If you are going to build your own home and want to get more for
your money, consider a two story home. There are major parts of
the construction process that can save you money over building a
ranch style home. The three major areas to cut costs are
excavation, the foundation, and the roof.
When excavating for a ranch style home, you are digging a hole
for living space all on one floor. Let's say the square footage
of this ranch is 2,000 sq. ft. If this house has a full basement
that's a lot of dirt to be removed to accomodate a foundation. A
two story home such as a Colonial or Georgian style with the
same square footage will require half as much excavation. These
style of homes usually have close to equal the amount of square
feet on both floors. For this phase of construction a single
story home requires twice the labor and twice the material to be
removed for the foundation. After backfilling the foundation,
any extra dirt that can't be spread about the lot, has to be
hauled away. This could be a sizable burden to your construction
budget.
The foundation is another place to save money on your
construction costs. Using the same 2000 sq. ft. house as an
example, footings and foundation walls must be poured to support
2000 sq. ft. of deck for the living space. A two story would
only require enough walls and footings for a 1000 sq.ft. as the
second floor would be stacked on top of the first floor and
utilizing the same foundation walls. If both style homes have a
full basement its easy to see that the ranch is going to cost
double to pour a concrete floor. this cost is usually figured by
the square foot.
The third major cost saving phase is the roof system. A two
story home has half the roof. This means cutting the amount of
lumber in half. If the rafters for this structure are 2x10 or
2x12, this can be quite a savings. Add in for the longer lumber
lengths needed for steeper pitched roofs like a 10/12 or 12/12
and the savings become even more substantial. Also, when
building this type of home, only half as much plywood is needed
to cover our framing. With the rising costs of lumber, this is
another good reason to go with a two story home. The roofing
materials used is also affected. Again, only half the materials
are needed to do the job. This is another task that is figured
by the square foot.
There are many ways to save money when building your own home.
These three parts of constructing a home are the major ways to
save. If you want more bang for your buck, consider a two story
home.
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© 2007 Kitchen Pro Cabinetry, Inc., Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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