Building a house, is this normal ?

[loganwayne]

. If you're in love with the location there's always a way.

But its gonna cost ya

 

[Reburn]

A little bit of moisture and they are useless. They dont turn for shit either once mud gets on the front tires. Its something i deal with all the time people thing they are big and its not fun when they get stuck and dump 10 yards on the ground to get out or tip over

Not to mention the guys driving them are literally the dumbest people on the planet.

We do lots of crazy shit to get concrete moved around including slinging garbro buckets under helicopters. Ask the concrete producer to look at it. If you have to pull the truck....so what? You're not talking about very many trucks for a 3 bedroom house. Also, we have trucked with 10 wheelers on 18%. It can be done. You can half load the trucks if you have to. If you're in love with the location there's always a way.

He said they are unwilling to stomach the cost to get it done.

 

[gbflyer]

Not to mention the guys driving them are literally the dumbest people on the planet.




He said they are unwilling to stomach the cost to get it done.

One of dumbest guys on the planet entering the chat. Say that all you want, however nothing happens without them.

 

[gbflyer]

You could also consider helical pile. I was part of a big one a couple years ago. About the size of a motel 6. Not a single yard of concrete was poured other than for a transformer base.


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[CMF]

Have you actually exhausted your options of builders? It's sometimes surprising how many people sound interested in a job, only to never show up or give a crazy price. Sometimes you have to keep looking to find the right person.
If the foundation guy is preventing your current builder, maybe try reaching out to foundation subs and finding one that is interested.
Could also reconsider the design and do a pier foundation. That would probably be cheaper than a basement, I'm guessing, you'll pay for some extra insulation, but still come out ahead.

Per Grok:
Quick cost summary (2026 data, for a typical ~2,000 sq ft home footprint in Ohio/southeastern U.S.):

• Pier-and-beam foundation: $8–$15 per sq ft → $16,000 to $30,000 total.
• Full basement foundation (unfinished, basic waterproofing): $35–$50+ per sq ft → $70,000 to $100,000+ total.

Savings with piers: Usually $40,000–$70,000+ less than a basement on similar homes. In Ohio, poured concrete basement packages for smaller footprints (1,200–1,800 sq ft) often start around $18,000–$45,000 just for the foundation work, with full projects pushing higher due to excavation on hilly sites.

Piers are notably cheaper on sloped or variable-soil lots like those in Athens County, as they require far less digging. Actual bids vary by exact site, soil report, slope, and contractor—get local quotes for precision.

 

[roymunson]

Driveway looks that bad?

As the owner of a septic tank pumping company that runs tandems all over the Lord's Creation, conditions would have to be perfect for me to pull that drive.

A dusting of snow, or a slimy muddy day and I'm out.

Getting in up hill aint the end of the world, it's the coming out (potentially loaded) that scares me.

Unless you wanna cover the liability of a 400k truck ending up on its side in the woods. (I'm assuming a good concrete truck is something like that)

It's very different than rolling in with a FWD car or your pickup.

Nothing personal, but I looked at the drive pic and said "yeesh..."

 

[KurtR]

We do lots of crazy shit to get concrete moved around including slinging garbro buckets under helicopters. Ask the concrete producer to look at it. If you have to pull the truck....so what? You're not talking about very many trucks for a 3 bedroom house. Also, we have trucked with 10 wheelers on 18%. It can be done. You can half load the trucks if you have to. If you're in love with the location there's always a way.

Easy to say when its not your truck getting jerked around and shit getting tore up. I have broke more than a few hearts getting to job sites and telling contractors they better figure out another way our trucks are not going where they want them

 

[roymunson]

Easy to say when its not your truck getting jerked around and shit getting tore up. I have broke more than a few hearts getting to job sites and telling contractors they better figure out another way our trucks are not going where they want them

a loaded concrete truck is a lot of weight. Dragging on the frame is a recipe for long term issues

 

[KurtR]

a loaded concrete truck is a lot of weight. Dragging on the frame is a recipe for long term issues

Yep we got a couple in the bone pile because of that

 

[mgray]

Our redi mix trucks used to keep a huge cable on each one and would tug each other out when they got stuck. That's a thing of the past. Now they don't even like hopping the curb.

 

[Reburn]

As the owner of a septic tank pumping company that runs tandems all over the Lord's Creation, conditions would have to be perfect for me to pull that drive.

A dusting of snow, or a slimy muddy day and I'm out.

Getting in up hill aint the end of the world, it's the coming out (potentially loaded) that scares me.

Unless you wanna cover the liability of a 400k truck ending up on its side in the woods. (I'm assuming a good concrete truck is something like that)

It's very different than rolling in with a FWD car or your pickup.

Nothing personal, but I looked at the drive pic and said "yeesh..."

300K for a mack or similar mixer without strong arm or electronic slump stuff. They have come down a touch since covid when there were close to 400k. Its not too hard to get the truck. You still wait for the mixer.

 

[Deeker]

Quick answers/questions

House is 2100 SF
What is GM? Is that general manager / general contractor?

Its just me and her. We each have 1 child, both grown and gone.

Both in the medical field, she travels to make good money. Which is one reason I've questioned this build. She will hardly be there.

Property is on a ridge, its flat on the build site, the driveway best I calculated using my truck is a 12% climb.
Future plans are some sort of pole barn, we have a definite need for a small tractor for land maintenance.

The 350.000 was actually 400,000 per the builder for cost over run.

I am 57 and finally trying to retire for the last time soon. I really don't want to be strapped to this kind of money. $500 k and I am out of the plan.

I guess the thing I don't understand is how do you go from $350 to 520 overnight??

We have found similar houses with property for around the same cost. We can do a little work, say "updates"

500k / 2100 sq ft is $238 a sq ft. Which is directly in the wheel house for building prices where I am at. Maybe even a bit low if you are doing anything custom.

 

[gbflyer]

I guess when I saw the 3rd or 4th pic with the nice gravel surface I thought that must be the finished product but I'm not standing there looking at it like the rest of you are so I must be looking at something wrong. I've batched and delivered thousands of yards of concrete in fairly remote places, that one looks doable, but I'm not doing it. That's why I suggested he talk to the concrete producer before throwing in the towel. We will be doing one this summer remote, the road is too steep and winding for loaded trucks so we will transport aggregate and cement in 4000K bulk bags and mix onsite. Only 30 yards or so though.

No matter. Getting out of the dirt is always the hardest part. The rest is an erector set. Wish the OP and his partner the best. Looks like nice country.

 

[tony]

Appreciate the answers.
I’m in contact with a real estate outfit that specializes in land and farm sales.
The other plots the previous owner sold are all down hill. So I don’t know if those would have been better? And the new owners haven’t done anything with them yet.
Now shes telling me her dad even said don’t buy this! Yet he was all giddy to get things rolling in cleaning and that stupid driveway.
All told, I’m in this for $30,000.
The way the land lays per the health dept. only one site is suitable for septic. They really stress a back up leach field for 30 years down the road.
The auditor says to have an attorney prepare a deed restriction and legally combine both parcels even though she owns both.
Real estate guy says with the survey, soil samples, access to water and power, that driveway as it is, the area. That should help sell it.

It’s a shame really. Ohio in general is flat corn fields. Southeast Ohio is really different though. The space, tall hills, you can see for miles up on top of this piece. It is a very rural area on its own. Wish we could keep it just to camp and hang out on,
I’ve dug a few outhouses before!