Cheapest to build is not necessarily the least expensive to run (energy efficient), or the most pleasant to live in.

Large square houses are dark in the middle. You need to keep lights on all day and it's just not as pleasant as a house where each room is closer to a window. The only way you get that in a larger house is to have a longer narrow shape, that can either be wide or be turned at some point to a L shape, H shape, U shape. Ideally a home is only 2 rooms deep, and the house corners are reserved for living areas that can have windows that face 2 directions. Not closets or utility areas.

Energy efficient homes depend on whether your main costs are heating or cooling. Either way, large south facing windows with a deeper overhang give you the best light all day, with the low winter sun going deep into the house and the overhang preventing the high summer sun from entering. In summer the setting sun overheats a house with large west windows.

7200 square foot house with 1 car garage? Maybe I am reading it wrong.

I think any rectangle will be more efficient over designs with 6 or more corners, bumpouts, bays, etc.

You might want to read "The Not So Big House" by Sarah Susanka. The most efficient house is the smallest house that meets all your needs.

Your lot size of 8,250 square feet is not terribly large, and the footprint of the house will be determined by the setback rules in your municipality. Probably a two-story, two room deep rectangular house would be the best bet, but without knowing the area, site, and orientation, it's difficult to determine.

Thanks Diana - we accounted for the set backs in deciding to keep it maximum 60 feet deep and 60 feet wide - commenting that two room deep is maybe our best bet is very helpful.

Thanks everyone-should have added we are a family of 4. Mom dad toddler and baby. No plans for more kids and we’d like a rather large kitchen and family room with smaller separate dining room and one master bedroom downstairs with another master bedroom upstairs. Your comments help give me a place to start researching and digging deeper.

Work with a local architect.

The most efficient house design depends on your latitude, local geography, and exposure.

7200 square feet with a one car garage is out of proportion. You can check online with your local authorities about height restrictions, required open space, limits to window areas, required parking (covered, enclosed, off street, and so on), septic field, and all those other things that go beyond just setbacks. A local architect will be familiar with local rules, permits, and so on.

A simple two plane roof line with garage in the same roof. My sister bought a home with a complicated roof line. It was almost double the cost to reroof as mine was. Extra room in garage for storage and a place for lawn mower and snowblower if you need one.

Arguably there is nothing efficient about 7200 sqft for a family of 4.

You haven't really defined by what you mean by efficient.

Cheapest to build?

Least energy to build?

Least energy to run?

Diana and Izzy these are such helpful tips! Thank you!! Of course we are hiring an architect but we want to be educated and do some research and brainstorming ourselves before we hire one. We are already in conversations with some.

If your architect is any good, its a waste of time and effort to try and get a head start by yourself. Bring to the first meeting all your needs and desires and forget about efficiency; what you want is a great place to live. Efficiency would be a bonus.

Your architect will start with an analysis of the site and everything you have done before that will be of little use.

We can't help you because we know nothing about the site or your needs.

By the way, this question is frequently asked on this forum and IMO there has never been a satisfactory answer just endless discussion.

I love my MCM ranch it is 25 x75 and has a walk out basement with a ton of windows and 2 exits on the long wall in the walk out. The main floor has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms a huge kitchen and LR it is perfect for how we live and that is the perfect house shaope for me. Sit down with an architect , bring a list of all your wants in one list and the needs in the other. Do not waste time with ones that are only interested in doing what they alwys do the same for interior designers .All of the tips above are good. This is a big endeavor and not to be done crowd sourcing to get what is right for you.

Thanks but this is helpful as it helps me think about what we want and seeing and hearing other’s ideas helps me consider what our own needs and wants are - so I’ll keep posting questions because I’ve already gotten some good feedback to help me prepare a list of questions and wants/dislikes for the architect- these posts also help me know how to spot a good architect. By the way by efficient I meant most use of indoor space - we don’t want vaulted ceilings for example- we want to maximize the indoor space. But we value our outdoor space too so we will want to build the house with the smallest footprint possible while still being good for our needs - so that our yard is as big as possible for the kids to play and for entertaining/maybe a pool down the road.

And we know we want a two story with a semi open plan but not totally open - Houzz posts helped me learn the downsides of totally open floor plans so while they are the trend and we want to see the kids from the kitchen - we don’t want a totally open floor plan

Sorry in advance for a long-winded post!

60x60 x 2 will be a huge dark house. Let your architect determine the shape of it based on setbacks, best use of your lot, and your wants and needs.

Regarding needs/wants, THAT is a better question and what you should be focusing on now. In designing our home, I realized a few things that may help you in designing yours.

1. Most larger plans these days have eat-in kitchens (with islands AND nooks) AND separate dining rooms. We thought that was a complete waste of space. Having two dining tables makes no sense to me at all. People will always use the one closest to the kitchen, and the other will either become a place to do puzzles/legos/Christmas wrapping or a place that collects dust. So we opted for island seating and a dining room with pocket doors we could close between the two (formal/informal).

2. I cook a lot so I had my kitchen designed for how I cook. L shape, cleanup zone under the windows, prep sink in the island. I also could care less if the TV is within my view - when I'm in the kitchen I'm cooking. I don't have the ability or desire to be distracted by a TV when I'm in there, so (unlike many plans these days) the TV is not visible from the kitchen. But the fireplace is - through our two sets of pocket doors.

3. Living space. Formal living rooms are on the way out. However, we currently live in an open floorplan living-dining-kitchen in one room and I really dislike it. I wanted a house where we could be in separate spaces if we wanted, but I didn't want the living room without the TV to be so out-of-the-way that we didn't use it. I also wanted living space that didn't have a TV, so things like reading/listening to music could be done. So, we designed the house so the living room with the fireplace was the room with the prime real estate (adjacent to the dining room, big windows to the backyard facing south, door to the deck, near the foyer). But it didn't have the TV. We designed a separate media room off the kitchen (with doors, on the north side of the house) for TV watching. That room just had a media center with no fireplace, because fireplaces and TVs seem to make for awkward room design (look at all the threads on how to handle fireplace/TV walls).

4. Doors. We put double pocket doors between most of our main level rooms so we could open/close spaces as needed.

5. We added a nook in the living room for a piano, so the piano didn't encroach on living room floor space but had its own space. No TV in that room (see above) so piano playing & TV watching could happen simultaneously (we also had pocket doors between dining & living room to contain sound). I do not have space in my current open floorplan house for a piano and I hate it. I play and I would love my kid to play if she wants to. I either need to put the piano in the office or the basement, neither of which are pleasant.

6. I do not like main floor offices (I prefer in a 2 story house that the main floor spaces be open & useable for anyone and the 2nd floor spaces be more private), so we put our offices upstairs. Also, instead of doing one large office, we did two pocket offices that could be converted to a larger room if needed after retirement/by a future owner. That way, both DH & I could work from home. (we were trying to limit square footage so couldn't afford two spacious offices).

7. We added a bonus room over the garage that would be a play room and movie room. I was really excited about this because bonus rooms have sloping ceilings and I wanted to build a climbing wall for my kiddo.

Our bid came in much higher than expected so we were unable to build. Our house wasn't that large (3 Bed, 3200 SF including bonus) and we couldn't cut anything without sacrificing the entire reason we wanted to build, but the process was a great learning experience. Your needs are probably different from ours, but hopefully the above gives you some ideas on how you can make your house your own.

"Efficient to build" is usually easy to find in tract two story including Toll Bros, many of which are approx 60' wide. Outside walls align & stack, fewer outside corners, rare use of 2 story spaces until the highest prices.

The most efficient shape to enclose space is a sphere.

While you may want and need to “see” your kids now, but that time when they require constant visual supervision is very fleeting and much shorter than the times when you want separation (especially auditory) from their tv shows, video games, TikTok viewing parties/FaceTiming, what have you. Even when you’re not quarantining.

My house is kind of a T shape with the main living spaces in the middle and the bedrooms on the side kick-outs. We designed ours that shape because I wanted to be able to look out of the living room in two different directions. But I also wanted our kids to have good views of the farm etc... We also went with one level for energy efficiency and aging in place. We don't have a lot of the frills like tray or vaulted ceilings, window walls, fireplace etc... but I love the simplicity of our home and it is very functional for us and gave us more room for our family of 5! We do have a walk out basement since we live in an area that gets a lot of tornadoes so that was another must.

Honestly I would start with a list of needs and wants because building a house is very expensive and you want to make the most of your money!

Efficient in what way? Construction? Maintenance/operation of utilities? Daily family life? Etc?

Look at old ranch home plans from the 60’s and 70’s. A long single axis, with maybe 1-2 cross gabled portions that create L or U spaces. South facing family rooms facing a back yard that has a deliberately designed connection to the interior. Look at the site access for those, and the automobile storage. They were from a time when a 4 car garage had better be a service station down the block in the business district.

You might find this list helpful. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3281434/book-suggestions

I think one of the most useful things you can do is to think through and document the ways you will want to use your house. The more detail you can provide, the better your architect can provide you with a plan that works.

A traditional 2-story colonial with an upstairs and rear garage (L'd off the back of the first floor) would probably be your most efficient design. However, those plans have their limitations as well.

Frankly, your question is too broad for this board without knowing what orientation your house faces, what your budget is, where you are located, what your lot topography is, etc.

The front of the house would face the south in Miami Florida. Budget is approximately $550,000 which goes less far in Miami compared to other parts of the country. The plot of land would be leveled off to be flat and build a concrete slab foundation house. I’m looking into buying some of the books recommended. We too are no frills but do want something inviting and comfortable for family and friends who visit or friends of the kids as they grow older. Really do appreciate this input it’s helping us gather ideas. This is ideally the house we will raise our kids in and grow old in so we want to put a bedroom and bathroom on the ground level. We are considering solar panels as well.

Garage entrance would likely be at the front of the house - a one car garage facade that would actually be a tandem garage. Either two cards can fit or one car with lots of storage. Lol - liked the comment about older homes where a four car garage better be a gas station. Lol - we have a relatively small lot so we can only afford a two car garage (must be tandem per local zoning)

Also hope to both work from home quite a bit - both my husband and I.

We have a tri-level that would fit in your footprint and find it quite efficient for a family of 4. I know tri-levels aren't that "in" at the moment, but we love it. It was designed by an architect in the 70's. Subsequent owners had made little changes, opening it up. We've made some big changes.

Originally, it had a two story portion (gables facing driveway and backyard) that's around 24'x36': 2 car garage w/ bonus room 3/4 bath downstairs and 3 bedrooms/1 bath up. Then the midlevel wing is like 36'x36' (a perpendicular gable) has the entry, kitchen, living & dining. There's a cathedral ceiling, semi-open plan with a gorgeous fireplace wall acting as a divider.

Kids got older and one bath wasn't cutting it anymore - plus we needed more home office space. We extended the 2 story wing into the backyard so that it's now 24'x54'. Added an office and den downstairs (and connected the bonus room to the house instead of garage), and a laundry and en suite master bedroom upstairs. So now it's 5 beds, 3.5 baths with a den & office. The L-shape creates a nice courtyard in the backyard. All in a footprint of 60'x54.'

I will say, If I had designed the house from scratch, I would have made the two story portion a little wider- like 28' instead of 24' - which would take it a bit beyond 60' wide (maybe the midlevel could be shortened to accomplish that).

If you're interested, I might be able to figure out how to send you a sketch of the floorplan.

Cynthia yes thank you!! I’d certainly be interested. Note that one bathroom wasn’t cutting it is helpful - hadn’t thought about that. And apologies to all if I don’t respond with longer replies. I’m taking care of an infant and a toddler mostly by myself all day so time is short :).

My favorite kind of 60x60 footprint has a 40x40 hole cut out of the middle of it. :-D

[Maybe consider an atrium house, with an open garden courtyard in the center? Just think of the awesome play space outside that the kiddos will have! <3 ]

As far as energy efficiency and material cost, a Cube, followed by dome, which is really a sphere with a flat floor, are the most efficient shapes.

But as mentioned by Celadon, above, even long skinny houses are only about 10% less efficient.

The "Dame House", Brentwood, N.Y.

Octagonal houses are also energy efficient and with much more usable wall space--no corners. My teen hometown, founded in 1850 based on the philosophy of co-operative anarchy, hosted a number of octagonal homes, two of which still remain.

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"Efficient" in Miami, Florida takes on a complete different meaning--and look--than, it would in say, Bangor, Maine!

If I had a two storey home, I’d want the staircase to be near the kitchen. I’ve never agreed with a front entrance staircase for show. I’d rather it be located where you are most of the time. Plus, if you have a pool and the kitchen is at the back of the house, it’s easy to go up from there. Considering it’s a family space only and not for visitors, it’s more ideal. If that makes sense.

60 x 60 is going to be at least a 3000 sf of living space if you don't include the garage. That's not tiny. Here's my advice: other than the number of bedrooms and baths you want and a style you're after, let the architect do his/her job and advise you on what the house should look like, given the site you've chosen. If vaulted ceilings worry you because the space is tougher to heat/air condition, keep in mind there are lots of architectural solutions that make homes energy efficient despite a wall of two-story windows, for example. The point is, don't make arbitrary design constraints that aren't yet necessary. You have a blank slate. Be open to ideas that still fit your parameters.

Start pulling images of homes you like--both exterior and interior--and hand them over to the architect to discuss along with your wish list. Part of his job is to interview you and your family thoroughly to best understand how you live and make recommendation on what works best within your budget.

Thanks all - putting together wish list. Hadn’t thought about the staircase in the back by the kitchen-we’ve never had a two story house but that makes sense.....stairs in the back.

All of those new homes by builders with all of the roofs and stone are still affordable. So I don’t think you make anything that much cheaper by making it plain. Plain won’t fit in with your neighbors.

But 560K for a 3600 foot home in Miami doesn’t sound right. The 3600 is just the maximum space that you can build, right? That’s not actually the size of the home you’re wanting to build? You can build half that size so you can meet your budget, right?

I also encourage you to follow the home building forum on here: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6066560/february-2021-building-a-home-thread A lot of people are first time builders or have built often and they are a wealth of information on current trends, building supplies and can share things they made mistakes on so you can avoid errors yourself.

I'm in Toronto Canada and have never seen two storey home with a main floor master bedroom, or separated by the living areas, in a single storey home. The bedrooms are always together. It's so common in home plans I see on Houzz in the US.

Check online for Deltec Homes (Asheville, NC) for good designs in hurricane prone areas.

This is a pretty efficient house shape. It took me less than 30 seconds to draw.

Here's a quick drawing of my house. I know people hate angled walls- we were limited by the walls that were already in place. Like I said, if I was designing from scratch, I'd have made the two story part wider- which would give a bigger garage and also the upstairs hallway wouldn't be so wonky. (Though actually, the angle ended up being kind of nice because it breaks up the hallway- otherwise it would be really long).

A simple rectangular house with a north south orientation is nice to avoid glaring sun in the AM and PM. As my contractor friend says, every time you add a corner you add money.....so a rectangular house on slab with a low pitch roof is probably the most economical house you can build.You can go online and find any major home builder and see their plans to get ideas of what works with your square footage.....Ivory homes in Utah, David Weekly homes in Texas, Lennair Homes and RichmondAmerica? are all mid price builders with fun plans.Good rule of thumb, Don't pick the most expensive or least expensive, but somewhere in the middle.

South in the front in Miami might be a bit tricky. You would want to have overhangs on the front windows to limit the solar gain in the 9 months of summer. Overhangs are a hurricane issue. This isn't insurmountable, but I would expect a little pricey. Overhang size depends on distance from bottom of window and how much sun you want to block. Also, the South is still your best place to get sun from so you would want a lot of windows here and then privacy is a concern.

Interesting that tandem garage is required by zone. What does the zone actually say? I am guessing only single garage door facing forward or narrow driveway required?

I personally don't see $550k as reasonable for what you probably want from this house.

We’ve spoken to a handful of general contractor and $550 to $600 k is their estimate so I think we are ok budget wise but yes it will be tight and we can’t splurge on things and need to think long and hard about what we really want. Correct about the zoning. Approach is limited to 12 feet so a double driveway would require one of the cars to engage in very complicated turns to get out of the driveway and yes the percentage of the front of the house that can be dedicated to a garage is limited. It’s part of the city’s new zoning to encourage less cars and less driving. I’ve heard it’s been a nightmare for architects and hone owners but it is what we must work with. Thank you for the input about south facing. I will make sure I put it on our list of concerns.

Susan thank you! The comment about every time you add a corner is really helpful! Makes sense and it’s definitely something we will take to heart! Going to research some of those options online - not the least and not the most expensive :).good rule to keep in mind

Cynthia this is incredibly helpful!! Thank you! Yes I see your point about the second floor width - this gives us some good ideas.

The more specific and detailed a bid is the easier it is to stay on budget.

Shape is not the only variable to factor into this equation. In some cases, shape can even become a negligible consideration. The fact is that there are many variables and when they are all known and/or all considered simultaneously, then an overall shape of the home can be considered which may or may not contribute to some improved energy performance.

The following are some other variables to consider:

-the total window area ratio to wall area

-the expected performance of your window selection (double glazed/triple glazed etc.)

-the amount of large open areas in the home (based on the design)

-the type and thickness of insulation type

-the overall building envelop design (wall composition etc.)

-the design of the HVAC system (location of machinery, diffusers, intakes, sizing of ducting)

I noticed the above may not apply to your specific question however, I will leave it for your reference as it is also useful to know this information if you are considering energy efficiency. On another note, speaking to efficiency in terms of cost effective designing, I have the following comments.

Foremost, I want to point out to you that interior finishing selections, lighting and plumbing fixtures, and custom fabricated cabinetry and millwork, can on its own, add an enormous cost to your project. For reference, it could be as disproportionate as equaling the cost of the construction of the home itself in extreme situations, so certainly something to keep in mind. The lesson learned here is minimalism will often equal significant cost savings in many situations. However, there are strategies in order to acquire a high quality interior on a budget but this will require certain knowledge and a keen oversight on every detail of your project. For example, lighting and plumbing fixtures should you choose brand name products, will often come with a price tag that you cannot do much about, whereas cabinetry fabrication or millwork is a much more flexible variable as you can design the home and/or source the fabricators in order to minimize these costs. The take away here is that you must know where you can and cannot save, and attack the ones you can save on with conviction. There is an intimate balance to understand at the end of the day.

The other consideration is your project delivery choice. Will you hire a builder, design-build firm, Architect then builder, architectural technologist - then a contractor or builder, or will you project manage all trades as if you are the contractor after an arch. tech provides you with permit. Each option has pro's and con's, and the bottom line is the $$$ for each is the most significant variable.

Regarding what others have mentioned, I am in agreement, the less angles, the simpler the shape, generally the cheaper the construction costs. That being said, if I were to design an open concept space with large spans that required structural steel or engineered beams instead of typical wood framing, then regardless of a simple shape (rectangular or square), you are adding an additional expense to the equation with structural due to design preferences. Both in the engineering side, and the construction. The take away here, is that there are many variables to consider. When each one is factored in simultaneously, then you will be able to define with more certainty, whether the design you are choosing will be the most cost effective choice overall.

I'm finding it very odd that general contractors were quoting even an approximate price without being clear what you'd like in a house. I guess I would recommend waiting for clarity about your needs and rough plan before I'd get a quote, otherwise the quote will be meaningless.

Also, have you budgeted for the price of your lot?

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As far as efficiency.... I haven't seen anyone ^^^^ mention energy efficiency. In the long run (perhaps not in the short), the house will almost certainly be more affordable with an alternative energy source like solar. With solar, you could power your AC costs in a state like Fla.

NetZero is increasingly "where it's at" for new homes these days. This will be an important consideration if you plan on being able to resell it later.

My house is NetZero, super-efficient (the walls are 10" thick), no off-gassing, allergy-free, virus eliminating, for less money than non netZero houses. I have no bills for power except the meter fee. That saves me several hundred a month. The house was purpose-built for solar, and this cost less than a regular build, too.

So, if you're looking for "efficiency", I would suggest you look at energy-efficiency, too.

I would be very wary about a "$550k-600k" ballpark from a contractor. This forum is filled with those starting conversations then regrets after $20k in design work has been spent.

A simple shape is great and all but, like others have said, the real driving issue is interior finishes.

What is ok for some, is not ok for others - as far as interior finishes.

From your story, it seems like you own the land already. I would expect that you own it free and clear and you know what the comps are worth. I would hope you have built before and have specific expectations about the level of interior trim/finishes.

If you haven't built custom before, I would start listing those finishes you expect. You could put them here and get some advice on greater clarity.

I don't know the Miami market except through visiting relatives. Generally build costs are high since concrete is expected. Better than basic windows are required. Tile throughout is expected. Site work and foundation are relatively cheap. Those things are probably non negotiable. But what are your kitchen expectations? How much are you expecting for appliances? 10 ft ceilings? Deck/patio space? Are you comfortable with $1 a sqft Home Depot tile?

When you get somewhere in design, you will realize that a primary bedroom downstairs eats up a lot of space. The cheapest space to build is on that second floor - but you won't really need it. A primary bedroom downstairs in my area leads to less than a full second story - which is not the most efficient use of space. A tandem garage is very long and building a rectangle based on that, will lead to a fat house. Your primary windows (largest area) are on the North side - which is to say, zero sun flowing into the house.

A typical (small) garage is 24 feet long. A full size SUV is 18 ft. Average is more like 15 ft. Tandem probably should be 40 feet to be comfortable. So cheap to build would lead to a 40 foot deep house. That is pushing it.