Calculating Construction Cost Per Square Foot
First things first, the construction cost per square foot is arrived at by dividing the total cost of production of a venture by the total living surface area. This also gives a quick idea to a client as well as to the builder about the rough cost estimate. For example, if the home construction cost per square foot of a certain kind of house plan is $130 in the market, a client as well as the builder would quickly be able to calculate a rough estimate by multiplying new construction cost per square foot with the total living surface area to arrive at a rough estimate quickly. However, many websites claim this to be completely unreliable, that they cannot be treated as realistic calculations. There are two kinds of residential construction cost per square foot calculations. One is the finished square foot which includes the living area and its cost. The other is the construction cost cer square foot which includes all the area where construction has taken place. In the latter, square foot cost has a major impact on the total cost because it contains those elements in the estimate which are not considered while calculating estimates using finished square foot cost system. Constructed square foot cost includes the porches, the driveway, the garage and other such construction while calculating the budget estimate.
Thus a million dollar question is how to arrive at a realistic square foot price? There are no definite answer to this but it is advisable to assess separately all the different parts of the building. This means taking price quotes from different calculators for calculating the estimates. Please note, the overall cost can be calculated only after that. After this, one should divide the total cost with the total area. This approach would not only help a client to arrive at a realistic budget but also help a client in preparing a definite budget plan. There can be two ways of doing this. One is to take different price quotes and then work with it to get a suitable estimate. This is a tedious process. It is generally advised that a client should first choose a price bracket, which is the maximum cost that a client can afford. For this a client should take the constructed measurement unit in terms of construction cost per square foot from the contractors and then proceed to calculate other details. Once the bracket is decided the other things can be decided quickly. The standard per square foot cost of construction is $80-$200. This is a liberal estimate which accommodates a wide range of house plans. Every year, the cost of house building witnesses a hike of 3% to 6%. By taking this fact into consideration, one can keep a realistic check on this approximation and calculate the cost estimates accordingly. |
