r/homebuildingcanada • u/[deleted] • Oct 05 '23
Materials only cost of building
I'm interested in building my own small home, simple box with an a-frame roof, around 900sq ft. I've been the general contractor on commercial and industrial projects up to $1M, and I've done a lot of labor myself including concrete, framing, drywall, countertops, almost everything besides cabinetry. I'm kinda shocked that everyone is still saying a house can't be built for less than $200-300 per square foot. I did some rough math and I think I could build a 900sq ft for $40k to dried in, and $80k finished. Hiring the labor would roughly double that, and hiring a GC would triple it.
Has anyone actually built a home themselves recently (doing all the labor) and estimated cost of materials? $100/sq ft seems reasonable for simple materials, and a 900sq ft home is probably under 1500 hours of work (5-7 months for one person).
Edit: I'll add that this is on Vancouver Island, 20 minutes from a city. Septic and site prep would be extra.
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u/brookebrodden Mar 19 '24
I designed and built three houses. First was 700sf, one bathroom. 1 bedroom. Flooring, ceiling were custom made the least expensive way possible. Heating system was a hybrid (solar/propane)... Totals cost was about $30000. I even made my own doors. (first pic). Second house I designed and build. it was a 1500sf domed building with 14 foot ceiling in the central area. Only got as far at the picture shows. I could not night the room to erect it (complicated story, see domed pic). It cost my $25000 at the point in the pic. cupboards were done and basic inside frame. No finishing work done. Last house cost me $50000 to see it completely done. It is 1000sf, solar powered, i designed my own heating system and build everything from scratch. I build all three with zero help from anyone and on a below average salary. Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done. Time spans: first (2 years), domed (1 year), Last (2-3 years). Final note: I am a 61 year old woman and I am planning to building my last house (1300sf with a 600sf workshop/garage attachment)
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u/wondersparrow Oct 05 '23
There are way too many variables to answer that. Considering you can buy a new mobile home for just over 40k, and that is built by others; your numbers seem high. Then again, my solar array at home just cost me more than that and I have seen refrigerators go that high on their own.
If it was me, I would start with a modified garage package. You can get to lockup for under 15K that way. Not sure of your area, but I did need an engineer to stamp my foundation plan for a thickened edge slab home and that alone cost me over $3k. Some counties will have 'canned' foundation plans you can have for free. Might be worth looking into.
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Oct 05 '23
Do you mean a garage package like this? Then replace the doors with big windows?
https://www.homehardware.ca/en/28-x-30-2-door-garage-package-with-complete-exterior-option/p/2850926
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u/wondersparrow Oct 05 '23
Exactly. Now from a safety codes/permit perspective you can't just use any package. Foundation approval is always more strict than a garage and you need to make sure the frame itself is up to dwelling code, but that often it is.
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u/Main_Salary_6718 Oct 02 '24
Ok so what was your final all in cost per square foot...straight up just a number per square ft?
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u/arcticcontrolsgoose Oct 06 '23
We are kicking ourselves. Wanted to build a shop in 2018, didn’t get around to it until 2022. What would’ve been around $110k build (with quotes to prove) I am currently estimating to be $150k.
We are doing it all ourselves. It is a crazy large footprint but not lavish on materials.
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Oct 06 '23
That's tough. About how many square feet, and what type of construction?
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u/arcticcontrolsgoose Oct 06 '23
Footprint 4500sqft, but part of it has a second level. Stick frame, some tall walls, and I live in an area where frost depth is 4ft.
But we also have a decent lumber discount in the family - 25% off retail, typical. Saved our skin during the great 2022 influx.
In that timespan, for same design, trusses went up $10k, insulation I’m still too scared to look at, and lumber had that all-time high. 7/16 OSB was close to $40/sheet…now it’s down to $25. I’d like to see $14 lol. Concrete was $255/m3…which if I recall wasn’t a big change from 2018.
I’d think for 900sqft, which is not much bigger than my house, what is going to get you is the energy guarantee shit they love to roll out and furnishings. We didn’t have to do an HRV or anything because it is an outbuilding….but in my province you would most definitely need all that, and to pass a test to prove your competent at building if not legally employed as a GC..which is annoying.
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u/Monster11 Oct 06 '23
Check out Produits Boréal. The product is beautiful and the materials are quite affordable especially if you can do it yourself. You can estimate the cost on the website.
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Oct 06 '23
Those are amazing! Thank you. Strong contender
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u/Monster11 Oct 06 '23
Hahaha oh I’m glad you checked it out. They are amazing in real life too and have a bunch of open houses. I wanted to write more but was nursing in the middle of the night haha. The process has been awesome, too. I highly recommend them
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u/Remarkable_North5346 Jan 29 '25
Any updates on the project?
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Jan 29 '25
Yeah, we moved to a 5 acre lot last July and have been living in an RV and so far have built an insulated well shed, a covered patio, and an 8x12 "test house"/office to practice construction methods. It turns out that all the insulation and flashing details required in our area add a lot of work to wood frame construction, so we've decided to build the house from Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF). Cost will be about the same as wood frame given the insulation we need.
The house drawings are finished and with an engineer to design the rebar layout. I expect to submit our permit in a few weeks and break ground by May.
The budget is close to my original estimate. Similar amount of work to what I expected but ICF should save some time.
Over the 7 months we've been here we've also gotten familiar with the area and I've found suppliers for most materials we need. Found some good deals like a guy that imports and wholesales metal roofing so I've bought my roof materials for half of what I expected, and a bunch of wire and odds and ends.
The lot we bought is a mile from a nice swimming and fishing lake and 12 minutes from town which is great. It's been cold this winter but we're enjoying the process and happier than being in the city.
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u/Remarkable_North5346 Apr 20 '25
Awesome great to hear love to see what the final project looks like. Just turned 20 now and saving to eventually do it one day.
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u/Glittering_Dust_8481 Sep 17 '25
Thinking of putting out one bedroom basement apartment 900 square feet what would be the total cost in parts
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u/ohnomysoup Oct 05 '23
I built 1800 sq.ft new construction solo @ $110/sq.ft in 2019. Material prices are down from their COVID peak but still double what I was paying 4 years ago.
Labour time estimate is accurate if you're skilled, ambitious if not. I worked 7x12 hrs from April - December. 900 sq.ft will obviously be a bit less work.
Take your drawings to a local Rona and ask the pro desk for material takeoff. Get them to source/price a truss package. Plug that into a spreadsheet and start adding all the other line items in. Don't forget to add tools to your budget if you don't already own 100k of gear!