Residential Costs -----------click here to go directly to Commercial, Industrial, Institutional
These costs are suitable for immediate use in "ballpark" estimating of the construction costs of a single family residence knowing only the class of construction, living area and exterior wall.
Click on the class of construction
The floor area is defined as the area of the building that is suitable for normal living activities. For example, in a 1-1/2 story residence the upper level living area is the portion that has a ceiling height of six feet or more. All of the construction components within the residence are included in the cost per square foot. The costs represent materials, rental of construction equipment, labor, and supervision. Percentages of the total are added for overhead and profit and architect fees.
The base cost does not include personal property items or special construction that is not readily distributable on a square foot basis. There are no allowances for financing or assemblage.
The earth moving costs related to site leveling, temporary roadways, fencing, security and landscaping are not included. Guidance to these costs can be found in the Functional Assemblies and Landscape sections of our cost manual "Residential Square Foot Building Costs."
LOCATION ADJUSTMENTS
These Costs are representative of Southern California. Use the indexes in the "MAJOR CITIES COST RELATIONSHIP INDEX" table on this website, to adjust for Location.
For expanded coverage of these costs refer to our cost manual "Residential Square Foot Building Costs."
These Square Foot Costs (also referred to as Replacement Costs) were developed for a building of a specific number of stories, floor area and story height, as noted in the Building Parameters for each model. The floor area is defined as the total area included within the exterior walls measured from the outside dimensions of the building. All of the construction components within the building are included in the cost per square foot and multi story models assume that the elevated floors are equal to the ground floor. The costs represent materials, rental of construction equipment, labor, and supervision. Percentages of the total are added for overhead and profit and architect fees.
For every building type there are five different exterior walls.
The base cost does not include personal property items or special construction that is not readily distributable on a square foot basis. There are no allowances for financing or assemblage. The earth moving costs related to site leveling, temporary roadways, fencing, security and landscaping are not included.
Click here for a list of 65 building types (selection table)
For conceptual estimating and expansion of these costs , plus expanded coverage, see our publication "Commercial Square Foot Building Costs."
LOCATION ADJUSTMENTS These Costs are representative of Southern California. Use the indexes in the "MAJOR CITIES COST RELATIONSHIP INDEX" table on this website, to adjust for Location.
Building types listed in selection table.