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I have been a remodeling contractor for 12 years on my own, but finally have a client who would like me to build a new house for him. When asked what the cost per square foot runs these days, I had to say that I had no idea since I have done almost nothing but remodels for over 20 years. (I did work for another contractor and built 2 houses with him from start to finish) I was hoping to get some rough estimates from builders out there about what today’s costs might be just so I could toss some numbers his way. The circumstances are that there is an existing home on the sloped lot now, but it has tilted and is 8 inches lower at one end than the other. It is also a piece of junk besides. The soils engineer says that the hillside is stable and that the house has tilted only because the houses’ foundation was not built down to native soil, but was built into fill instead. The native soil is only down another 1 to 2 feet, so at this point I am not scared away from building this. What are the costs of building on a moderate hillside, and does anybody know the costs of knocking a house down? Jon.
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Jon,
You might contact the fire dept. and see if they'd be interested in useing the house for a "burn to learn" exercise. Not only does it get rid of the house, but I think sometimes you can even get a tax credit for a charitable contribution.
JonC
*The US Forest Service is practicing right now! Joe H
*Jon,Seems you may have a great learning experience ahead of you here. As any of us will tell you, there are a good number of variables as to what costs what and why. Regional differences seem to big a big thing. Here in Cleveland, Ohio, homes go up for anywhere between 100 & 200 per sf on average that is.Demo is a whole other complicated story.Pete