New 30A Home Construction Cost

oh and before it gets lost in the shuffle...is that really not your house down in Seagrove that you are working on? Someone has contracted you to be there doing what you are doing?

The person who said that's not my house has no way of knowing that, they lied, I didn't. Are you telling me that a fake profile has more rights than the guy who's out here using his real name?

My house in Seagrove is a project built with average Americans, taking their time, building without banks, the old fashioned way. For 4 years I have built the building right in front of everyone, many days completely alone. It's a special building with simple environmentally valuable features. I show it to anyone who wants to see and walk it with me. You've never taken me up on the offer, instead you say things that are untrue because it drives you up a wall.
When you're ready just message me and I'll take the time to show you around so you can be more fully informed.

Sorry, Bub, it's up to the readers (and the general public) to decide who's opinion counts. When, without even paying much attention, you see a serial of unfinished/problem projects along 30-A, with your name associated to them, the general public can form their own decisions, and there's not much you can say, especially with your attitude, that is going to change that.

He just can’t handle of the truth of being kicked out and/or banned from every major residential development in the area.

Quite an extraordinary remedy from a wide range of developers who all independently realized what a lousy builder he is and all of the people he hurt and stole from along the way.

The person who said that's not my house has no way of knowing that, they lied, I didn't. Are you telling me that a fake profile has more rights than the guy who's out here using his real name?

My house in Seagrove is a project built with average Americans, taking their time, building without banks, the old fashioned way. For 4 years I have built the building right in front of everyone, many days completely alone. It's a special building with simple environmentally valuable features. I show it to anyone who wants to see and walk it with me. You've never taken me up on the offer, instead you say things that are untrue because it drives you up a wall.
When you're ready just message me and I'll take the time to show you around so you can be more fully informed.

Check the property records. Pretty clear who owns the house, and it ain’t you or any of your criminal enterprises.

Kurt, I started this thread as way to inform "myself" on building cost in the area as I'm getting ready to build....I would take this "Word Fight Thread" down if I could..Kurt it's my request your remove this thread ASAP it's now a silly name calling waste of time..Thank You

I tried to be respectful of your questions. I admit I defended myself which took the discussion in a different tangent. I did continually give you and everyone dollar figures with real examples. Some details were granular and asked for specific alternates, and I did that to confront the broad generalizations people use to pad the numbers. Had this Thread been contributed to on a line item basis by other builders we could have developed a composite reference for everyone in the area to study.
I'll do that in a new Thread so people can scrutinize a building line by line.

Not gonna happen!

Wow people. Why not take this conversation, or argument, offline and not on this thread that was intended to discuss new construction costs in the area. I don't know this builder, Carrol, at all or his history. But put any history aside and all he is saying is that an educated buyer should examine the construction material costs (in which grade of finishes you should specify), which as stated from another builder these material costs should be within 4% from one builder to the next. Once you know this, you can determine where the cost differences from one builder to the next come into play. If a builder is unwilling to provide a material cost breakdown, then perhaps you should be concerned, especially if they are indicating your costs are in your materials.

I have spoken to several builders in the area for a new house I am planning and for the specified grade of home I plan, I have received preliminary pricing estimates from mid $100s up to $300 a SQ foot. There is obviously a large spread in new construction costs when a material cost should be fairly consistent. If you are looking to build, take that info/pricing you get and do with it as you wish. If you have no concern as to why that gap exists, then that is your own perrogative as well.

Makoman82
There are many factors that determine the cost of a house.
The material will remain fairly constant no matter who builds the house.

The difference in cost is infinite:
-how much of the project gets subbed out to subcontractors
-there are different price levels of subcontractors (size of the company, do they have an office, number of workers, speed / skill of workers, amount / quality of equipment, do they offer benefits, ect)
-size of the general contractor (generally speaking bigger outfits have more overhead / nicer offices / more employees / more equipment , ect) smaller generals may not have an office or employees therefore do not have to charge as much per project. Companies that do more work generally have better buying power with their subs and suppliers which keeps cost down but those savings get chewed up in overhead.
-What does the general contractor value their work / time at. Some builders price their work at 20%+ over the cost of the build where as others may price their work at 7%.
-How busy is the contractor. If they are already busy they may charge more because they do not need the work. On the other hand if someone needs the work they may charge less.
-plus a ton of other factors

At the end of the day the customer needs to educate themselves on who they want to use. After 20+ years of being a contractor (2nd generation) it amazes me when owners do not do their homework on realtors , architects, and builders. Go with someone you like and get along with because it is an important decision. Get to know each of them and see how they work. Lastly do not make the choice based solely on cost (if you intend to live in the house).

Sorry for the long post
Lou

Lou,

Great post. More to the point of what I was getting at. Make sure you aren't getting gouged unnecessarily, a material cost breakdown can help ensure that. Then determine what contractor you like and what price you are willing to pay (as you mention each contractor prices for different reasons and circumstances) for what you want, and who you are comfortable with. If you know your material costs for your desired finishes are in line there is no reason, in my opinion, on why you cannot discuss the remaining costs openly with the contractors to determine how/why their costs are determined. Most people may be surprised and discover things they are getting (or not getting) with certain contractors that they did not realise.

Lou is precisely on point. The factors that go into a house are varied and complex. He spelled it out very well. Quality, experienced subcontractors are worth the money. A well built house is far more than material costs.

Probably Carrol again . His mo was to keep registering fake accounts defending himself.

I guess that wouldn’t be a surprise.

Feel so sorry for anyone that has ever hired him.

Those poor folks that own that lot over by Balance Health Studio. I understand they tried to fire him years ago, but he threatened to sue them, which is also part of his MO as he likes to believe he understands property law.

Bottom line is that people need to do full due diligence before they hire a builder in order to stay away from people like him.

Hi -

We are looking to build a home along 30 A. Wondering how the build price per square foot compares from Seaside, Watercolor and Seagrove area? I understand there is a "range" depending on finishes, etc, but does anyone know the range for each community?

Thank you!

You can get a nice home for 130-150/ sq ft not including your land. Ideal homes LLC is the best price I have seen and I have seen 40+ new homes being constructed. 850-583-4393

Here we go again

You can get a nice home for 130-150/ sq ft not including your land. Ideal homes LLC is the best price I have seen and I have seen 40+ new homes being constructed. 850-583-4393

I've been told materials cost 5-6X more in watercolor etc..
than north of Highway 98.
What are these special (2x4) materials made out if???
Two floor plans two different areas two way different prices (excluding land)??

I've been told materials cost 5-6X more in watercolor etc..
than north of Highway 98.
What are these special (2x4) materials made out if???
Two floor plans two different areas two way different prices (excluding land)??

That's pretty much erroneous. All local builders get material from the same suppliers regardless of where they are building. Differences may occur in labor due to the quality of custom homes near the gulf as compared to cookie cutter houses further north.

The reality is anything in south walton costs a premium vs other counties. Supply vs demand equation.

I've been told materials cost 5-6X more in watercolor etc..
than north of Highway 98.
What are these special (2x4) materials made out if???
Two floor plans two different areas two way different prices (excluding land)??

You say “materials” then you say “2x4” . I’m assuming you think that’s all that goes into a house? At least in log cabins they use chink too. Walton county won’t let you build a house of nothing but 2x4’s. Need somewhere with no building codes for that. And I do suggest you at least use pressure treated as thyell be exposed on both sides. Give you a little something interesting to look at maybe. And 5 to 6x across the board is a ludicrous statement of such exaggeration as to undermine any credibility of one who states it. There wouldn’t be more than a hundred houses down here if that were the case.

The reality is anything in south walton costs a premium vs other counties. Supply vs demand equation.

Go look at the average home in Lynn Haven or niceville, both well to do areas. It’ll be a nice home with likely a hip style roof or simple gables. Count the corners, angles, cantilevers, etc. on the average WaterSound/watercolor style home. Open the ojos folks.

You cannot compare the cost of a Watercolor house with the cost of a house in Niceville. They are two different animals. I am going to generalize here, so bear with me.

A typical Niceville home is usually one or maybe two stories. Probably square or rectangular, maybe with a rectangular wing, giving it an 'L' shape in plan. The 2 car garage is attached with a big double-wide garage door. A low pitch hip roof with a mid-grade asphalt shingle finish. Boxed in overhang with T-111 soffit finish. The foundation is slab on grade (pouring concrete right on the ground), windows are vinyl (maybe builder-grade aluminium) single hung with an average of two per room, probably double-pane insulated, but no muntins and no impact glass. Fiberglass entry and rear door and insulated steel garage door, but not impact rated. Insulation is fiberglass batt in the walls and lay-in batt on the ceiling. Interior ceiling height is 9'-0". Interior finishes are nice, with drywall walls, tile or 1/2" thick engineered wood floors in bathroom and public spaces, with carpet in the bedrooms, 6'-8" tall flush hollow core interior doors, 3" 3-step base and opening trim, no crown at the ceiling. Kitchen is nice, with pre-manufactured box cabinets (painted or stained), granite countertops, typical appliance package in stainless steel finish. Bathrooms are nice, with pre-manufactured vanities.

A typical Watercolor house is two and a half stories, usually with a tower or some other roof feature. It is rectangular and usually has a small wing, but will have multiple bump-outs and bays, giving it a more complex shape. It has a continuous strip footing, which involves trenching down and filling the trench with concrete. The floor is a raised at least 30" and is wood frame beams and joists resting on concrete block piers, which rest on the strip footing. Already, the costs for materials and labor have far outpaced the slab on grade Niceville house. The roof is simple in form, but typically has dormers (with windows) and possibly a dutch gable detail. All overhangs are exposed rafter tails with a detail profile cut into each tail. Overhangs are typically 30"+ deep, with v-groove or exposed soffit finish. The typical roofing material is galvalume. Many times galvalume half-round gutters and round downspouts are used to control water flow. Layered trim details and banding are typical, as well as custom-built solid wood brackets under bays and overhang extensions. The windows are aluminum clad wood with insulated impact glass, double-hung or casement (though I think most everyone installs single-hung these days) with simulated-lite muntins. There are an average of four window per room (multiple window compositions in the stairwell, roof tower, and window seat bay. Multiple aluminum-clad French doors leading to porches (impact rated with 3-point locking systems), an engineered Mahogany entry door (engineered for impact acceptance), stained or painted wood cladding on two singe-width impact rated garage doors. Insulation is closed-cell foam underneath the floors, possibly in the walls, and open-cell foam to the bottom of the roof decking. Interior ceiling heights are typically 10' or 12', which in turn requires more drywall (and mud/paint and accompanying labor). Interior finishes are reclaimed wood floors ( 3/4" thick solid) throughout the public and bedroom spaces, 8' tall solid core wood or MDF doors, 8"+ base trim, multi-layer door trim with caps, crown trim at the ceilings. Kitchen cabinets are custom-made, as are the built-in bench seating and bookshelves, as well as the bathroom vanities. Commercial grade appliances and cabinet-depth refrigerator (cabinet depth alone = $5,000 increase) plus tankless water heaters.

Was that a general enough breakdown?

So, to summarize, almost each item on a Watersound-type house is an significantly upgraded version of a Niceville house item. Each and every one of those items contributes incrementally to the cost difference, making it impossible to compare the two.

If you want to simplify the comparison, price a builder grade vinyl window against a Weathershield impact-rated aluminum clad window.

However, I cannot argue that there is not what I call a 'Bridge Tax' on subcontractor labor. I don’t have the numbers, but labor charges in SoWal vs Bay county are different, I am sure. It is unfortunate, but, as Marmot said, is simply a supply and demand equation.

You cannot compare the cost of a Watercolor house with the cost of a house in Niceville. They are two different animals. I am going to generalize here, so bear with me.

A typical Niceville home is usually one or maybe two stories. Probably square or rectangular, maybe with a rectangular wing, giving it an 'L' shape in plan. The 2 car garage is attached with a big double-wide garage door. A low pitch hip roof with a mid-grade asphalt shingle finish. Boxed in overhang with T-111 soffit finish. The foundation is slab on grade (pouring concrete right on the ground), windows are vinyl (maybe builder-grade aluminium) single hung with an average of two per room, probably double-pane insulated, but no muntins and no impact glass. Fiberglass entry and rear door and insulated steel garage door, but not impact rated. Insulation is fiberglass batt in the walls and lay-in batt on the ceiling. Interior ceiling height is 9'-0". Interior finishes are nice, with drywall walls, tile or 1/2" thick engineered wood floors in bathroom and public spaces, with carpet in the bedrooms, 6'-8" tall flush hollow core interior doors, 3" 3-step base and opening trim, no crown at the ceiling. Kitchen is nice, with pre-manufactured box cabinets (painted or stained), granite countertops, typical appliance package in stainless steel finish. Bathrooms are nice, with pre-manufactured vanities.

A typical Watercolor house is two and a half stories, usually with a tower or some other roof feature. It is rectangular and usually has a small wing, but will have multiple bump-outs and bays, giving it a more complex shape. It has a continuous strip footing, which involves trenching down and filling the trench with concrete. The floor is a raised at least 30" and is wood frame beams and joists resting on concrete block piers, which rest on the strip footing. Already, the costs for materials and labor have far outpaced the slab on grade Niceville house. The roof is simple in form, but typically has dormers (with windows) and possibly a dutch gable detail. All overhangs are exposed rafter tails with a detail profile cut into each tail. Overhangs are typically 30"+ deep, with v-groove or exposed soffit finish. The typical roofing material is galvalume. Many times galvalume half-round gutters and round downspouts are used to control water flow. Layered trim details and banding are typical, as well as custom-built solid wood brackets under bays and overhang extensions. The windows are aluminum clad wood with insulated impact glass, double-hung or casement (though I think most everyone installs single-hung these days) with simulated-lite muntins. There are an average of four window per room (multiple window compositions in the stairwell, roof tower, and window seat bay. Multiple aluminum-clad French doors leading to porches (impact rated with 3-point locking systems), an engineered Mahogany entry door (engineered for impact acceptance), stained or painted wood cladding on two singe-width impact rated garage doors. Insulation is closed-cell foam underneath the floors, possibly in the walls, and open-cell foam to the bottom of the roof decking. Interior ceiling heights are typically 10' or 12', which in turn requires more drywall (and mud/paint and accompanying labor). Interior finishes are reclaimed wood floors ( 3/4" thick solid) throughout the public and bedroom spaces, 8' tall solid core wood or MDF doors, 8"+ base trim, multi-layer door trim with caps, crown trim at the ceilings. Kitchen cabinets are custom-made, as are the built-in bench seating and bookshelves, as well as the bathroom vanities. Commercial grade appliances and cabinet-depth refrigerator (cabinet depth alone = $5,000 increase) plus tankless water heaters.

Was that a general enough breakdown?

So, to summarize, almost each item on a Watersound-type house is an significantly upgraded version of a Niceville house item. Each and every one of those items contributes incrementally to the cost difference, making it impossible to compare the two.

If you want to simplify the comparison, price a builder grade vinyl window against a Weathershield impact-rated aluminum clad window.

However, I cannot argue that there is not what I call a 'Bridge Tax' on subcontractor labor. I don’t have the numbers, but labor charges in SoWal vs Bay county are different, I am sure. It is unfortunate, but, as Marmot said, is simply a supply and demand equation.

It occurs to me that you may have thought I was on the other side of the argument. I am not. My point is that it is more than simple supply and demand, though that is always a factor, and the sarcastic statement above by someone that wood costs 5x as much on 30a. I was making a concise point that there are huge architectural differences between niceville and WaterSound etc. In that spirit, Thank you for such a detailed breakdown elucidating my point. It’s quite a bit more effort than I’d have ever have gone to but I’m glad there’s folks like you out there.

It was a general reply to the overall thread. Once the relationship between Niceville/Watercolor was raised, I thought it was a good opportunity to make a comparison. Hopefully it will help others understand the 'Why' behind the cost differences.

And wood does cost more on 30A. Generally, when I can get away with it, I specify KDAT pine, which costs 50% more than #1 pine, which costs 50% more than #2 pine. KDAT = straight, little to no knots, little to no raised grain, dry on the inside, and square corners. #2 = somewhat curvy, knotty and sappy, areas of raised grain (painters don’t want to sand the entire house so you get what you get), wet on the inside, and rounded corners. KDAT = better looking but more expensive, #2 = rougher looking but less expensive.

Sorry, I digressed a bit there.....

My bank has a full list of their approved builders. If someone isn't on their list they conduct full check before I get their approval..they are looking out for their money as well as my best interest..actually whole process is kind of intimidating..going slow!!!!

steel1man were you able to find a builder or builders you like?

Wow people. Why not take this conversation, or argument, offline and not on this thread that was intended to discuss new construction costs in the area. I don't know this builder, Carrol, at all or his history. But put any history aside and all he is saying is that an educated buyer should examine the construction material costs (in which grade of finishes you should specify), which as stated from another builder these material costs should be within 4% from one builder to the next. Once you know this, you can determine where the cost differences from one builder to the next come into play. If a builder is unwilling to provide a material cost breakdown, then perhaps you should be concerned, especially if they are indicating your costs are in your materials.

I have spoken to several builders in the area for a new house I am planning and for the specified grade of home I plan, I have received preliminary pricing estimates from mid $100s up to $300 a SQ foot. There is obviously a large spread in new construction costs when a material cost should be fairly consistent. If you are looking to build, take that info/pricing you get and do with it as you wish. If you have no concern as to why that gap exists, then that is your own perrogative as well.

Makoman82 were you able to find a builder or builders you liked?

Hi -

We are looking to build a home along 30 A. Wondering how the build price per square foot compares from Seaside, Watercolor and Seagrove area? I understand there is a "range" depending on finishes, etc, but does anyone know the range for each community?

Thank you!

You can builder for 150/ ft with nice high end finishes. We built 4 houses and are building 4 more all in that range. Standard builder should stay within 5% of material costs to account for surges in prices. Give me a call if you have any question 850-583-4393