Cost to build · Greater Richmond
Ten questions, about two minutes, and a real budget range built from homes we have actually signed and finished. No phone call, no form wall, no salesperson.
What we build, per heated square foot
Excludes land. Where you land inside that band depends on size, site, siding, roofing and finish level. The estimator sorts that out.
Answer honestly, including the questions where the honest answer is "not sure." The tool widens the range instead of guessing, so an unsure answer still gives you a usable number.
Read this with your estimate This range is generated from the answers you give and from cost data on homes we have already built. It is a planning tool, not a quote or an offer. Your actual price is developed once we have finished plans, a survey, a soil evaluation and a real look at your site conditions. Lot slope, rock, soil type, well depth, septic design, utility distance, plan complexity and your selections all move the number, and none of them can be known from ten questions.
Most online calculators multiply square feet by a number somebody found on the internet. Ours is reverse engineered from the line item costs of three finished homes, then checked back against what each one actually sold for.
Two story custom build on a private well and septic. Our mid level of finish, and the reference point for what mechanical and envelope upgrades really add.
Two story spec home, deliberately value engineered. It anchors the efficient end of the range.
Slab on grade with metal siding and a standing seam roof. It is what taught the model how building shape and premium exteriors move a budget.
Run each of those three homes back through the estimator and it returns their real cost within about six percent, erring slightly high. We would rather your first number be a little conservative than a little optimistic.
The fastest way to make a builder's estimate useless is to be vague about what is inside it. Here is the line.
It is a planning range, not a proposal. It is accurate enough to tell you whether the home you are picturing is a $600,000 project or a $900,000 one, which is the decision you need to make before you buy land. It is not accurate enough to take to a bank. That comes later, once we have a soil evaluation, a survey and plans priced to your actual specifications.
Because two things genuinely are not knowable yet. Well depth is unpredictable until somebody drills, so we carry it as an allowance and credit back what we do not spend. Septic type is set by a soil evaluation, and the difference between a conventional and an engineered system can be $40,000. Every "not sure" you answer widens the band a little more. That is the tool being honest with you rather than confident at you.
No. Land is priced separately and varies enormously across Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Powhatan and Louisa. The estimate does include what it costs to make a piece of raw land buildable, meaning clearing, erosion control, driveway, well and septic or utility taps.
It is arguably more useful now than later. Tell the estimator you are still looking and it skips the site questions and uses typical conditions instead. Knowing your build number before you shop is what keeps you from spending your whole budget on a lot. We also have preferred realtors we are glad to connect you with at no cost.
Our baseline for a custom home is around $625,000, and we build up to roughly $3.5 million. Below that baseline the fixed costs do not shrink much. A well, a septic system, a driveway, permits, a foundation and a mechanical system cost close to the same at 1,800 square feet as they do at 3,000. We are still open to the conversation depending on timing, location and expectations, and we will tell you straight if it is not a fit.
Three steps. A consultation, which is free and carries no commitment. Then a Pre Construction Planning Agreement, where we do the soil evaluation and septic design, site the well, survey the lot, engineer and produce plans, and price the home to your real specifications. Then a fixed price proposal. Once we sign that, the price is the price.
Greater Richmond and the surrounding counties, including Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Powhatan, Louisa, and out toward Charlottesville.
Bring it to a consultation and we will pressure test it against your lot, your plan and your timeline. If the numbers do not line up, you will hear that from us on day one instead of month four.
