Building costs/estimates

[Vic]

I am trying to determine if building from scratch on a property we own, or buying a home that needs significant repairs will be less costly.

My wife and I currently own property in Nanawale, down at the lower end (2 lots bordering farm land, so its kind of a nice piece of land, and likely our preference to build from scratch, just not if its a lot more money than making big repairs to something already built.

Going forward I am working on getting a good guess on overall costs, and what items require a contractor to perform and which I can do. I feel i can do all but the septic tank, but know i have to a plumber and electrician. Can I do the framing myself, along with everything else? Like the catchment setup?

The costs below are my current rough projections, so please feel free to comment on RL recent experiences you have had. I know some of this is just educated guesses so im looking for anything I have missed or grossly mis-estimated.

Survey $1,000
Permits $1,000
light clearing/driveway/site prep $9,000
Engineering/blue prints for 900 Sq foot open wall "cabin" $600
Septic $6,000
Catchment $8,000
Framing/siding/roofing/windows&doors $21,000
Electric $5,000
Plumbing $5,000
Cabinetry $8,000
Finishing materials $5,000

That comes up to just less than 80k. The goal is to know if that's doable/realistic/close. Example: we noted a new home on the mainland that we stopped by and inquired since it looked nice, new, and about the right size. we were told he and spent $280k which seems unfathomable to me, but made me question my numbers..

Thanks in advance for any feedback


Cant wait to live in Puna!

[Vic]

Oh Ya, likely Post and Pier foundation, and likely elevated for auto storage underneath.

Cant wait to live in Puna!

[kalakoa]

Rule of thumb: County will figure out how to take all your money and then some.

Note that "something already built" is grandfathered to the version of Code in existence at the time of construction, as long as you're careful not to renovate "too much" and trigger new Code requirements.

That said, compliance is in the mind of the County inspector, so it's really about whether they're in a good mood on the day they happen to visit the jobsite.

[Rob Tucker]

Your numbers don't mean much without knowing what size home you are thinking of building. As a contractor we usually think in terms of cost per square foot.

[Vic]

900 sq feet


Cant wait to live in Puna!

[Cagary]

Strongly suggest getting at least a quote from Rob. We have one of his Castleblock homes (1170 sqft) and love it. Not a scrap of wood in the whole structure. The island termites hate us! Can send photos if interested.

-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".

[Vic]

Thats a great idea, how do i go about that? Yes send pics, sailorson@yahoo.com

Cant wait to live in Puna!

[hotinhawaii]

Your numbers seem very low to me for a 900 square foot house. Simple post and pier foundations are no longer permittable here. You must at least pour and build corner foundations. If it is raised up enough for a car space underneath, the underside will need fire-rated covering of some kind. The electric and plumbing costs seem very low too compared to what I am used to paying for electricians and plumbers.
A survey isn't necessarily needed. You may be able to find the property pins yourself and string out the property lines and go from there. There is a risk this way that your pins may be wrong, but many people opt to go this route.
Your blueprint cost seems low. Do you know an architect who will do plans for this cost? I would expect about $1 per sf from an unlicensed draftsperson and another $500 to have them stamped by an architect.

[Tink]

You also will have to consider the type of footing you will need depending on how high the first floor will be, as a garage below as an example will require a larger footing and engineering stamped plans to take the shear load as per the Building Code. Single floor 18 inches off the ground is two pieces of horizontal laid rebar and concrete. Also your plans would reflect shear paneling and framing above the footing accordingly. The higher up you go, the more expensive, unfortunately as I believe they follow seismic zone 3 or 4 in the Code. I'm not an Engineer.

Community begins with Aloha

[randomq]

Wow, $5000 to wire a new 900 sqft house? An electrician and assistant could knock that out in two days.