Understanding the Heated Square Footage of a House

When talking about the price per square foot of a house it’s important to realize that most of the time what is being referred to is the heated square footage. Heated square footage of a home refers to, you guessed it, the area of the house that receives heating or cooling. For the most part, heated square footage are things like living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and so on. However, at SHELTER Custom-Built Living we are big fans of taking outdoor living spaces and making them essential parts of our custom homes.

 

Outdoor Living Comes with a Price

It’s important to recognize that a big part in the price per square foot cost depends on what is on the outside of the house. Living and building in the Charleston area where we are blessed with good weather most of the year, we know how important outdoor living spaces are. Though they are important, outdoor living spaces can drastically impact the price per square foot though they are not necessarily heated or cooled square footage. 

 

Things like double stacked porches, side porches, an outdoor pool or kitchen all will play a part in the overall price per square foot but really are essentials to consider if you’re building in Charleston. Building on lots that yield incredible views of the Lowcountry is something that we never take for granted at SHETLER. This luxury encourages us to build outdoor living spaces that take full advantage of the natural beauty that surrounds us.

 

Combining the Costs

The complexity of a home’s outdoor living space comes with an added cost. Those costs have to be divided over the heated square footage of the home. Price per square foot is drastically impacted by outdoor living spaces. Though the heated square footage might not include things like the pool or outside kitchen, the overall price per square foot will always be affected by them.