How to build a cheaper house: cheap, budget and fast DIY construction from scratch

1. We create the most functional and comfortable layout
2. How to build a house with your own hands on a budget and quickly: the easiest option
3. How to inexpensively build a reliable one-story house for living with your own hands - about the key to saving
4. What kind of house to build inexpensively at the planning stage
5. How much does it cost to build an inexpensive private house with your own hands from scratch?
6. How to economically build a house with your own hands: it’s cheaper with a shallow strip foundation
7. How to economically build a house with your own hands: building the first floor
8. Installing the second floor
9. Building a roof
10. Exterior decoration
11. We mount the stairs
12. Let's move on to the interior decoration
13. Real experience
14. How and from what to build a large house inexpensively, efficiently and quickly from scratch yourself: choosing the material
15. Made of brick
16. From steel structures
17. Made of wood
18. From foam concrete
19. Frame construction technology
20. From aerated concrete
21. From timber

Tired of living in a rented apartment? Are you thinking about how to cheaply build a small private house somewhere far from the city, so as not to hear the noise of constantly honking cars? Then this article is for you: we will tell you how you can reduce the budget for housing construction. You will understand what materials you can save on, and where this should never be done. Even if you have never encountered construction, it will be quite easy to understand the basics and nuances of the work. Here we go!

We create the most functional and comfortable layout

The first thing you need to decide is how you are going to use the building. For example, if you want to stay in it only in the summer, you will need less insulation. For winter living, you already need to invest in a good heating system and seal the structure from the cold.

How to build your house cheaply, efficiently and quickly from scratch yourself? First, think about the size of your future home: the larger it is, the more expensive construction will be. In general, there are three ways to save:

1. Make the most compact and functional layout - this will reduce the cost by about 20%. But don’t go overboard with reducing the space - already in the first month you will feel very uncomfortable living in a building that looks like a warehouse, especially with a large family.
2. Remove architectural excesses (figured wood carvings, openwork stucco molding, expensive stone trim, etc.). You can add them later: at any time when you want or money just appears. Typically this saves 10%.
3. Take the time to study the properties of various modern materials. Yes, some of them are expensive, but there are also those that will make your work as easy as possible, and in the end you will only need a few people to build, and not a whole team. Thus, the savings will take up to 40% of the total amount.

Now let's move on to the layout options. How, from what and what is the cheapest house you can build with your own hands? If we take the comfort-price balance, then the most convenient solution for families with 1 or 2 children is three rooms, if their total area does not exceed 50 sq.m. This can be a 6 by 9 housing, which accommodates: 2 bedrooms, a living room-studio with a kitchen, a bathroom with a shared toilet and a small hallway.

Do you want to learn about the features of house design, get advice from a specialist on selecting a site and the number of floors of the planned object? In the directory of companies on Building Companion you will find a large selection of construction companies that will help solve these issues. The profile of each contractor contains the necessary information, portfolio, reviews, and you can place a request for an estimate of the cost of construction. Find a construction expert for advice »

Now imagine that you have a child and need to get a nursery: you can expand the space by another 3 meters by making an additional extension.

If you just want to slightly increase the space in all rooms, this option is also suitable. In this example, there is already space for a dressing room, and the bedroom turns into an office.

These were layout options for a small building. We invite you to see how you can zone the space of a cottage with two floors. Please note that it needs to be thought out in advance, since a more expensive and stronger foundation will be needed. Otherwise, under the weight of the superstructure, it will begin to crack, crumble and eventually provoke a collapse.

In the diagram you see studio rooms, where the sleeping area is combined with a working area, and the living room is combined with a kitchen and dining area. The second floor might look like this:

Built-in storage furniture will solve many of your problems

Thanks to built-in furniture, you can save quite a lot of money and nerves. Immediately after your cottage has been completed and finished, while the rooms still smell of wallpaper paste and there is not a single scratch on the laminate, order a built-in wardrobe for absolutely every bedroom. Inexpensive, from a local company, light white, beige or gray. Ideally with large full-length mirrors in the center.

In the end, you get the perfect storage space for the price of probably one small cabinet in a store in the same style. Typically, a cabinet measuring 3.6 by 2.4 meters costs about 50 thousand rubles (for example, white, in the neoclassical style, with engraving on the mirrors and all doors with mirrors). If you buy a cabinet in the neoclassical style in the classic swing version, then most likely it will be two cabinets, each of which costs the same. The cheapest wardrobes with approximately the same dimensions (3 by 2.5 m) cost from 30 thousand rubles.

How to build a house with your own hands on a budget and quickly: the easiest option

The “skeleton” must always be reliable, since it is it that will hold the entire structure. But you can also save money on some of its parts, you just need to take into account the nuances:

1. If the width does not exceed six meters, as in the examples given earlier, then there will be no difficulties in installing floor slabs. For non-standard sizes, additional load-bearing walls will be required.
2. Combine the dining room, kitchen and living room into one studio, and you won’t have to spend money on partitions and their decoration.
3. For cold climates, thick walls are not always needed; only 30 centimeters will be enough. To ensure heat resistance, you can use good thermal insulation material on the cladding. This way you will achieve a narrowing of up to 25cm.
4. To fence off some rooms, it is best to use a plasterboard frame: it is lightweight and does not cost much.
5. Build a gable roof, this is the most economical option.

Economy class country house projects

A country house is a home for seasonal holidays or temporary residence, for example, during holidays or weekends. Many families living in city apartments buy or build country houses in order to be able to go out into nature and relax there from the bustle of the city.

Project of a two-story economy class house Source Source woodh.ru

A country house is subject to less stringent requirements than a cottage for permanent residence. If the owners plan to use their future home for seasonal recreation, they can save a lot during construction. The savings lie, first of all, in the fact that such a house can be much more modest in size. It can reduce the consumption of usable space on such planning elements as:

• space for installing built-in furniture;
• dressing rooms;
• large kitchen-dining space.

In a country house you do not need to store as many things and household supplies as in a permanent residence. You don't need large supplies of food. If it is intended for relaxation in the summer, then the recreation area can be arranged in the yard - in the form of a terrace or area with a gazebo. It is in this area that residents will mainly spend their time. Basic kitchen equipment can also be installed there. The house should still have a kitchen and a small living room, but a minimum amount of space can be allocated for these rooms.

How to inexpensively build a reliable one-story house for living with your own hands - about the key to saving

Owners very rarely carry out work completely independently; it is often necessary to involve assistants. Typically, their wages account for about half of the budget, so many people want to save money on them. But this decision is not always fair: often the owners have only superficial knowledge of construction. Because of this, mistakes are made, which require even more money to correct. Accordingly, you should not neglect professional services. It is not profitable for specialists to make mistakes, otherwise they will have to redo everything for free later. If you don't have the opportunity to hire a whole team, invite just a couple of people and check their qualifications. You will spend less money on them than on annual strengthening and alterations.

To select the right home builder for your desired low-rise housing construction technology, use the Building Companion directory search. Examples of work and reviews are visible in the contractors' profiles; you can request an estimate of the cost of their work. Find a company to build a box house »

Is it worth ordering the services of full-cycle construction companies?

It is impossible to control the estimate in full-cycle companies, which are responsible for everything: from leveling the site to furnishing. As a result, as practice shows, many receive unjustified bills for incomprehensible services, which in principle are not expensive, but in general take up about 10-20% of the construction budget.

When you receive all the invoices, all the estimates from one company, you will not be able to quickly understand them, understand what was paid for and whether it corresponds to the declared quality and design.

For example, a porch cost you 50 thousand rubles, but you will receive a bill for 100 thousand rubles and will not even understand that this is a lot, since other expenses will be much higher and a small line will not attract your attention.

Solution: hire builders for each stage of work gradually, or separately. Let the breaks between signing the “acceptance certificate” of each stage of 400-500 thousand rubles be one or two weeks, so that you have time to understand whether the work has been done at all and at what level.

What kind of house to build inexpensively at the planning stage

To get the best savings, you need to make it as simple as possible. Be careful when choosing ready-made projects: most often they have a complex plan that is expensive to implement. Compose your own version or take copies of already built housing from real owners, these can be found on many forums or blogs. In any case, we recommend adhering to the following rules:

1. Do not make expensive elements, bay windows, curves, etc. A simple rectangular shape will cost less.
2. Build one floor, this will save you from the costs of additional heating, stairs, finishing and strengthening the foundation.
3. It is better to leave the latter shallow: in order to dig such a concrete structure under the base of the house, you do not need to carry out preparatory work, which also costs money.
4. Refrain from skylights and install a simple roof with only two slopes (the more there are, the more expensive the construction).
5. Choose traditionally shaped windows; their price is lower than those with non-standard (round, oval, ornate) frames.
6. Do not spend money on expensive finishing, let it be laconic and pleasant, this way you will protect yourself from “ruin” and endless dusting in small, hard-to-reach corners. As for the facade, it is most economical to make it from plaster; it is aesthetically pleasing, durable and simple.

Skip the services of an architect and interior designer

You can easily do without an architect or interior designer. Firstly, cottage projects are sold in the public domain, they are clear and modern, and the fact that another 100 cottages will be built throughout Russia according to the same project, in principle, should not upset you in any way. Secondly, the interior design can be calculated and chosen either by you during the renovation process and even in life, or by a finishing company, which usually does not charge any fee for it.

How much does it cost to build an inexpensive private house with your own hands from scratch?

The final price depends on the size and materials used. Let us take as an example the construction of a small frame housing with three rooms (100 sq.m):

• professional assembly – 400 thousand rubles;
• strip foundation with reinforcement – ​​200,000, pile foundation – 120,000-150,000;
• light board frame – 200,000;
• sheathing with OSB boards – 50,000;
• insulation – from 100,000;
• roofing – 100-200 thousand rubles;
• doors and windows – 100-150 thousand rubles;
• facade design – 70,000 – 120,000;
• communications – 1,000,000;
• interior decoration - 100,000.

Total: 2,300,000 – 2,700,000. Please note that figures may vary in specific cases.

Don't put an island or bar counter (even if you really want to)

Firstly, they take up space that can be used to increase the area of ​​the headset, which will actually be used every day, if not every hour of life. In the future, you will find out that using the island and bar counter is not as convenient as it seems, especially considering the instability of the chairs and the inability to adjust their size and height for each specific family member.

As a result, the best option would be to abandon the island or bar counter and put a large (!) dining group for four people in the kitchen (with a table 1.4 by 90 cm!), and in the separate dining room put another larger table for entertaining guests. If there is no second dining room, it’s okay; such a large table can easily be equipped with two more half-chairs on both sides.

If you really dream of such a layout, the best solution is a “peninsula” with a worktop, as in the photo below. You get the look you want for an open-plan interior and a comfortable dining area.

How to economically build a house with your own hands: it’s cheaper with a shallow strip foundation

How deep it needs to be dug depends on the final weight of the structure, the quality of the soil and the presence of bodies of water near the site. On average, its filling takes up approximately 40% of the total budget. Remember that you cannot save on it, otherwise everything will collapse later. For a country cottage, a shallow foundation that is dug about half a meter into the ground is quite suitable. It does not require as much concrete as other types.

It is capable of supporting the weight of one floor with a roof, especially one with a frame base. But if you want to play it safe and strengthen it, you can dig holes in the area of ​​the support points to the level of ground freezing. Then everything is filled with concrete mixture. It is convenient to use reinforced concrete slabs for this - just dig them under the support areas. You can make the material yourself, it will be even cheaper, but you will need a concrete mixer and additional time.

Properly equip your boiler room

The boiler room must be large enough to accommodate not only an electric or gas boiler, but also additional household items that in any case appear when living in a country house.

It is best if the area of ​​your boiler room is about 12-14 square meters. meters, which will allow you to include in the layout:

• boiler;
• boiler for heating water;
• all pipes for heating and water;
• gas cylinder (metal) for cooking and spare cylinder;
• washing machine and dryer;
• place for hanging clothes;
• meat freezer;
• sink (for household, non-food needs);
• portable barbecue for the garden;
• countertop (for various types of work, essentially like a 1.5 meter kitchen set;
• a place to store sports equipment (as a rule, in a garage it can easily smell of gasoline), such as bicycles, roller skates, skis, children's cars, etc.

It would be very good if between the boiler room and the hallway or hall there is another walk-through room with a wardrobe for utility storage.

A properly equipped furnace/boiler room/boiler room will help you avoid: drying clothes in a living room, a huge double refrigerator in the kitchen, dirty household items in the kitchen sink, grilling in the wrong places in winter, storing sports equipment in the garage that smells of gasoline and other inconvenient things and unpleasant everyday moments. It is better to plan a large boiler room right away, so that you do not have to spend money later on solving these problems in a more expensive way (for example, adding a veranda-balcony with glazing for hanging washed clothes!).

How to economically build a house with your own hands: building the first floor

Before you start putting up walls, you need to lay sewer pipes, otherwise it will be extremely inconvenient later. Then install and insulate the platforms for the future floor: you can make small cells out of the boards and cover them with three layers of polystyrene foam (if they are 15 centimeters thick).

To select a contractor who is ready to provide professional assistance in preparing documents on a land plot and a house construction project, we recommend using the company search in the Building Companion catalog. In the contractor’s profile, you can view reviews, portfolios, and request an estimate of the cost of the work. Get advice from specialists on preparation for construction »

It is better to assemble external walls horizontally, and then put them in the desired position using a winch. Don't forget to lay insulation between the posts and secure it with plywood sheets. Some owners install windows right away, but this is not necessary; you can do them after the entire frame has been assembled. Now it’s time to move on to the internal partitions; they also contain foam for sound insulation.

A suspended ceiling will make your interior look 2 times more expensive

Not only is it a great home investment for a potential buyer or resale, it's also your standard of living for years to come. A suspended plasterboard ceiling with built-in lighting is best done everywhere - in the living room, kitchen, hallway, bedrooms and bathrooms.

You just need to choose not a film (PVC) ceiling, the quality of which depends primarily on the integrity of the contractor (and they also have an odor and the possibility of mold forming behind the ceiling!), but a fabric one, which is installed without a heat gun and is at the same time environmentally friendly and practical to use . With special ventilation grilles, mold cannot form in fabric. With lamps, a fabric ceiling will “eat” 10 cm in height (with an incandescent lamp) and 6 cm (with an MR-16 type bulb), so it is better to install it only in houses with a ceiling height of 2.8 m. If the ceilings are lower, you can decide the problem of additional lighting with special hanging lamps in the loft style.

Our material is advisory in nature, and in no case do we “sink” for this or that construction technology. With the proper approach, all (or almost all) materials and methods of their installation work. The main thing is to carry out the work efficiently, and then the result of the work will delight you for decades!

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Installing the second floor

As soon as you make the strapping, lay a temporary floor (an unedged board is suitable for this), and then install the internal walls; it is also more convenient to do them horizontally first. Now you can work with windows. Do not forget to lay heat and sound insulation on the upper floor; sheets of non-woven cloth are often used for this - it dampens the sounds of steps and stomping well.

Buy a floor-length panoramic glazing unit with sliding doors and access to the terrace

This is not a cheap pleasure. Cost: about 18-28 thousand rubles per square meter. We are talking about warm glazing made of plastic or aluminum, which will not affect in any way (more precisely, they will affect the same way as two or three small windows) on the energy efficiency of your home.

In total, a block of panoramic glazing as in the photo below (size 2.2 by 6 meters) with installation will cost around 350 thousand rubles. As you can see, it is made up of several blocks. Small double blocks for bedrooms already cost around 100 thousand rubles. Combined with heated floors, this solution can be simply ideal for decorating a home in a modern style. In addition, such a house is much easier to resell in the future.

Building a roof

First, you need to install a rafter system, for which it is more convenient to take an inch board. It is advisable to strengthen the frame with reinforcing bars. To save money, avoid large fronts and unnecessary decorative elements. If you had no plans to equip the attic, you don’t have to insulate the surface, but we recommend doing it just in case, because sooner or later you will need an additional room. It is convenient to use sheets of slate or corrugated board as an external covering. The latter is cheaper, lighter and more durable, but it will require sound insulation, otherwise heavy downpours with hail will drive you crazy.

Our advantages

• Architects and designers of the Monolit-domstroy company will develop an individual house project free of charge, taking into account your wishes and requirements.
• The work is carried out by specialized teams with whom we have been cooperating for many years. We do not have unverified people.
• Constant technical monitoring of construction progress. You will be provided with a work progress report and photo materials.
• The price of a monolithic house will remain unchanged during construction
• Built houses are guaranteed for 10 years.
• We build not only monolithic frame boxes of buildings, we build from monoliths on a turnkey basis.

Exterior decoration

Most often, owners purchase vinyl siding. It has many advantages:

1. It is resistant and durable: various atmospheric conditions, chemicals, and sun rays do not deform it. Even moisture or temperature changes are not scary for him.
2. Quick and easy to install: no need to adjust or level it to the surface. Moreover, it is able to hide any flaws.
3. There is no need to paint or renew the surface in any other way, just rinse with water to remove dust.
4. It is very cheap and can have an interesting design, for example, stylized as wood or stone.

We mount the stairs

The most important thing is to choose its correct placement, especially if it comes to a small space. It is most convenient to place it near the wall and leave space below: here you can build a wardrobe, a small pantry or a toilet. This way it won’t take up much space and will be as functional as possible. Do not make the steps too short, otherwise the climb will be steep and dangerous.

Let's move on to the interior decoration

In addition to cosmetic repairs, there are still several important steps to be taken. Firstly, do not forget to insulate the floors between floors and lay the floor above. You can additionally attach felt, it absorbs noise well. Secondly, we recommend installing fiberboard (fibreboard) - this will prevent cold air from blowing through the walls. On top of it you need to put gypsum fiber sheet (gypsum fiber sheet) - it looks like plasterboard and will become a good basis for cosmetic finishing of the walls. But it is also important to putty the joints and chips so that the surface is smooth.

Characteristics of a factory metal frame

The frame made of LGTS has the following positive characteristics:

• Reliability - steel, a structural material designed for high loads, houses of this type are allowed for construction in earthquake-prone areas.
• Durability - the zinc coating protects the steel core from corrosion; even in a humid environment, mold or mildew will not develop on the parts, and they are not afraid of insect pests.
• Versatility - the technology for manufacturing profiles and assembling LGTS structures allows you to implement both the simplest projects of rectangular shapes and buildings with complex architecture of one or several floors. LSFC designs are also universal in terms of filling; thermal insulation can be either vapor permeable or not.
• Simplicity and speed of assembly - threaded connections, coupled with the precise geometry of the elements, make it possible to reduce the assembly time of the box to a minimum, and the process does not require specialized tools.
• There is no need for preservation - if you don’t want to collect metal in the cold, you can simply leave the box, even without a roof, until spring. There is no need for any impregnation treatments, covering with membranes or banners; nothing can be done with galvanizing.

The LSTC technology has practically no global negative properties, and the fact that it is “incriminated” is not so clear.

• The fragility and poor quality of house kits are the result of turning to unscrupulous manufacturers. A correctly calculated and assembled metal frame is not inferior to a wooden frame in terms of strength and stability.
• Expensiveness is all relative; a metal profile is more expensive than lumber, but does not require additional processing. And if you build from SS boards, then it’s still unknown what will cost less. On a circle, the finished square will turn out to be plus and minus the same way.
• Poor build quality - as well as poor quality of pouring, masonry, plastering and all other construction and finishing operations - is solely on the conscience of the performers. There are a lot of examples of terrible quality of assembly by a team of “professionals” from the plant that manufactured the designer. Just like there are enough cases when a self-builder builds an ideal frame in one helmet, as he does it for himself.

• Huge operating costs - if the house is cold in winter and hot in summer, it is not the LSTC frame and the notorious cold bridges that are to blame. The reason is the insufficient thickness of the insulation in the walls and ceilings or errors made during the installation of the frame and filling, which is why it “siphons” from all the cracks. You shouldn’t expect cheap energy bills if the wall has only 100 mm instead of 200 mm, and those are in one layer. And here it doesn’t matter what exactly the frame is made of, wood, metal or a reinforced concrete monolith. And when the box is assembled by “scavengers” in the worst sense of the word and the log house freezes in the corners, it’s not like a house made of a metal frame.
• Negative impact on health - you can talk as much as you like about the harmful effects of a permanent residence house with a LSTC frame on the body, but the theory will remain a theory. In practice, half the country lives in panels, blocks and frame-monolithic high-rise buildings and doesn’t bother. All of them include a reinforcement frame, both in the walls and in the ceilings, and are the same metal cages only of a different configuration.
• Poor microclimate - steel is as environmentally friendly as possible, if you make the appropriate filling and decorate the interior not with plastic, but with natural materials, there will simply be nothing to release harmful substances. And no one argues that any frame, thermos, is one of the advantages. A healthy indoor microclimate is ensured not by ghostly “breathing” walls, but by a very real ventilation system.
• Poor sound insulation is the most real drawback, but it can be completely mitigated by properly executed ceilings and partitions filled with sound-proofing material.

pmkzFORUMHOUSE Member

I have a friend who lives in a house like this, in Kazakhstan. Completely metal frame, warm and flies do not bite. The problem of noise transmission was solved quite simply; pieces of rubber 30-40 mm thick and 200x200 mm in size were glued to the wall guides and ceilings with a pitch of 400 mm, plus they were secured in the center with a screw. Third year, normal flight, no noise.

CrimsonFORUMHOUSE Member

I have a LSTK with a monolithic floor. Everything is vibration-free and lined with cotton wool. Screaming between floors is useless. The steps are not heard, the stomping is not annoying. The neighbor's house in the frame house can be heard much better, but there is no sound insulation there. A simple frame can also be perfectly “calmed down.” A modern studio is essentially a frame in a room.

Real experience

We invite you to read several opinions from those who have already secured housing:

1. Konstantin R. You need to start by purchasing modern materials (do not try to build a den from clay or straw). They can be bought quite cheaply in construction hypermarkets.
2. Dmitry S. At first he wanted to build it entirely himself, but he changed his mind in time: he decided to show the project to an engineer he knew. He smashed it to smithereens; if I had built such housing, accidents would have been unavoidable. Therefore, guys, don’t rely on your “golden” hands, it’s better to hire a couple of professionals. This will obviously cost less than a cottage destroyed in the future.

1. Artem E. I thought for a long time about how to reduce the cost of building a house, and did not find anything better than frame technology. Everything is quite simple, and it will last a long time. Moreover, now they produce all sorts of ultra-modern impregnations that protect wood from fire. Not a construction site, but a fairy tale.
2. Sergey T. I studied a lot of information about construction, various building materials, calculated the estimate perfectly (I was wrong by only a couple of thousand), my friends helped me do the project. In short, I was completely ready for the future and thought that I would do everything with a bang. But when it came to work, it turned out that I ruined a bunch of blanks, it was very unfortunate. Well, I thought better of it in time to hire a small crew. The guys helped me fix the mistakes and finish my “masterpiece.”

Construction of the “box”

The “box” is usually understood as the frame of a building without additional insulation, finishing, wiring and pipes. The cost of its construction depends on the chosen material:

• The cheapest option is to build a frame or frame-panel type - from 11,000 rubles/m2 ;
• Construction of a “box” of a wooden house will cost from 13,000 rubles/m2 ;
• The construction of a house frame from foam concrete will cost from 14,000 rubles/m2 ;
• Buildings using the Izodom are offered from 15,000 rubles/m2 ;
• brick wall frame will cost at least 18,000 rubles/m2 .

Now we multiply this price by the estimated area. Thus, the cost of constructing a “box” of a country house or cottage with an area of ​​100 m2 will average 1.5 - 2 million rubles .

We will look at the features of these materials in more detail at the end of this article.