Is it worth building now? Construction materials cost.

[nh_yota]

I need to replace the privacy fence in my back yard because it's old and falling over. I am not looking forward to quotes from the fence companies. I replaced another section of fence 6 years ago and I remember what it cost me back then (not terribly expensive).

 

[dcg9381]

I guess the question is what value do you assign to having a shop vs not. In terms of home value it is generally a losing battle, so we are talking your own person enjoyment and opportunity cost.

I am very bless that I don’t worry much about money, so I can say this. You only get to live once. If the shop is what brings you enjoyment and happiness in life, I wouldn’t wait.

I like this perspective. None of us build a shop like we might remodel a kitchen or bath (for added home value). The tax man says my shop is worth about 1/3 to 1/2 of what I have in it (most of it my labor). And I'm just fine with that, doesn't keep me up for 1 minute.... But it's where I spend my time...

If I could only convince the wife that we don't need a house...

 

[olytdi]

I had a 36x36 pole building with an attached 12x36 carport priced out in 2019 then hit permit/wetland study hell. Put me on hold for 2 years. Finally got the green light from the hearings examiner ($5000 public hearing that I had to pay for) and my builder has informed me that the materials will easily be 10% higher than my original bid.

I'm 61 years old with nothing but a 2 car garage at this 5 acre wooded property I bought in 2018. I had a 28x28 pole building that I had built at my last home and cannot live without a shop/work/project space. I despise living with things under tarps and I dislike having to move vehicles out into the weather in order to do a project.

I'll eat the increased costs which will hurt as I'm paying outright (no financing) and want to get on with my life. At my age, I can see the end, it's not abstract any longer.

I agree that the cost of building materials will remain high due to increased frequency of natural disasters, fires, and hurricanes. The pandemic set the stage for a labor-side element of this out-of-balance supply/demand dynamic and nature/warming the materials side. It's not likely to change soon.

It will get a little better (mostly on the labor side of the equation) I think but it likely will never return to a world where OSB at $7 sheet which was the price two years ago when my contractor suggested I buy it then and sit on it. Wow did I miss that boat.

I'm moving forward costs be damned. I want this in my rear-view mirror. I'm in line for building this summer.

 

[TTMotorsports]

I like this perspective. None of us build a shop like we might remodel a kitchen or bath (for added home value). The tax man says my shop is worth about 1/3 to 1/2 of what I have in it (most of it my labor). And I'm just fine with that, doesn't keep me up for 1 minute.... But it's where I spend my time...



If I could only convince the wife that we don't need a house...

I heard the same thing when my old realtor told me that my house was only worth 30k more than the house without the shop when the shop cost me 110k do it all myself and would've been 200k paying someone to do everything. Needless to say sold the house for 200k over what he thought it would be worth and it even appraised at same value which he said would be impossible. Needless to say happy to find my last realtor and when he sold the house and I sent him the appraisal and such he was blown away and he said he would redo his approach

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[rct]

Build what you can afford and makes you happy. I'm told lumber is due to go up another 30-35% this year. The bids will be higher this year. I would seek steel frame quotes the way wood is going.

 

[ArtisanFarms]

I'm going ahead and having a 30X52 shop built this year and hopefully finishing renovations on my house at the same location. I'm 58 and would rather enjoy my shop and a finished house than try to save a few $$ by waiting another year or two.

 

[shalamo]

I would agree , I’m finishing up a 40x 60 at home and even though it’s costing a little more to get it done now I feel that I’ve waiting long enough so it’s going to get done.

 

[pcmeiners]

If you wait, bet it takes 2-3 years before the greed by manufacturers/shippers/retail subsides, I expect inflation will rear its ugly head also. As pointed out people are willing to pay high prices for materials right now.

 

[tim9lives]

Wow. It’s been a couple of years since I purchased a lot of lumber. After reading some of the above posts about lumber costs.... I’d be looking at some of the metal buildings on EBay. Lots of DIY kits for the straight walled metal building kits from SIMPSON, DuroSPAN, Outback and Hercules. That’s just to name a few.
The whole point of a pole barn is cheap lumber cost and ease of installation. If a 2x4 costs over 8.00 each... I see no advantage of a pole barn anymore. Am I missing something ?

 

[MattN03]

I'm down the road from you in Mercer County and paid about $20 per sq/ft in 2019 when I had my shop built.

 

[joey1320]

Put me on hold for 2 years. Finally got the green light from the hearings examiner ($5000 public hearing that I had to pay for) and my builder has informed me that the materials will easily be 10% higher than my original bid.

How is this even possible? Why?

 

[MushCreek]

A friend of mine in CT paid $66,000 in fees, variances, and permits, etc. to build a house. This was over 10 years ago. I paid $480 here in SC.

 

[karoc]

In my area I still see lumber flying out the doors at local HD and Lowes, building houses here is at an all time high. Every where you look there is a subdivision being built or apartment complexes going in. I use to live out in what I call the country but now its city, traffic is always backup. There is always a line to get anything, I no longer see deer or coyotes, heck I think the dang squirrels are moving out.
There are people who really don't care what cost is, if they want it they going to buy it. Did you ever think that a new truck would cost 80K but I see new trucks with paper tags all time. With OSB being almost 40.00 sheet, you would think they would dry rot setting in store,but not. Guy across street is building about 10k sq ft house which OSB was put on roof and all the way around his house, there were stacks and stacks of OSB. No shortage of material there, so like others saying if they sell at 40 each then why lower cost. I'm in between rock and hard place, I can't afford the taxes here anymore and I can't afford to build a smaller house/shop due to material cost.

 

[dcg9381]

A friend of mine in CT paid $66,000 in fees, variances, and permits, etc. to build a house. This was over 10 years ago. I paid $480 here in SC.

That's nuts. I mean a lot of this is hidden in the costs when you build with a builder or GC. I'm outside the city, so I pay a $100 "general development" permit and then about $1500 in septic related permits and inspections for the septic system... Crazy how much it varies.

Homes here are still flying off the market. I have friends who have put in offers $75k over asking only to be outbid on houses in the $500k range. It's a bubble for sure..

 

[Slimbo]

I'm no finance expert, but at today's lending rates consider a HELOC or mortgage/second mortgage for your building and let your money do some work in the market. Loans are very low now, and market is capable of pulling in higher rate of return resulting in lower cost, with the potential of also giving you a tax benefit.

 

[hilld]

I just purchased some 8' 2x4's and the price was $9.75 each. Almost 10 bucks for a 2x4. About had a heart attack, but luckily I only needed 3.

 

[ambenz]

Unless you have to build a structure, I would wait. Next year a lot of this stimulus is going to disappear and the economy will come crashing down or prices will be so high, you won't be able to keep food on the table. I do foresee a depression and possible civil war, in our future...start hoarding essentials and keep working all the overtime you can handle.

 

[Ak Jim]

Massive inflation is on the way. Couple that with 100,000 additional people per month coming into the US is going to keep demand high. Population projections have the US at close to 440,000,000 by 2050, up from 295,000,000 in 2005. Everything is going to get a lot more expensive including land. In my opinion now is the best time to do any land purchases or building. The demand for both is going to keep going up and up.
https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050/

 

[dcg9381]

Massive inflation is on the way.

I agree with this.

 

[joey1320]

Unless you have to build a structure, I would wait. Next year a lot of this stimulus is going to disappear and the economy will come crashing down or prices will be so high, you won't be able to keep food on the table. I do foresee a depression and possible civil war, in our future...start hoarding essentials and keep working all the overtime you can handle.

I don't think it's going to get that bad but yeah, I would highly recommend saving as much as possible and stocking up on essentials.

 

[MushCreek]

Going to the big box store now is like going to the Orvis store. It's fun to go in and look around, but I can't afford to buy anything. I went in today, needing a few random hardware pieces, and possibly some lumber. I just couldn't pay the price for the lumber. Those projects (not pressing) are simply not going to get done any time soon.

As for inflation- There's only two ways to raise $25 trillion- taxes, or print it (inflation).

 

[bugman-74]

As the price of lumber rises I'm seeing more and more ICF construction going up around here.

 

[MushCreek]

I built my house with ICF. I never compared the cost to framing, though. I paid right at $10K for the forms, about $600 in rebar, and about $6K in concrete. That was for two stories at 1400 square feet each. I built mine DIY, and I've heard horror stories about various subs charging exorbitant rates for things like electrical wiring. I don't think that the electrical took any longer with ICF, but it's a different technique, that's for sure. Contractors probably see 'deep pockets' if someone can afford ICF.

 

[reader2580]

I built my house with ICF. I never compared the cost to framing, though. I paid right at $10K for the forms, about $600 in rebar, and about $6K in concrete. That was for two stories at 1400 square feet each. I built mine DIY, and I've heard horror stories about various subs charging exorbitant rates for things like electrical wiring. I don't think that the electrical took any longer with ICF, but it's a different technique, that's for sure. Contractors probably see 'deep pockets' if someone can afford ICF.

How much concrete did you use? A local place sells 6" ICF blocks for $3.10 a square foot which is the least expensive I can find locally. Concrete for ICF is running about $145 locally as of six to eight weeks ago.

For my 44x60 project with 12 foot walls I would be looking at about $22,000 to use ICF including the footings. I'm not sure I would want to DIY a sixteen foot tall wall (includes the 4 feet underground). ICF would cost me about $22,000 while an ICF foundation with stick walls is about $13,000. I am not planning to insulate initially unless I go with ICF.

 

[MushCreek]

Concrete was about $90 a yard in 2012 when we poured the walls. I think it was 62 yards for the ICF alone. I paid an experienced ICF contractor to pour the walls. I don't remember offhand what I paid him. I did 8' walls in the basement, and 9'6" above the floor joists, so 18'8" total, but I did it in two stages. I did the basement walls, installed the floor joists and subfloors, then did the upper walls. It made it easier to set everything up with the floor in place. I left rebar sticking up from the basement walls to help connect the two stages.

I couldn't afford it for my shop, but the ICF house is amazing. Like living in a giant cooler. In our mild climate, we sometimes go months at a time without running the HVAC. It's so energy-efficient, we couldn't go central HVAC, so we do the whole house with two mini-splits, and we usually only run one.

 

[Hilltopmasonry]

Massive inflation is on the way. Couple that with 100,000 additional people per month coming into the US is going to keep demand high. Population projections have the US at close to 440,000,000 by 2050, up from 295,000,000 in 2005. Everything is going to get a lot more expensive including land. In my opinion now is the best time to do any land purchases or building. The demand for both is going to keep going up and up.
https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050/

That’s good, sounds like 100,000 new customers a month coming in to keep the economy going

 

[dcg9381]

C
I couldn't afford it for my shop, but the ICF house is amazing. Like living in a giant cooler. In our mild climate, we sometimes go months at a time without running the HVAC. It's so energy-efficient, we couldn't go central HVAC, so we do the whole house with two mini-splits, and we usually only run one.

I wish there were ICF options in my portion of the states that were "reasonable". It's very niche here and seems to be limited to very high end homes.. Here's it's just less expensive to stick and brick a home, even with a 8" wall and use foam because people know how to do it.

 

[MushCreek]

Same here. My house is DIY, or I couldn't have afforded it. Lots of subs upcharge because of perceived difficulties, or simply because the sense deep pockets.