How Much Does it Cost to Build a House in Chicago?

Last Updated: 2022-02-16By Steven H.

Average cost to build a house in Chicago area is $258 per square foot plus local taxes. This includes soft costs and construction phases. Builder charges 5%-15% on top of all expenses for house construction. Complex modern home projects are more expensive to build in Chicago and can go as high as $350 per square foot.

Why buy a house on the market when you can build one? The question is always about time and money. Of course construction will take up to a year for new custom home. However economically it makes more sense to build a house you desire, although upfront costs are higher than purchasing with mortgage.

	Custom Home	Spec Home	Modular Home
Soft Costs	$30/sq ft	$15/sq ft	$20/sq ft
Extra City Fees	$25 000	$10 000	$20 000
Hard Construction	$202/sq ft	$150/sq ft	$176/sq ft
Landscape	$20 000	$12 000	$17 000
Appliances	$21 000	$15 000	$18 000
Total Cost /Sq Ft	$258 per sq ft	$180 per sq ft	$218 per sq ft

Chicago area is extremely large and developing with high speed. Even within such area the costs will vary. Our idea is to show approximate costs and educate home owners on where does the money go. With all steps and expenses listed in our table each one of you can understand the how much does it cost to build a house in Chicago area.

This table explains details on hard construction costs for building in Chicago Illinois:

	Cheap/Easy	Average	Expensive/Difficult
Excavation/Demolition	$7 per sq/ft	$11 per sq/ft	$16 per sq/ft
Foundation & Framing	$29 per sq/ft	$38 per sq/ft	$45 per sq/ft
Roofing	$4 per sq/ft	$6 per sq/ft	$9 per sq/ft
Exterior Façade	$14 per sq/ft	$22 per sq/ft	$26 per sq/ft
Windows & Doors	$8 per sq/ft	$14 per sq/ft	$18 per sq/ft
Garage & Driveway	$9 per sq/ft	$12 per sq/ft	$14 per sq/ft
Deck/Balcony/Porch	$12 per sq/ft	$15 per sq/ft	$19 per sq/ft
Rough Ins	$11 per sq/ft	$17 per sq/ft	$22 per sq/ft
Insulation & Drywall	$12 per sq/ft	$16 per sq/ft	$20 per sq/ft
Interior Finishes	$39 per sq/ft	$48 per sq/ft	$57 per sq/ft
Last Touch ups	$1 per sq/ft	$3 per sq/ft	$5 per sq/ft
Total	$146 per sq/ft	$202 per sq/ft	$251 per sq/ft

Prices for Custom Home – 2,500 square feet.

Our team produces information to teach home owners on stages and approximate costs for house. Please do not take these numbers as baseline and demand home builders to go by budgets we mentioned. Every construction project is different even in close proximity. To provide exact quotes you can reach our team.

Soft Costs For Home Construction in Chicago

Don’t forget that tenth of thousands of dollars fly out of your pocket even before construction starts. All the work that excludes jobsite construction is called soft, therefore expenses involved are soft costs.

To be more specific in Chicago house construction these expenses cover architectural documents with all permits, loans, city fees, project management and sometimes the profit for the builder.

Here is a table of how much does it cost to build a house in Chicago with only soft construction costs:

	Cheap/Easy	Average	Expensive/Difficult
Drawings & Documents	$4.5 per sq/ft	$6 per sq/ft	$8 per sq/ft
Project Management	$5 per sq/ft	$10 per sq/ft	$15 per sq/ft
Design	$2 per sq/ft	$4 per sq/ft	$8 per sq/ft
Overheads	$3 per sq/ft	$5 per sq/ft	$9 per sq/ft
Miscellaneous	$2 per sq/ft	$5 per sq/ft	$8 per sq/ft
Total	$16.5 per sq/ft	$30 per sq/ft	$48 per sq/ft

Prices for Custom Home – 2,500 square feet.

Soft costs to build a house in Chicago may differ by a lot. Building on your own as a contractor or supervisor requires budget for documents and few ongoing processes.

Hiring home construction company however makes soft costs go through the roof. Expect to cover construction supervisor, company overheads and profit for builder. The good thing is your house has higher chances of being completed within timeline and warranty is given to home owner.

Other Ongoing Expenses to Cover

Many companies and estimators break down costs of construction, but many things are left under the table for home owner to worry about. Remodel On Point wanted to explain all other expenses that you can face while waiting for home to be completed.

While work is in progress the costs are going to be adding up for electrical or gas bills, property taxes, home insurance, loan interest, mortgage and even city garbage collection fees.

Based on average home construction time of one year we calculated that these expenses can add up to $30 000 or even more and on average 3% on top of home building expenses. Do not forget to calculate them in your budget or can potentially run out of money before house construction in Chicago is completed.

How Much It Costs to Build in Different Chicago Areas

We always talk how different cities and states have cost variations. To answer how much does it cost to build a house in Chicago general contractor needs to know which area you are talking about. As it appears, building closer to downtown is more complicated and can cost up to 20% more for exactly the same house than in Chicago suburbs.

Additional costs appear mostly during demolition and construction of exterior box for the house. As you can imagine the space to work with is very tight and extra safety measure may be required. Good example of that would be shoring system and protection from damage. Imagine spending extra $50 000 – $100 000 just for making sure that nearby homes do not pivot due to deep excavation next their buildings.

Unlike in suburbs of Chicago, downtown core is hard to maneuver heavy machinery. Same size house can take up twice as long for the excavation crew to dig out. There is no space to place extra soil. Every move has to be planned precise. Framing and façade is more expensive as well. Contractors need boomlifts, scaffold system and access points. All of these slow down the work therefore client will pay more money.

All the work inside the house will pretty much cost the same. The only differences we can point out are parking and delivering materials. Overall interior finishes and cost to build house in Chicago is 5% higher for central area of the city.

Building a House without a General Contractor

Typically people think they can save money by taking on the project without builder involved. How hard can it be to hire different trades and make sure they complete the job? In reality it is way harder than everyone thinks and in fact you may spend way more money without assistance of experienced home builder in Chicago.

Not knowing how much does it cost to build a house in Chicago in exact details can play a big role. The biggest benefit of general contractor is they have connections within trades and suppliers that provide discounts. Also they make fewer mistakes in ordering materials.

For example installation of flooring for new modern home can cost $3 per square foot. Years of relationship with flooring trades can get builder discount down to $2.5 per square foot.

They are not worrying about payment and can be flexible. Flooring supplier can also provide 10%-15% discount to custom home builder in Chicago because he buys through them all the time.

They know how to calculate materials perfectly and can order with minimum waste. This is an example of one step that changes the cost per square foot to build a house in Chicago and there are many more trades to go through.

We understand that cost to build a house in Chicago with home builder includes company fees and profit, but do you save much? The job may take a year to complete and you can be better off doing day to day job leaving home construction to professionals.

Other Factors that Affect Cost to Build a House in Chicago

Season – Ideal home construction starts in spring and ends in fall. At least the interior finishes can be carried over. When contractors do it the other way around it costs a lot more. A good example of that would be adding chemicals to concrete for it to set and not crack during cold temperatures

Foundation Type – All around Chicago we see new homes with basements. Of course you get extra space inside the basement, but expenses are going to be higher. Slab on grade or crawl space is cheaper to construct per square foot of house.

Materials and Finishes – Of course there are more luxurious and high end materials that can be used in home construction. There is literally no limit to what you can spend on some items. Have you seen a toilet curved out single piece of stone with price tag of $30 000. Yes it can get super expensive if you wanted to. Our tables with budgets on how much does it cost to build a house in Chicago are based on average costs we see implemented in construction.

Are Chicago costs Different from Rest of the Country?

Greater Chicago Area is home to almost 10 million people and it is constantly growing. Immigrants from all over the world want to live in this beautiful city. Thousands of people across America want to move to Chicago and seek better opportunities in career and overall lifestyle.

With population and demand for housing increasing, the cost to build a house in Chicago becomes more expensive every year. Luxury becomes new standard for houses in popular areas.

We estimate that prices for new home construction in Chicago are within 90 percentile of national statistics.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:

Asphalt
Concrete
Paver Stone
Crushed stone
Brick
Seashell
Gravel

To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway

Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
Patches and small holes can be fixed fast

Cons of Asphalt Driveway

Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
Almost everyone else has same surface
Oily surface and chemicals used in mix

Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway

Durable material for large weights
Long lifespan if installed properly
Winter and summer friendly

Cons of Concrete Driveway

Has marks and stains over time
Hard to repair without replacement
Super hard to DIY

To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway

Creative designs can be done
Personal looks, can match the house
Can replace single stone in minutes

Cons of Paver Stone Driveway

Weeds growing through
Stone can move over time
Most expensive material

There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway

Low maintenance required
Fits rural area style
Can be reused for other purposes

Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway

Gets very hot during summer
Can be messy after many drives
Hard to remove snow and ice

Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway

Variety of selections in shapes and shades
Bricks are recyclable
Slip resistant with rough top part

Cons of Brick Driveway

Needs regular maintenance
Change color over time
Old fashion looking

Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway

Environmentally friendly
Has natural drainage
Creates worm vibe of beach house

Cons of Seashell Driveway

Break and crack under light weight
Sharp and very hard to walk on
Gets stuck in shoes and tires

To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway

Cheapest of them all
Easy DIY Job
Can install another material on top

Cons of Gravel Driveway

Needs to be graded very often
Will mix with dirt and leaves
Washes up with heavy rains

It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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