Yep, $30-35 per hour for laborers to semi-skilled jack-offs, up to $75 per hour for the most skilled finish carpenter I've ever encountered.
$247.62 per square foot isn't bad at all for a nice place in 2026, especially for something so small. There's just no economy of scale that would drive that price/sqft down. Is that including sitework and utility connections?
I personaly refuse to give verbal or on-the-spot pricing on anything significant. It's a recipe for somebody to cry foul when they see a real number and then go full throttle butt-hurt on the internet. I don't know how much the third guy looked at it before he gave you a verbal; he could be full of crap, or he could have been surprised at something in the plans. You’ve got two contractors at an identical number…the price is the price. Bitching on a forum won’t change it.
Rant engaged (and not directed at OP):
We are almost to the point of tradesmen actually earning what they’re worth, and as a blue-collar turned white-collar guy, I’m glad for it. People like to imagine that guys in the trades are toothless, dumbass dipshits, but stop and think for three seconds…do you want an actual inbred moron building your place, or someone with a fully-functioning (or close enough) brain building your place, versus someone who would be in adult daycare without that job? If the latter, there are likely a lot of guys who fit your criteria. If the former, then try to comprehend that these guys have families and are making a living too, and they don’t have to live in near impoverished conditions to make your dream a reality.
If the price is too high, then welcome to the real world, where you can’t afford every frickin thing you want. This is not the same economy the boomer generation came up in, and the cost of construction reflects that.
Tariffs are a real issue, and not one that contractors or suppliers should be expected to eat. If the materials can’t be dropped on site within 30 days, expect the price to change. Contractors don’t control that shit and aren’t getting rich off of it.
Outside of some bad actors, contractors in general are not raking in money faster than they can stack it or raping people like some in this thread imply. It’s a supply and demand economy just like everything else…why would I do one job at 6% if I could do another at 12%? The typical residential GC in my area is 15-20% on fee (read: profit) and they’re turning down work just to be able to keep up with what they have. Why in God’s name would they take a job at 6, 8, 10%? Supply and demand, in its purest form.
So, why build now versus waiting for things to level off? Well, we are not even close to replacing skilled tradesmen at the same rate they are retiring or dying. Go ahead and wait to see what things look like in 5, 10, 15 years…I’m legitimately concerned, as a commercial construction project manager, that we won’t be able to perform the work that clients want (and this is compounded by the current admin’s ICE directives). Simply put, it isn’t going to get better. Go ahead and play the game of waiting to see if prices come down…it isn’t going to happen in construction any more than it will in any other industry.
OP, I see your point of not wanting to take on this level of debt in your position in life, and I don’t disagree with it. But this is today’s reality…it will not get better, it will likely get worse. Plan accordingly.
