Sooooo, when we started talking to the contractor back in June 2021, we were told to use $225/sq foot as a reference for the size of the cabin we could afford. I assumed the costs were coming down from the height of the pandemic, so I never second guessed that number. Well, let me tell you, costs are no longer coming down. The contractor now says to estimate at $275-300/sq ft. OUCH! What does that mean for us? It means we probably cannot afford to build the 2250 sq foot cabin we were planning on. Instead we are looking at having just one shed dormer upstairs and adding a walk-out half-basement since basements are more affordable per sq ft. This would make the cabin about 1800 sq ft with a 700 sq ft basement. We are moving into the design phase with this new plan but we will have to wait for the budget phase to see if it’s feasible. That is probably a month away.
So, the vision I had of building the cabin is changing. I imagined all fun and games picking floors and countertops and other finishes, then watching the cabin go up. Instead, it’s become about budget, budget, budget. I still look forward to the fun phase but we have to get all this budget stuff over with first. I did not anticipate designing the cabin while having the nagging thought that we may not be able to afford the cabin we’re designing. I still feel that it will all work out, but building a cabin is much like other things in life…adjust, adjust, adjust.
My Townsend Cabin 