Blog

Where the Laundry Room Should Go, and the Three Placements People Regret
Where the Laundry Room Should Go, and the Three Placements People Regret
Builders and buyers do not agree on where laundry belongs, and the gap between them is bigger than most people expect. In 2023, 72 percent of new homes were built... Read more...
Land That Will Not Perc: What It Means, What It Costs, and Whether You Walk Away
Land That Will Not Perc: What It Means, What It Costs, and Whether You Walk Away
Land that will not perc means a percolation test found the soil cannot absorb and filter wastewater well enough to support a conventional septic system. It does not automatically mean... Read more...
Spray Foam or Fiberglass? What the Insulation Choice Actually Buys
Spray Foam or Fiberglass? What the Insulation Choice Actually Buys
Spray foam insulation costs $1.50 to $5.00 per square foot installed, roughly two to three times what fiberglass batts cost at $1.00 to $2.60 per square foot, according to 2025... Read more...
Well Water or a Rural Water District? Cost, Control, and Reliability
Well Water or a Rural Water District? Cost, Control, and Reliability
There is a rural water line at the road, and a neighbor down the way who swears by his well and would never switch. Both of them might be right... Read more...
Is It Cheaper to Build or Buy in 2026? Running the Numbers Both Ways
Is It Cheaper to Build or Buy in 2026? Running the Numbers Both Ways
On a straight national average, buying an existing home costs less than building a new one. The average cost to buy a home is $410,000 to $536,000, while the average... Read more...
Slab, Crawl Space, or Basement? Picking a Foundation for Your Site
Slab, Crawl Space, or Basement? Picking a Foundation for Your Site
A foundation costs $6 to $50 per square foot depending on type, according to HomeGuide, and the right choice for a given site is decided far more by soil conditions,... Read more...
The Ultimate Guide to Windows in a Custom Home
The Ultimate Guide to Windows in a Custom Home
Window decisions on a house plan collapse four separate questions into one line item, and most buyers only ever evaluate one of them. Light, view, egress, and cost each pull... Read more...
How Much House Can You Actually Afford to Build?
How Much House Can You Actually Afford to Build?
The number from a mortgage affordability calculator is not the number that governs a construction budget, because a construction loan works differently from a mortgage on an existing house, and... Read more...
Whole House Generator: How to Size One and What It Costs
Whole House Generator: How to Size One and What It Costs
A whole house standby generator costs roughly $9,000 to $20,000 fully installed for a typical 14 to 26 kilowatt system. Most 22 kilowatt installs, the size that covers a larger... Read more...
What Can You Fit in a 3,000 or 3,500 Square Foot Lot?
What Can You Fit in a 3,000 or 3,500 Square Foot Lot?
A 3,000 to 3,500 square foot lot will typically hold a single-family home of roughly 900 to 1,400 square feet, sitting on a footprint no wider than about 40 feet... Read more...
One Story or Two? The Cost, the Comfort, and the Resale Math
One Story or Two? The Cost, the Comfort, and the Resale Math
For the same total square footage, a two-story house generally costs less to build than a one-story house, because two of the most expensive systems in a home, the foundation... Read more...
Metal Roof or Asphalt Shingles? Cost, Lifespan, and the Noise Question
Metal Roof or Asphalt Shingles? Cost, Lifespan, and the Noise Question
A metal roof costs $500 to $1,600 per square installed and lasts 30 to 80 or more years, according to 2025 data from HomeGuide. An asphalt shingle roof costs $300... Read more...
Owner Builder: What You Save and What You Take On
Owner Builder: What You Save and What You Take On
Building a house yourself, meaning acting as your own general contractor, can save you the general contractor's fee, which typically runs 10 to 20 percent of the total construction budget.... Read more...
What It Actually Costs to Turn Raw Land Into a Buildable Site
What It Actually Costs to Turn Raw Land Into a Buildable Site
Turning raw land into a buildable site commonly costs $20,000 to $60,000 or more before the first slab is poured, covering clearing, a driveway, a well, a septic system, and... Read more...
Allowances Are Where Home Budgets Quietly Break
Allowances Are Where Home Budgets Quietly Break
An allowance is a placeholder budget in a construction contract for an item you have not selected yet, such as cabinets, flooring, or light fixtures. The risk is not the... Read more...
How Much Land Do You Need to Build a House?
How Much Land Do You Need to Build a House?
How much land you need to build a house comes down to four things stacked together: the septic system, the well, your property line setbacks, and the driveway. Septic is... Read more...
Fry Design Co. modern farmhouse shown transitioning from architectural sketch to finished home, with rolled blueprints and a pencil in the foreground, representing the design-to-build process.
Stock Plans vs Custom Design: Which One Fits Your Build?
Stock plan or custom design? One is faster and costs less, the other fits exactly. Here is how to tell which one fits your build, plus the middle path most... Read more...