Anyone Else Currently Building in St. John?

I can't help you with specific contractor recommendation other than to say the $600/sq.ft. starting figure sounds about right given the current economy.  I can also tell you that, based on my experience, you can probably expect the finished per sq.ft. cost to be significantly higher.  There are dozens upon dozens of variables and challenges when it comes to building in the Caribbean.  Nothing will be easy, nothing will happen quickly and, above all, nothing will be inexpensive (or maybe even what many people consider "reasonable").  

When we built our home, we were behind schedule and over budget almost from week one.  Our finished home ended up costing more than double what we initially thought we wanted to spend when we first dreamed of building a home in the Caribbean.  My best advice is to do your due diligence and get the most accurate pre-construction estimates you can from your architect and contractor.  Once you have that initial number add 50%.  If the resulting estimate doesn't frighten you proceed with the project.  Keep in mind that number is only a pre-construction estimate, your finished project will exceed that. Building in the Caribbean (even what some call a modest home) is a labor of love and not for the budget minded.  You need patience and very deep pockets. 

Good luck following your dream.

@afriend Thanks for the quick response! Would you mind sharing your SQFT size and you original budget and final price? To be over budget on week one must mean they hit rock during excavation or their number was flawed from the very start. Not trying to be critical but these are the types of situations I will try to avoid by addressing it upfront by including a rock clause in the contract along with a daily rate for rock removal. Otherwise you turn the budget over the the contracts via uncontrolled change orders. Thank you again for the response, it is very helpful insight.

Not rock, just the opposite.  When excavations began we discovered higher and more expansive water table than pre-construction testing showed.  Needed lots more rocks and fill to provide solid base for foundation and cistern than originally anticipated.  This set construction schedule back a couple weeks and, of course, added to cost.  Other typical construction delays along the way and additional changes we made added to cost.  Just about everything has to be imported to the island which makes materials less readily available and cost more. 

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, in the Caribbean moves on what you'll come to know as "ISLAND TIME".  Nothing happens quickly and you'll quickly learn terms like "later, mon" and "tomorrow" actually mean not today and not really tomorrow but some nebulous time way off in the future.  

If building a home in the Caribbean were easy or modest in cost everyone would do it.  I have dozens upon dozens of friends and acquaintances who shared the dream and built homes in the Caribbean.  Every one of them started with the idea of building something "modest in size and budget" but ended up with their own set of delays, cost overages, and the inevitable expansion of the size of the finished project.  

Do not undertake this type of project if you are in a rush, if you expect it to be completed in a certain time frame, if you are budget minded or you expect it to be trouble free.  I'm not trying to scare you away but rather giving you an idea of what to expect.  I have no idea what you experienced when building in Alaska but would be willing to bet it is nothing like building in the Caribbean. 

@afriend Thank you! I appreciate your feedback.

I think $600 a square foot is a modest starting point as well.  My company does not use ICF, but one thought that comes to mind it the shipping costs for that material.  Should be easy enough for you to get quotes on that. Source the materials, reach out for quotes on inland and ocean freight, figure clearing costs (broker, excise, customs) and see what that comes out to.  They check with STJ Concrete and Heavy Materials (Vulcan) for concrete prices.  That will give you an idea of where the materials prices are different than Alaska.  Paradise Lumber on STJ has a website with prices so you can check that too for buying locally.  All of the excavators we work with charge an hourly rate and I would think them foolish to do it any other way since hitting blue bitch or water or other unknowns is common.  Afriend is not wrong…. Building here is tough.  You would be wise to ask yourself if timeline or budget is your priority and expect both of them to be long and bigger than you hoped them to be.  

@stjohnjulie Thanks Julie. Just to give some insight on the ICF, the total cost for all forms (wall/ceiling), water proofing material for the roof, and exterior stucco is $44K which includes the $12K cost to send a 40' container down. The ICF material will only fill about half the container so all of the doors, windows, plumbing, electrical HVAC, and lumber will travel down in the same container. The build requires about 20-yards of concrete so that will be another $20K once you roll in concrete and a pump truck. The ICF manufacturer sends down a representative to help with the crew and they estimate 590 hours for the ICF and 196 hours for the stucco/cleanup. Add this up and you get 786 hours X $100/hour and you get about $80K. So all this rolled in you get about $150K (excluding the cistern). I have used ICF on other projects and it is great as there is no custom form building and all electrical and plumbing is done after the pour.

Thanks for insight on ICF.  It got me curious, so I asked a couple local people why they don’t use it. There were several answers I got, but the two that I would be the most concerned about are moisture/mold and just the integrity of the outside stucco.  It is very humid here and once mold sets in it is tough to eradicate.  In the event of a windstorm, flying debris is what does a ton of damage. So even if the walls are strong, the stucco on ICF is easily damaged.  

A few notes on the numbers, I am still sticking to the $600 as being modest with any form of concrete building.  You could reach out to some locally licensed plumbers and electricians for quotes. Those are pretty big numbers.  The plasterers are also big numbers (generally around $7.50 a square foot, not hourly).  Septic systems, A/C, roofers…. Check the local pricing on rebar because that is a bigger ticket item.  Don’t skimp on the roof because that is going to be your weakest point in a hurricane.  

Having said all of that, if someone could build a concrete house here for $200,000k, we wouldn’t have a housing problem.  ICF has been used here but it isn’t widely used.  And that isn’t because nobody knows how to do it.  So just be cautious of any lowball numbers you are getting.  If you proceed with your ICF build I’d love to hear updates on it.  Wishing you the best.  

@stjohnjulie Thanks for all the insight Julie! I will be doing the majority of the ICF build and trades (plumbing, electrical, etc.) myself with help of local resources. I will post updates here as I move along! Have a great day!