Affordable Houses: 3 Design Tips to Save

In this video a builder discusses three design tips for creating affordable houses. Actual costs to build a ranch (one story) and a two story home are reviewed to compare the options available to those wanting to build a new home that provides maximum value. Square foot costs are reviewed for ranch, two story, and basement finishes to help people understand how affordable houses are designed and built.

For details about the material costs from this video visit:

For more details about the two affordable houses shown visit:

Disclaimer:
The costs used in this video were derived from multiple sources including but not limited to: 2021 National Construction Estimator by Craftsman Books, the builders own experience, and the latest NAHB (i.e. National Association of Home Builders) Economics and Housing Policy Group, Cost of Constructing a Home. Construction costs can vary greatly from one location to the next due to material and labor shortages and local market conditions. Individual customer finish and design choices can also create large swings in labor and material costs for a given project. Building code differences from one location to the next were not considered when preparing the labor and material costs presented here. Armchair Builder, Michael Luckado, and Open Book Build LLC have no affiliation with Menards or Advanced House Plans.

[karlhungus]

Excellent video and I've pretty much settled on everything you've said here. Having already built a house in 2009, I now know what NOT to do. I did my homework and did a lot right, but there are several things I'd change. First, smaller footprint...much smaller. Our house is a 3, 200 sqft walkout. Next house, half that or smaller, shed roof. Property taxes alone will be less than half, and that's a lifetime bill that only goes up. It will also allow me to do a lot more of the work myself.

Also, garage/shop on the bottom, living space on top, no basement, and this is in -45C winter Saskatchewan. We're building on jackpine sand (which is as hard and dry as bedrock, so no piles required. No stairs, just an elevator. We can still use the stairs on the outside elevated deck if we need to move furniture or bigger stuff in, but the elevator will probably be big enough.

Biggest gouging contractors the first time were (in order) the plumber, flooring, roofers, concrete, electrician, etc. I did the flooring and insulating myself, and also did the stucco on the ICF bottom. The plumber almost tripled the cost of materials (all electric, no gas) so when I found that out I told him to take them out and I went and got them myself, from the exact same supplier that he was getting them from. He wasn't happy, but who cares. He did really nice work that other trade guys I know still comment on, but he was gouging me bad.

They quoted me $5, 000 labour to install laminate, floating flooring, so I did that and the bathrooms myself (final cost $1.28 per sqft with Costco flooring). 14 years later, it still looks like new, even with two boys in the house. The guy everyone recommended to do finish trim wanted $5, 000 for labour (for some reason these guys all had nice, round numbers...nothing suspicious there 😉). I balked and found a guy that my kitchen guy recommended and he did an excellent job for an hourly rate. Final cost, $2, 300. Took him a week as we have a lot of big windows (and a 1, 000 sqft vaulted ceiling). My point, look around and get lots of other quotes to avoid being gouged.

[ToIsleOfView]

That was a perfect explanation of how to look at the cost of a new home. I have looked into the elevator option and it's great. An oversize drive-in basement slab with 2 floors above that + an elevator can give a great bang for the buck, And older people will never worry about stairs. Keep it up.

[georgvonsauer]

Anytime you deviate from a basic square and a simple roof strong enough for the maximal snow, you are increasing the cost...every jog in the house and every extra gable adds to the cost...there is a reason many Iowa farm houses are a square 2 story with a simple roof.

[michigandersea]

As of Jan. 3, 2024, the "Daniels" Menards materials package is listed for $96, 765 here in Illinois. That's a 20% increase from the $80, 313 shown in the video.

[Sawcon]

Great video. I work at menards, there are so many ways to reduce the cost of these packages. It’s kind of nickel and diming, but it adds up. Go in to the building materials desk and talk to the guys there, they can help :)
First thing I’d do is change the siding on most of these packages. Many times it’s fiber cement or smart side, which is just absolutely nuts right now as far as cost goes.

[Esimmons]

I would be very interested to watch a video about the cost break down of the trades.
As a potential owner builder, I know my lumber package is somewhat fixed, but the labor to build all aspects of the house are variable.
I would really like a list of what to expect each trade / phase so I can have a better idea of what I should be able to.

Example (with completely made up data):
Framing - $X-$X sqft
Siding - $X-$X sqft
Rough Plumbing - $X-$X sqft
Final Plumbing - $X-$X sqft
Rough Electrical - $X-$X sqft
Final Electrical - $X-$X sqft
Dirtwork - $X-$X sqft
Drywall - $X-$X sqft
Insulation Installation (Bat) - $X-$X sqft

[MurDocInc]

I don`t think affordable house design is the right term here. its more like how to get the most footage for your money. Affordable is keeping total price as low as possible.

[frankhazzard]

@Armchair Builder is producing the most helpful home building videos on YouTube.

[EchoSigma]

My first option would be a single story, finished basement, and a small elevator to move stuff around. This would be my retirement home where square footage is not the priority but rather functional usage. The elevator was something I didn’t consider before.

[outdoors]

Great video. I GC’ed my house 3 years ago. It was challenging but rewarding. I also saved $150-200k on a 4000 square ft home. I agree with your analysis. We are seeing more and more residential elevators in my area. My retirement house will have one. Another consideration architecturally is going up gives you more flexibility to allow light in living spaces. Things to watch out with room above the garage include HVAC and steel. I used a heeled attic truss and a mini split system.

[YSLRD]

It also helps a bit to let go of the designer roof. A simple, traditional roof is cheaper.

[Victor-tldk]

I saw a chart which showed that per square foot since 1973 prices have stayed about the same new home (adjusted for inflation.)

How sad is that? New technology of the 21st century should make our homes more cheap.

Of course labor is labor and should be paid well, but with more efficient building techniques that should also go down.

That 197, 000 or something dollar home should be 150, 000 or less in 2023.

[Happy]

$55/sqft DIY. Buy rough cut from a mill at reduced market prices and avoid big box stores. Seek non-retail. Smooth wood is just a made up need.

[daniellewis]

1. Avoid complicated dimensions. Roof lines, wall lines, corners, all those things take *forever* to detail properly, cost alot of materials, cutting, etc, and it raises costs.

2. Standard stuff is always cheaper, so don't be weird about a thing unless it actually matters to you.

3. Don't have spaces you don't need, and have spaces you do. Most people have 4 living rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3 car garage, and then they have one kid, but because someone sews they end up in the garage with the soccer balls and carpentry equipment. Don't be this.

[tristanrivera]

slab on grade and use the slab as finished floor. That actually saves tons especially if you want a smaller house to begin with.

[jvhoef]

Don't forget that certain rooms like bathrooms, kitchens etc have a much higher cost/sq foot than rooms like unfished basement or bedrooms. Odds are both of them have pretty similar sized kitchens so as a percentage of the house you end up with a much higher total cost/sq foot

[michaelbatista]

Actual cost if you hire a guy who will work with you on a weekly/monthly salary style basis you can build with all materials for about $75 per sq ft. Add $10 for land and prep. $85 all in. The numbers here include a significant mark up on materials and labor. Just fyi... build for 85 all in and be worth 135 per sq ft minimum up to 350 per sq ft.

[miketracy]

Many homes in St Paul had walk-up 3rd-story attics and those areas were usually very nice as long as you were not 7 ft tall.

[mr.m]

Great info! One thing I would like to add to what was said. Adding extra square footage of living space, will increase your property tax cost, so you may be saving a bunch up front, but you'll be paying more in the long run😑

[ToddBizCoach]

Could you make a video comparing costs of a build going down vs build going up? That is, cost of full walkout basement using ICF construction versus building up with a crawl space.

It would seem that it would be cheaper building down with ICF construction as there would be greater potential for labor savings. Using a 32 by 40 footprint as an example with no attached garage.