Seeing as this is the New Construction forum and a lot of the questions are some version of “how much does it cost to build X” I thought I would share some real numbers and experience from a project we currently have under construction.

This project is an Accessory Dwelling - 720 sqft with one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room, kitchen and small laundry room plus a screened porch. It is located within a Historic District in Charlotte, NC. I designed this project for the homeowners and am overseeing contractor selection and management. The homeowners are going to move in once we are finished and rent out the primary house on this property, then switch in a few years and rent out the ADU.

First, here are the raw numbers:

Foundation: $13,000
Framing: $14,200
Siding: $11,000
Roofing: $4,750
HVAC: $5,500
Electrical: $4,800
Plumbing: $7,500
Insulation: $2,500
Drywall: $8,000
Paint: $5,200
Flooring: $4,200
Cabinets: $3,800
Countertops: $3,000
Appliances: $5,500
Misc #1: $36,600 (labor/materials by GC)
Doors, Windows, Trim, Cabinet and Hardware Install, Screened Porch, Fence, Landscaping, Dumpster, Project Management Fee
Misc #2: $8,000 (supplied by Designer/Me)
Fixtures, Hardware, Shower Door, Wardrobe Cabinet, Tree Removal, Construction Administration
Design Fees: $3,650

That combines for a total cost of $141,200. For what it’s worth, we had multiple contractors price this project and they came in fairly close to one another. We went with the one I had worked with the most and brought the higher confidence level.

Charlotte is hot with new construction, and has been for a while. It was very difficult to get many of our regular subcontractors to even bid the project, let alone give a price anywhere near reasonable. Simply put, very few around here need the work, especially something considered small. There are several trades and line items we consider too high, but we could not get any reliable alternatives. Another factor was the tariffs that went into effect.

Now, I have a spec house project I designed near Raleigh that is three times the size of this one and is being built for less than half the price per sqft. One of the reasons for the cost discrepancy is that the owner/investor for that project also has their contractors license and has no need to hire a builder to pull permits and manage the project. Another factor is that the price per sqft actually goes up when you build smaller, as you still have the big-ticket items that cost more. A house with more sqft is primarily more bedrooms and larger living spaces, these cost less to build. The Raleigh project also began construction six months before this Accessory Dwelling and did not have the full brunt of the tariffs the ADU did.

This isn’t a marketing post, so I won’t get into the pros and cons of hiring a designer versus buying house plans online. But I will say that it was a significant difference on a project like this, and has saved the homeowners quite a bit of money in avoiding or negating potential change orders, especially since construction began.

I hope some of you find this helpful. I will post some photos of the project below and update as we complete construction. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you have. I love to help when I can and to learn from all of you as well.