New construction cost in Northern Wisconsin

[jackpine]

Before I go as far as getting bids from builders I wanted to see what I could expect to pay to have a cabin built on my land in Northern Wisconsin to know if such a project is even in my budget. I know it's a tricky question due to all the details involved so I'm just looking to get a very rough price range estimate or cost per sq foot estimate (a range of 30K total cost est. would be fine).

Cabin would be approx 28x40 / 1100 SF with a basement. Simple 8/12 pitch gable roof w/asphalt shingles, vinyl siding, vaulted ceiling in an open great room on one end, standard Menards type fixtures and finishes. Conventional septic and well.

Hoping to tap into all the knowledge here including those who have recently built or are in the industry.

Thanks in advance

 

[Northbound]

I'm really hoping your 30k isn't what your budgeting and was just a random number... you'd struggle to build an unfinished garage that size for that. If a customer gave me that description and assuming this is currently just land but accessible and said their budget was 100k I'd respectfully walk away and not waste time putting options together. However- location is a really big factor. I actually take on some projects in northern Wisconsin just because it's usually favors for customers around home. We charge a hefty premium to go there simply because we don't need work that far from home and secondly there's very little competition.

 

[Tree Spud]

We just finished up a building with finished living space. I would think your concrete work for that size would run at least $12-15k, well & septic $8-10k depending how deep you need to go.

I believe average housing costs are over $110 sqft these days.

I would agree with Northbound, contractors aren't looking for work these days. Are project took twice as long as planned and we know our GC very well as he is a friend. You may want to consider a metal pole building that you could have the basic structure, concrete, well/septic, elec & plumbing done and then do the rest your self.

 

[ksgobbler]

I bet his concrete is over 30k with a basement. Our upstairs is 400 sq ft bigger, and including the garage we were at 56k for concrete. And that was 3.5 years ago. I know concrete at least around here hasnt gone down.

 

[Aaron]

A house contractor we worked with told us a few years ago that he figures $20,000 just for well and septic, and you would need power and a driveway. I live in Northern Wisconsin and do septic and excavating , I could give you some names if you want them. Where about is your property located?

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I am speaking from recent work, and recent quotes for about the same thing you are looking at doing.

The well if your water isn’t to deep, $3000-$6000. Septic about $13,000 for a mound system, or about $4000 for a holding tank. Electricity if you aren’t in a co op, will depend on how for you are off from a main line, and if you need a road bore or not, $5000-$7500 depending on distance.

Concrete work, for my garage which was a 40’-50’x 4” was $8500, but I did get a discount with that, because I did all the prep work. My house quote32x52 with a half basement is $10,000, again with me doing all the prep work.

My house, which is just a 32x52 rectangular box, a main floor with a half loft, kinda what you are asking about $80,000 for materials with the front wall being pretty much all windows, which is one of the big costs. This is with no interior walls, or finishings. But I went with all options for better insulation, including windows and doors, 6 inch walls. This did not include wall insulation, but it did include insulation for the floor, and roof.

As for labor, I am planning on doing most of it myself, and the stuff I am planning on having done, I will hire out and be the sub contractor myself to save money where I can.

One other thing is I am on the opposite side of the state as you, so I have less big city quotes. Sometimes doing the shopping around yourself and doing all the sub contractor stuff yourself can save you some good money, but it can be stressful trying to line up the crews and getting them out when you need them there.

 

[JFK52]

When I put in my 6 inch rotary drilled well 27 years ago it cost $5,500. It is 160 feet deep. My septic was done for a three bedroom house which was oversized for my trailer and that cost $4,000. So I can easily believe you would spend $15-20K just for those two items today in 2018. I had electricity on my land and got it done real cheap before the power company started charging for every foot of line from the road. You could easily spend $10K and up just on that alone. That has to be done first.
Have you considered a premanufactured house just on a slab?

 

[jackpine]

Thanks for the replies so far. The $30K number was just for a high and low price estimate range..for example an estimate of between $130K and $160K. Sorry for not stating that better.

Sent from my XT901 using Tapatalk

 

[jackpine]

We just finished up a building with finished living space. I would think your concrete work for that size would run at least $12-15k, well & septic $8-10k depending how deep you need to go.

I believe average housing costs are over $110 sqft these days.

I would agree with Northbound, contractors aren't looking for work these days. Are project took twice as long as planned and we know our GC very well as he is a friend. You may want to consider a metal pole building that you could have the basic structure, concrete, well/septic, elec & plumbing done and then do the rest your self.

Thanks for the info...I am considering going the garage route if a cabin isn't in the budget.

Sent from my XT901 using Tapatalk

 

[swat1018]

Basement cost is what will kill you on price, I'd think. Nothing is cheap anymore.

 

[hillrunner]

That's quite a cabin, with a basement you could easily have 5 bedrooms. Here I would expect that project to be around $150,000 assuming a finished basement, forced air furnace+ ac.

 

[Tree Spud]

I would say $150k plus minimum without the basement ... as with any construction project, assume 20% additional cost for unknowns.

When we built our 67' x 36' pole barn with 27' x 36' living space 18 years ago, end cost was $80k with simple pole barn & slab construction and us doing all of the interior finish (wall board, cabinets, finish plumbing, paint, stain, trim & doors, stone work, flooring, etc.). This was not a "Morton" building, was a local pole barn builder, we couldn't afford anything better at the time.

It was very basic with bunks stacked in the 2 small bedrooms, but we had some great times there ...

 

[Bszweda]

Why not purchase a cabin shell that's elevated / raised so you don't get killed in taxes?

 

[jackpine]

I am speaking from recent work, and recent quotes for about the same thing you are looking at doing.

The well if your water isn’t to deep, $3000-$6000. Septic about $13,000 for a mound system, or about $4000 for a holding tank. Electricity if you aren’t in a co op, will depend on how for you are off from a main line, and if you need a road bore or not, $5000-$7500 depending on distance.

Concrete work, for my garage which was a 40’-50’x 4” was $8500, but I did get a discount with that, because I did all the prep work. My house quote32x52 with a half basement is $10,000, again with me doing all the prep work.

My house, which is just a 32x52 rectangular box, a main floor with a half loft, kinda what you are asking about $80,000 for materials with the front wall being pretty much all windows, which is one of the big costs. This is with no interior walls, or finishings. But I went with all options for better insulation, including windows and doors, 6 inch walls. This did not include wall insulation, but it did include insulation for the floor, and roof.

As for labor, I am planning on doing most of it myself, and the stuff I am planning on having done, I will hire out and be the sub contractor myself to save money where I can.

One other thing is I am on the opposite side of the state as you, so I have less big city quotes. Sometimes doing the shopping around yourself and doing all the sub contractor stuff yourself can save you some good money, but it can be stressful trying to line up the crews and getting them out when you need them there.

Thanks for the info, I think our properties are pretty close to each other so I've been following your garage build thread (which is excellent btw) closely and may go with a garage to start with if a cabin doesn't fit my budget. Your well/septic $$'s are pretty close to what i've heard - I'm in the real sandy area and my ground has perked for a conventional system, also heard that wells aren't drilled that deep, I'm figuring around $12K for well & septic give or take a couple $K. I'm not tied to the basement thing - just figured if I'm gonna pay for a '4 frost wall I might as well put in a basement; but then I found out about a frost protected slab and would consider that as an option and then go with a loft like you are doing. Speaking of your loft are you going with trusses or rafters? For electric yes I'm in the coop area, there is a box on the opposite side of the gravel road not far from where my driveway comes out, probly about '300 to the building site from the box; not sure if they would bore under a gravel road or trench across it. I know the coop will come out and give you an estimate for everything; based on their current cost info I would estimate it would be right in the ballpark you mentioned of $5-7K.
I am pretty much open to all options including modular home, SIP home, doing certain work myself, etc but this really gives my a baseline from which to work from. Thanks again for the input

 

[Tree Spud]

Jackpine ... talked to my buddy today who is a GC here in south central Wisconsin. He said he is seeing average residential building costs are $140-$150 sqft.

The one piece of advice he gave me was if you building requires concrete work, get them on the schedule now as these guys are still behind from last year. he has 3 homes that the basment was dug back in Sept and they are still waiting for them to pour. Note that good concrete folks are really hard to find. Our foundation and slab was supposed to be poured May 1 and they finally got it poured late June.

 

[Doohop65]

I would re-evaluate your needs and time frame for wanting something done. If you can make something temporary work for a couple years I would suggest waiting until this market cools down.

Contractors aren’t bad people but they don’t have to sharpen their pencil right now. When this economy turns over you will be in the drivers seat instead of them. Materials and labor are both high at the moment. That will eventually change.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I agree with getting a plan, and scheduling the concrete work. It delayed my project 3 months for me this year. I will be moving on my land in 2.5 years, so next summer I am going to start my foundation for my house, so the following spring when I start building, I don’t need to wait for them.

 

[Northbound]

The frost protected slab is so simple and cost effective it's brilliant. I without a doubt will build my retirement home on one (with in floor heat if course). Took me a few builds to accept them. Biggest to date is a 6000 sq foot single level custom home we built on a frost protected slab. Owner was a structural engineer if that's any validation for skeptics.
I do feel the market is crazy now and will crash however i doubt labor costs will drop. The biggest hurdle in the trades right now is finding help. Every high schooler with is convinced they need to go to college. And after that they are to 'entitled' to labor for a living.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I did an insulated slab with infloor radiant heat, then added another sheet on the outside of the slab all the way around. It should work great.

 

[Tree Spud]

I did an insulated slab with infloor radiant heat, then added another sheet on the outside of the slab all the way around. It should work great.

We did the same thing ... foam insulation, in floor heating, and then 5" of concrete. Foam insulation around the foundation also.

We keep the thermostat at 60 deg F all winter and I can work in sheet sleeves inside. Two floor drains in the main barn and one in the work shop was a really a good idea.