Anyone have information about the average cost of building homes in the Southern Puget Sound / Tacoma WA area ? We are first time home builders, and are trying to plan our budget but have come across "average" cost figures that vary so widely as to practically be useless. It's logical to assume that the variance is do to the multitude of factors which affect cost, and that there is no corresponding' average, but we still need to find a ballpark figure to work with. We already own a property on Vashon Island Have an approved septic design and are looking for a designer & engineer at this time. The home will be approximately 3000 square feet and we hope to be able to build it with Insulated Concrete Forms. That's not a lot of information to work with but any opinions as to the median build cost in the area would be appreciated. Thanks, Rock_in_WA

Are you building, or are you paying someone to build for you? My concrete guy who has been doing ICF for many years, once mentioned just under $10 per square foot of wall area for unfinished ICF shell/wall(owner built, Port Angeles). As the materials start to arrive and the bills get paid, it is looking to be a little under that number, but I havn't divided up percentage of engineering and permit costs that apply to the shell. We are also not done yet, so I am thinking it will finish up pretty close to $10. In the end I am hoping for a finished cost under $45 per square foot of wall area/$45 per sq/ft of floor area(2000 SQ/FT main floor/2000 SQ/FT daylight basement/garage). But of course that final number is dependant on the choices like windows, insulation, roofing, flooring and heat plant ect, and I am pretty sure our choices are different from yours We are also able to do all of the excavation, construction and finish ourselvs, with only contracting the concrete pours/consultation and crane time for the trusses(might hire the drywall finish, I hate that part and am not very fast...

What block are you thinking about using? We went with Fox as most of the blocks are produced in Idaho, and they have some very good features...

When we started this process I cooked up a spreadsheet and broke the sheet into phases of construction. Once you pick a block, the costs get a little more defined. The floorplan/design will determing the number and type of block. Each block has a cost, and requires a known quantity of concrete and rebar to fill it(lots of rebar, seismic zone D2). Then it is simply a matter of totalling parts to get a good idea of shell cost. IS there a concrete plant on the island? Trucking across the ferry will add to the cost per yard, and you will be using a significant ammount of concrete with ICF(our project will close in on 125 yards total)

Labor if you are hiring it done is an entirely different matter and of course will add significantly to the end cost...

Good luck