-total……………………………………..............………$51,600

These costs do not include the purchase price of the land; instead, they outline the costs associated with choosing a spot on the land and preparing it for the construction process. Of course, we could have chosen to build our house next to the adjacent county road and reduced some of these costs considerably, but we carefully chose our spot; not to save money, but to provide the best views. We do not regret this decision at all.

The following breakdown of costs are listed in the basic order of construction:

Basement excavation………………………………………………......................…………….$6,000
Foundation walls and footings (commercial spec. reinforced concrete)………...$19,000
Basement floor and drain tile…………………………………………...................………….$5,300
Framing labor (house only)………………………...……………………...................……….$44,000
Framing materials (lumber and sheeting)……………………………….............………...$35,000
Vermont slate shingle roof, materials and installation………………..………...........$66,000
Roof finials, cresting, copper dragon back and lightning protection…………...….$5,400
Electrical (400-amp service house, 100-amp garage and 200-amp barn)………$14,800
Plumbing (rough in – no fixtures, no fixture installation)………......………………...$8,000
Architect and Engineering fees……………………………………………...................……..$32,000
HVAC (two high-efficiency 16-SEER Amana heat pumps)…………………..............…………….$21,000
Brickwork (including brick)………………………………………………....................……...$88,000
Stonework (including quarried St. Mary’s Limestone)……………..........…………….$30,000
Windows (54, Marvin, double-insulated, double-hung).……….........….......……..$38,000
Insulation………………………………………………………………………............................…$5,000
Drywall (installation and finish, smooth ceilings)……………….............………………$22,500
Interior and exterior, solid oak, custom 8-foot tall doors…………........…………….$9,500
Woodwork labor (window trim, door jambs, staircase, moldings, no cabinets)…$97,000
Woodwork materials (quarter-sawn white oak, custom milled)…….....……………..$28,400
Tile work, kitchen and two bathrooms, labor…………………………….............……….$9,000
Tile materials, pattern sheets, custom set-up……………...………………............………$8.500
Kitchen cabinets (custom quarter sawn white oak)………………..........……………….$24,000
Kitchen countertops and sink (Soapstone)…………………….............…………………..$4,000
Oak library shelves, custom built - quarter sawn oak…...………………..............…..$5,000
Oak flooring, material (Antique Russian Oak, 100+ years old)…..…………....…...$23,000
Oak flooring, installation………………………………………………….....................……….$4,500
Exterior trim labor…………………………………………………….......................…………..$20,000
Exterior trim and porch materials…………………………………................………………$45,000
Wood-burning stove slates (three)……………………………………................…...………$2,100
Wood-burning stove, triple-wall pipe ( for three stoves) & chimney tops……..…$3,800
Exterior painting…………………………………………………………......................…….…...$3,000
Interior painting (ceilings and prep for wallpaper).………………………..........……….$3,000
Wallpaper, material……………………………………………………………......................…...$9,000
Wallpaper, installation (and some top-coat treatments)………......…………….………$15,000
Kitchen appliances (Sub-Zero refrigerator, dishwasher, vintage-style stove)…..$12,000
Vintage-style plumbing fixtures…………………………………………..................………...$13,800
Brass door hardware (vintage-style hinges, knobs, etc.)……….......…………………...$3,500
Vintage-style light fixtures……………………………………………….....................…..……$11,500
Interior woodwork, stain and finish……………………………….................……………...$11,000
Oak floors, stain and finish………………………………....…………...................…………..$4,000
Three refurbished, antique, wood-burning stoves, vintage late 1800’s………...…$11,000
Site supervisors' contracting fee……………………………..…..................………………..$81,000
Lift rental………………………………………………………………..........................…………...$9,000
Underground sprinkler system…………….……………….................………………………$3,800
Sod, (Fescue) 15,000 square feet ......................................................................$4000
Landscaping………………………..……………………….........................……………………….$2,000
Construction Insurance (build your own house, and you have to pay this)….…..$4,000

In addition, the grounds of Castle Victorian include two detached buildings,
the Carriage House (garage) and our Barn. These two structures are basically
identical and include second stories and electrical service.
The barn has running water and a central floor drain. Each of these buildings cost
$42,000.
  Out buildings total…...……$84,000

Total construction costs, not including the 60-acre land investment………...................................................................$1,060,000