Are Adobe Houses Cheaper To Build? Save $63 – $103k

Adobe houses are cheaper to build by $63,000 to $103,500 compared to a traditional 2,000 sqft stick-built bungalow. Savings include walls at $63,000 – $57,00, roofs at $19,500 – $26,500, and floors at $6,000 – $20,000. This is $93.50 – $73.25/sqft compared to a basic home cost of $125/sqft.

Building with local dirt is going to be cheaper than purchasing process trees (lumber), glass (insulation), and siding (concrete, vinyl, wood). This is a substantial cost saving on the material cost for your new home.

Wall Construction Costs

Building with your own two hands, and the hands of family and friends is free. Construction contractor’s labor is expensive, for example, a 2,000-square-foot single-story house WALLS costs:

  • Carpenter/Framer: $5 – $8 per square foot, which is $10,000 – $16,000.
  • Siding labor: $100 – $200/sqft for $2,000 – $4,000.
  • Insulation: This is pretty cheap at about $500 – $1000 and includes the plastic vapor barrier installation.
  • Drywall: $7,000 – $8000
  • Trim and baseboard: $2,000 – $3,000
  • Paint: $3,000 – $5,000

The labor for these trades results in savings of approximately $24,500 – $37,000, or $12.25 – $18.5 per square foot for labor to make your adobe house much cheaper than typical construction methods in “advanced” countries USA and Canada.

Wall Material Costs

The material costs for lumber, siding, and insulation for the same house are approximate:

  • Lumber (interior and exterior walls): $3,000 – $5000
  • Siding: $3,000 – $5,000
  • Insulation: $2,000 – $3,000 (more if using foam insulation over sheathing or spray foam in between studs)
  • Drywall: $4,000 – $5,000
  • Paint: $500
  • Trim and baseboard: $500 – $2,000

The materials above add up to $13,00 – $20,000, or $6.5 – $10/sqft in savings.

I did not include roof structure, soffit, fascia, or interior finish as there are too many construction methods to consider in this short article.

The total savings on the exterior and interior wall construction costs are $37,500 – $57,000 ($18.75 – $28.50/sqft). This makes adobe houses cheaper by about 15 – 23% for a cheaper home at a total construction cost of $125/sqft.

Learn through my articles how to make adobe bricks waterproof here and advantages and disadvantages, and how many you need, and the 10 best anchors for a strong house.

Roof Construction

And if you really want to go cheap you can build a live roof with dirt too. This strategy can save a tremendous amount of money and the environment will thank you.

Traditional Western labor and material for roof construction costs:

  • trusses and tin: $4,000 – $8,000
  • asphalt shingles: $9,000 – $12,000
  • fascia and soffit: $2,000 – $3,000
  • blown-in insulation (R-60 for cold and hot climate zones): $2,500 – $3,500
  • Drywall (hang and tape): $3,000
  • Paint: $1,000

Adding up the traditional roof and ceiling finish costs come to $21,500 – $30.500, or $10.75 – $15.25/sqft. This is 12.2% cheaper than a house that costs $125/sqft.

A cheap live roof dirt structure may cost $2,000 – $4,000 with a net savings of $19,500 – $26.500.

Floors Construction

To save more money you can build beautiful low-maintenance floors with dirt for free to save another $6,000 to $20,000, or $3 – $10/sqft (laminate click and vinyl sheet through to hardwood).

Adding up all the cost savings results in a 2,000 sqft adobe house that saves $63,000 to $103,000 on a 2,000 sqft bungalow.

See 7 cheap floor options in my article here.

Scott Boyd
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