I would call an engineering contractor and find out what things actually cost before I got excited about it.

For personal reasons, I would like to move to the Austin area (big outdoors guy/Houston is very flat), and I'm fortunate as an engineer to work remote - relocating isn't an issue.It's no secret that Austin real estate is hot and I have concerns about making a deal work with how much Austin real estate has elevated to over the years.

I am in Boulder Colorado and looking to have some flooring replaced with engineered wood (about 1250 sqft plus some stairs) and also need some “stone” work done around a fireplace to replace surrounding tile with cultured stone. 

One thing this crew did was bring in a backhoe, dig a large hole and put 55 gallon drums of car oil, transmissions and engines into the hole and covered. 

The design was completed by myself and a local engineering firm.

@John Endicott hire an engineer.

My name is Paige and I am an engineer working in the oilfield.

But how about the structural engineer?

I’m currently have an engineering job in Raleigh. 

[If you are doing a more sustainable approach then triple your budget for MEP/HVAC as it is a more complex system to have a self-sufficient system.] 2- Foundation details as mentioned above. 3- Soft Cost: Architecture & Engineering cost for permitting, filings, inspections, etc.