House building question

[bcmuzzy]

When figuring cost of a new home, do home builders bid off living area sq ft, or total sq ft?

[12RingKing]

When I was looking they did it off of living sq/ft

[LFD2037]

Doing this now & it's A/C'd sq ft. BUT if you have a 100' driveway, 3 car garage, huge backporch, etc. it does come into play.

[captainsling]

Under roof square footage space, but extras add up like mentioned.

[mjhaverkamp]

Really depends, if it is living space then you probably have 320 foot garage and an 8 x 10 back patio, maybe a 600 square foot driveway. I really never did understand how a custom builder can just say ok, I will build your home for 125,00 a foot, way too many variables.

[C.W.Ashby]

Most builders will give you a price when broken down is calculated on living area only. The extra large garage, long driveway, etc. will be added in to that cost. In other words, a 2000 sf "standard home with standard everything" may cost $240,000 or $120 psf. IF the same house is built with lots of upgrades and extras, it may cost $300,000 or $150 psf.

[8mpg]

The numbers I have looked at have been living area (a/c sqft) and then the total under roof. Like the others have said, long driveways, septic vs sewer and what not will add to the cost.

[Eagle19]

It depends on selections to. The builders I worked for never did a square foot bid because it's kind of a loaded question.

[tps7742]

We are in the process of having a house built now. We had prices quoted both ways but the majority quoted it for heated/cooled space per sq ft. And as stated depending on size of garage and porches it could add to the cost accordingly.

[jimned]

Normally if you build by the square foot there will be allowance per foot. Like $6.00 per foot for tile , $5000 for appliances,$2500 for lighting fixtures and so on. Get these numbers from your builder.