Anyone from Minnesota or Western Wisconsin have any words of wisdom about building a home on acreage?

Question

Details including septic mound, Well, Foundation. In the end were you on budget or over budget. On top of the land cost how much did everything end up costing (roof, sheetrock, windows, wood, siding, ect)

Answer 1

My brother just a built a house in Minnesota - about 90 miles west of Duluth, MN.  The costs were VERY similar to the excellent post from the person from NW Wisconsin who described everything in detail.  His house was 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, two floors (lower floor is a walkout basement).  

If you're in an area with bedrock (Northshore of Lake Superior) your well can cost MUCH more.  Septic system rules are very similar in MN and WI (WI is a little more stringent).  Mounds in MN can run 10,000 to 15,000, in-ground systems (where you have 3 or more feet of good soil) can run 5,000-10,000.  

One a side note, in Minnesota if you distrub over an acre of land, you will need a construction stormwater permit from the state.  Not sure what types of requirements Wisconsin has for this.  Your local planning and zoning office should be able to help you out.  

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 2

One thing I can tell you is not to design your home. Use a home plan or have a professional do it for you.  You will leave something out and later regret it.

Answer 3

I am a Northwest Wisconsin resident and we just built a new house.  I can tell you from direct experience!!!!!!!  You first step after you have the land is to go talk to your local zoing office for info on the permits required to build on undeveloped land...no permits no build...make sure your land does not have a wetland designation, this held us up for 3 mths and construction season is very short up here.  We started by finding the land: a beautiful 40 acre parcel of georgeous woodland......sound nice but it's not  $20,000 to hire a excavating company to come in and clear the building site, bring in fill to have drainage and level building site $3000.00, dig holes to bury the debris 150.00/hour you can only burn so much.  If you are looking for land I suggest an open area you can always plant trees, they are alot cheaper then land clearing and you can see the lay of the land and plan for the proper drainage away from where you build.  Your septic system type is based on a perk test of your soil, if you have 3 feet of sandy soil you can go with a septic system, if soil will not perk (water drains away in a timed test) you will have to go with a mound system.  Our mound system cost $15,000.  We were lucky with the well because the water table is high here and the driller hit good water at 86 feet cost  2500.00, then you have to have a pump installer another 1500.00.  We have an energy star constructed home to save on heating and cooling costs...look into it good ideas!!  Google energy star costruction.  We have a slab foundation with infloor heat....I love infloor, so much easier to heat our house 3500 sq feet with heated garage.  Foundation type is a real question...I had a basement but after time it started to crack with the winter frosts and then leaked, even a dry basement will have condensation and dampness and running dehumidifiers 24 hours adds up on elec. costs.  I like the slab but miss the extra storage space.  Concrete is a item you can shop around for, priced by the cubic yard.  Our slab for this house was 15000.00 including the concrete contractor.  Our windows were $20000.00 ( I have alot) make sure you have a low e insulated window.  We stayed away from wood due to the short longevity, high maint. to keep wood looking nice, and windows sweat, wood will turn black with mldew.

Up north Insulate insulate insulate!!  Orientate your home so you can take advantage of the southern sun exposure for passive solar heating in the winter.  I wish we had looked more into solar panels and adding a wood heat backup it would have been a wise investment with the energy cost going up.  We did check out geothermal heating, a sound idea but very costly to install.  We have 8" walls v/s 6" for extra insulation value, our walls are R-30, and ceilings R-60 we spent 9000.00 on insulation for the house.  The total for completion was 220,000.00 and that did'nt include landscaping, sidewalks, patios.  In the end we were over budget 10,000 and had to cut back on a few things (landscaping, sidewalks and patios) to make the financing but it turned out ok.  The place must be ok cause the tax man loves us, we built for 220,000.00 but are valued at $300,000 so instant equity of 80,000.00 makes it right.  I will be happy to talk more and share info just send me an email.  P.S. If you are looking up in this area We have 115 acres of good building land for sale that is in a nice area with highly rated schools, excellant community and close commute to Duluth Mn and Superior Wi.

Answer 4

Leave as much of the ground as it is. Don't fill in any ravines or chop down numerous trees. Nature is wise when it comes to things like that. Don't put in a tight switchback drive because if you ever need the fire dept, the trucks won't make to the house. To dig a well, put in the septic mound, etc. will need surveyors and permits to ensure you're not disturbing the water table or robbing someone else of water. Always add 50% to any estimate. Our one-story dome house (three rooms on a concrete slab, 16 feet at the tallest point, cost $85,000, land and all in 1999. We live year-round, which 90% of people don't, Chicago residents buying vacation homes, so keep in mind you won't have neighbors in the winter. Be prepared for winds and snow--there are two seasons in Minn and Wisconsin--winter and July.