I’m a cheapskate–I freely admit it. Given my frugal nature, you’d think I’d be tracking our construction costs regularly. But the truth is, I hate bookkeeping, so I hadn’t yet totaled all the costs–until today. If you’ve been following our progress, you’re likely wondering what our barn studio/workshop has cost so far. The short answer is $27,145.
That figure doesn’t include any interior finishes, although those costs should be limited to paint for the barn’s interior and floor covering for the loft space. I think we’ll leave the slab as-is on the first floor in keeping with the barn’s utilitarian nature. I already bought the electrical devices, and we have light fixtures that we salvaged from remodeling projects. There will be very little trim, as the doors and windows have drywall returns, but we will need to spend money on some kind of balustrade for the staircase. The biggest remaining expense is the 8-ft. by 18-ft. porch planned for the back of the building.
I’m guessing it will take another $10,000 to finish the space and build the porch. Of course, none of these figures include labor. Doing all the work ourselves makes that part free, aside from occasional purchases of sunblock, ibuprofen, and tools, which so far have included a long extension ladder, a drywall lift, and a roofing nailer.
Our original budget was $40k, so I think we’re doing pretty well.
Here’s the breakdown of costs:
Site engineering $1,516.50
Permits $947.45
Excavation/site prep $2,421.11
Foundation $735.83
Subslab insulation $775.13
Concrete slab $2,804.08
Underground water $267.19
Underground electric $832.90
Framing $4,461.56
Roofing $2,080.58
Insulation/Air-sealing $1,780.04
Siding $3,554.05
Chimney $406.92
Electric $1,086.49
Doors/windows $1,413.91
Drywall $1,304.53
Tools $756.85
Total $27,145.12
You can read more about my barn here.
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When my wife and I bought our 700-sq.-ft. house in 2010, we decided that living in such tight quarters would work better if we could build a separate workshop/studio for projects. We found barn plans online and budgeted $40k for construction.
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At $4500, framing material has been our biggest budget item. To keep costs to a minumum, I sheathed the roof and floors with OSB, even though I much prefer working with plywood. I also omitted sheathing under the siding. The barn's horizontal girts and 1-in.-thick wood siding prevent the post frame from racking.
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Arguably our biggest cost-saving measure came from using this recycled polyiso insulation. The insulation was salvaged from a commercial building that was getting a new roof. I ripped the 4-ft. by 8-ft. sheets into strips that fit between the girts and inside the rafter cavities. You can read more about about the insulation in this post.
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It might be helpful to calculate what the total cost comes out to be per square foot of living space. On second thought, it might not be relevant since this is more of a utility structure than a home. But assuming you have around 1000 sq. ft of space there, $27/sq. ft. isn't too bad considering it will be essentially an addition to your home. You can't beat that buying new.
Thanks for the comment, Cleon. The building has about 1100sf of space, so the cost right now is about $25 per sf. If my cost to completion is accurate, the final cost will be closer to $34 per sf. The building has only a hose connection inside for washing paint brushes etc, so the plumbing costs are much lower than a house would be. If we want a bathroom in the barn someday, we'll need to have an engineer sign off on adding to our home's septic system.
What method did you find works best in cutting foam to fit in between the rafters?
Hi A, I used a portable tablesaw equpipped with a rip fence to cut the foam to width. You'll want some kind of outfeed support to help keep things under control. I used a snap-blade knife from Tajima for cutting the pieces to length and fitting them around obstructions.
Here's a link to the Tajima website that shows the knife:
http://bit.ly/16K1u7Q
This is similar to how I installed. What type of facer was on the polyiso board you used. The first batch I had was aluminum and second was fiberglass paper.
I am sorry, I forgot to ask if you left an air gap between the underside of your roof and the polyiso board for venting.
The foam we bought from Insulation Depot had a fiberglass facer. No, I didn't include a vent space. Even though vented roofs are more-forgiving, I like hot roofs.
There's more about insulating the roof in this post:
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/22229/patricks-barn-wrapping-up-the-exterior
I'm especially proud of the modification I made to a siding nailer to hold the insulation in the rafter cavities.
Great Looking Barn - Thanks for sharing, especially the budget!
A lot of great simple cost effective ideas for when I start building mine!
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