# Cost of constructing a new home?



## monokitty

There are dozens of different costs and expenses involved in constructing a new home after you buy the property you want to build on. Including the property itself (say.. around $30-$50K), what is a rough estimate of how much it would cost to build a small-sized home? I don't calculate square feet very well, so by small, I mean single bedroom, small office, small living/kitchen/entry, single-story home. A garage would be nice. Landscaping can come afterwards.


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## PenguinBoy

Construction costs will vary a lot with the size of building, materials and techniques used, local requirements, cost and availability of trades, amount of sweat equity, special considerations for the building site, availability of services such as power, water, etc.

Your best bet would be to talk to a number of local builders about what you have in mind and go from there.


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## miguelsanchez

In Toronto, the going rate is about $100 - $120 per square foot. A bungalow like the one you described is approximately 1000 square feet, so you would be looking at about $100,000 - $120,000 just to build. The price goes up depending on your choices of finish i.e. hardwood floors, marble tiles, granite countertops, nicer baseboards/crown moulding etc.

Halifax numbers may be different, YMMV.


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## darkscot

I just went through a lot of this. Costs can vary a lot. We just moved an older farmhouse from 5 clicks away and with the cost of property (4 acres), moving the house, foundation, etc. it cost more than I thought it would but much less than buying new  

Things to consider:
-property
-foundation
-electrical hookup
-septic system hookup (if on town grid)
-septic tank & field if rural
-well (if rural)
-driveway
-plumbing
-house electricity
-house construction
-lawyer fees
-inspection fees

Hope this helps. The costs really vary depending on location mostly. Especially in rock-plenty areas like Nova Scotia when it comes to foundation digging, well drilling, etc.


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## kps

Best to ask in your own back yard...

Nova Scotia Home Builders Association:
http://www.nshba.ns.ca/

...and don't forget construction insurance, you may be held liable for damage, injuries, etc. on top of any payouts from the builder's insurance.


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## SkyHook

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## moonsocket

I would buy an older home Lars. Of course I said I would buy a used car and you leased a brand new one.


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## CanadaRAM

Just heard on the radio this morning -- in Victoria/Vancouver, count on your construction costs to rise 1.5 percent per month. So if you wait a year, your $100,000 project becomes a $120,000 project...


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## bhil

Lars said:


> There are dozens of different costs and expenses involved in constructing a new home after you buy the property you want to build on. Including the property itself (say.. around $30-$50K), what is a rough estimate of how much it would cost to build a small-sized home? I don't calculate square feet very well, so by small, I mean single bedroom, small office, small living/kitchen/entry, single-story home. A garage would be nice. Landscaping can come afterwards.


You might want to think about adding a bathroom to your list of requirements.  

That being said, I just finished building a house in Regina and the overall cost worked out to about $115 per square foot, not including any landscaping or the lot. Judging for this and migel's comment that costs in Toronto are between $100 and $120 I would expect Halifax to fall right in the same range.


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## bhil

miguelsanchez said:


> ...A bungalow like the one you described is approximately 1000 square feet...


I would think this to be on the large size for the requirements Lars sugested. Our previous house was 1055 square feet and it had three bedrooms, a fair size living room, and a decent size kitchen. And remember a bungalow has a basement which isn't counted in the square footage, and generally costs less to develop. If Lars wants to take advantage of his basement and place his office down there, he could easily probably get by with 800 square feet, maybe less depending on the layout in the floor plan.


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## monokitty

bhil said:


> You might want to think about adding a bathroom to your list of requirements.
> 
> That being said, I just finished building a house in Regina and the overall cost worked out to about $115 per square foot, not including any landscaping or the lot. Judging for this and migel's comment that costs in Toronto are between $100 and $120 I would expect Halifax to fall right in the same range.


When you say $115 per square foot.. what does include? Is that $115/sq.ft in material, labour, or..? Plus I have to add the cost of the lot to that total price tag. I'm almost thinking that $200,000 should cover the entire cost of a small home.. is that a dream or close to reality?


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## Kosh

Lars said:


> I'm almost thinking that $200,000 should cover the entire cost of a small home.. is that a dream or close to reality?


I think you're too high on your estimate. $200,000 should get you a roomy 2 bedroom, at least. Halifax can't be that expensive to build in.


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## bhil

$115 per square foot is a "finished price". That means if you have an 800 square foot home, it will cost you $92,000 to have the hole dug, and the house constructed (including siding, painting, shingling, counters, electrical work, fixtures, basically everything that needs to be done before you can move in.) This price is based on our actual construction cost, and we stepped up things like the kitchen cupboards, the quality of the flooring we used, and had the basement framing/insulating done, so the actual cost might work out to less per square foot for a standard build. This also included an oversized (26'x24') garage.

Things that this cost will not include would be: lot price, landscaping, fencing, deck/patio, driveway (this is generally included, but we explicitly asked for it not to be), appliances, furniture, etc.

When it comes to finishing the basement, the price is significanly cheaper. I can't back this number, but I would guess going through a contractor you could expect to pay $25 per square foot to finish the basement (ie. another $20,000). If you (or someone you know) knows your way around tools, and can finish the basement yourself, you can probably cut that number in half or more. We are finishing our basement ourselves, and it will end up costing us less than $10,000 to completely finish a 950 square foot basement.


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## guytoronto

Google prefab homes or factory made homes. Give a few places a call. You'll get a better idea.

Not available in Canada (yet) but... http://www.boklok.com/


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## nxnw

We built our house in Toronto and know others who did the same. Nobody we know escaped the experience for as little as $120 psf. Keep in mind that, aside from labour and materials, there's an architect, possibly a structural engineer, paving, landscaping (just laying sod is expensive), permits...

The house you are talking about sounds very modest and does not seem to have any unique features that you could not find in a resale. I would expect a resale to be cheaper and much less aggravating. In fact, I STRONGLY recommend that you not build unless you have no reasonable alternative. It can be a very demanding, risky and aggravating.


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## MannyP Design

guytoronto said:


> Google prefab homes or factory made homes. Give a few places a call. You'll get a better idea.
> 
> Not available in Canada (yet) but... http://www.boklok.com/


That's exactly what we need--IKEA-made homes. Should last a good 5 years before you need another one.


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## scootsandludes

Just to add to nxnw, if you're tearing down an existing very old house, or breaking new ground, and they find something of archaeological significance, you'll probably have to pay to have it excavated, which could be expensive, and considering that most of that work will be done with a trowel, you'll need to consider extra living expenses if you need to rent an apartment and a storage locker to put your things in. Food for thought.


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## ErnstNL

Prefabs? In Nova Scotia?
Nova Scotia has got their own pre-fab manufacturer, Interhabs
If you love planks and beams, check them out.

http://www.interhabs.ns.ca/modelsavailable/index.htm

They come shipped in containers. Hire a contractor to build it for you, or do it yourself.
I had one shipped and built here in NL back in 1987. Excellent quality. Don't live in it anymore, sad to say. The Cape Cods are really nice.


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