New Home Builder in Hollis, ME
A new home builder in Hollis, ME has to plan around water first: the town has no public water supply, and its 2024 draft plan puts nearly half of Hollis on top of significant aquifers. That is why we dig test pits and pick a well site on a Hollis lot before we price the house.
- (207) 613-8565
- 130 Main St, 1st Floor, Ste 2, Gorham
- [email protected]
- Part of Legacy Construction, founded 2021
- 4 to 6 builds at a time, never more
- 5-year workmanship warranty, in writing
This page covers building a new custom home in Hollis, Maine, a York County town on the Saco River with no public water, where zoning sets lot sizes from 1 acre in two villages to 5 acres around Deer Pond and Killick Pond.
New Home Builder Portland checks a Hollis lot's zone and its septic ground first, then draws full plans and fixes the price in a signed contract. The house we hand over carries a written workmanship warranty that runs five years.
The figure to keep: Hollis houses average $315 to $365 per square foot simple, $365 to $435 mid-range and $435 to $490+ high detail, so 2,800 square feet runs about $882,000 to $1,022,000, $1,022,000 to $1,218,000 or $1,218,000 to $1,372,000+, averaged across many builds.
Why Does Where You Build in Hollis Change the House?
Where you build in Hollis changes the house because the town sets lot size zone by zone, and its ground swings from sandy aquifer land to hydric soil the draft plan calls generally unsuitable for development. Together those two facts decide how many acres you need, where a septic can go and where the house can sit.
- Minimum lots from 1 acre to 5 acres, set by zone
- A private well on every lot, with no public water in town
- Saco River Corridor rules within 500 feet of the river
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What Other Towns Around Hollis Do We Serve?
See all 22 towns we serveWhat Building Work Do We Do in Hollis?
In Hollis we take on a full new build, a build on land you already own and a rebuild where an older house stands now.
Building a New House in Hollis From the Footing Up
New home construction in Hollis follows the 2021 codes listed by the town's Code Enforcement office, because a town of 4,745 people has to enforce MUBEC, the statewide rulebook for building and energy. Footings go below frost, and frost runs deeper in inland Hollis than it does on the coast.
We pick the foundation type from what the test pits show, then frame, air seal and insulate for a Climate Zone 6 winter. A tight Hollis house also gets an HRV or ERV, the fresh-air ventilation that keeps the air inside dry and clean.
Building on Your Own Lot in Hollis
Building on your own lot in Hollis begins with the zone: 2 acres and 200 feet of frontage in the Rural Residential Two Acre Zone, 3 acres and 250 feet in the Three Acre Zone, and 5 acres with 400 feet around the two great ponds. In the two-acre zone, setbacks of 50 feet in front and 35 feet at the sides and rear then fix where the house can sit.
Hydric soils run through much of Hollis Center, so before anything gets drawn, a site evaluator (the soils professional who designs a Maine septic) reads the test pits, open holes cut to expose each soil layer. The evaluator's design goes on the state's HHE-200 form, and a septic sized that way can cap the number of bedrooms the house is allowed.
Rebuilding in Bar Mills and Hollis Village by the Saco
A knockdown rebuild in Hollis makes the most sense in Bar Mills and Hollis Village, where the town's older river-village housing stands. We price taking the old house down as site work, on its own line, before we price the new one.
The Saco River Corridor Commission has jurisdiction over building within 500 feet of the river, layered on top of the town's shoreland zoning, and the draft plan puts the whole river corridor in the 100-year floodplain. Hollis adopted FEMA's Zone A and AE maps of July 17, 2024, so we read the lot on the FEMA flood map before the new foundation is drawn.
What New Home Building Services Do We Offer in Hollis?
Three of our services take a Hollis house from raw land to move-in.
- Lot evaluation, test pits and well siting
- Design and planning before ground breaks
- Custom homes built on your Hollis land
Hollis Code Enforcement takes most building permit applications through an online iWorQ portal, and the town's Code Enforcement page links to it. We submit a new house's plans through that portal, and whether the permit issues is up to the Hollis Code Enforcement Officer (CEO).
How to Go From a Hollis Lot to a Finished House
Ground first.
Together we walk your Hollis land, find the ground that will take a septic, and set test pits with a site evaluator and a well spot before we talk price.
Paper before ground.
Our four to six weeks of design produce complete construction drawings and one fixed price, then a contract that limits your first payment to one third.
A build checked phase by phase.
Joe Hausler, whose commercial career ran up to a $300 million development, checks each phase of a Hollis house before the next crew arrives, and a weekly report keeps you current until the day we walk through the finished rooms.
How Do You Pick a New Home Builder in Hollis, ME?
Pick a new home builder in Hollis, ME who asks about your soil and your zone before your floor plan. Then ask how many houses that builder has under way at once and who checks each phase, since we hold ours to 4 to 6 builds on purpose.
A Hollis lot needs a builder who reads its ground: aquifer land up north, hydric soil in Hollis Center and a well on every house. A price given before the test pits and the well plan is a guess about the part of the job that moves most.
Then compare the paper: full plans with a fixed price, and a written contract for any job over $3,000, as Maine's home construction contract law requires. Our workmanship warranty is in writing for five years, where most builders offer one year of coverage.
Who Approves a Hollis House, Where, and When?
Who gives the go-ahead for a Hollis house?
The Hollis Code Enforcement Officer gives the go-ahead for a Hollis house by issuing its building permit, and the Corridor Commission has its own say anywhere within 500 feet of the Saco River. Approval is theirs to give, never ours to promise.
Where in Hollis does the ground suit a septic system?
The Hollis ground that suits a septic system sits mostly in the west of town: the 2024 draft plan points to the land above Route 202 that also lies west of Route 117. Elsewhere, wet soil can rule out a spot, so the test pits come before the floor plan.
When should a Hollis build get on the town's calendar?
A Hollis build should get on the town's calendar early, since Planning Board minutes from April 8, 2026 refer to a Hollis Growth Ordinance and a pending rate-of-growth review. We check the year's growth permits with the town before we set a schedule.
Something else to ask? Call (207) 613-8565.
How Much Will a New Hollis Home Cost to Build?
A new Hollis home will cost what its finish level sets for a turnkey house without land: $315 to $365 a square foot built plain and efficient, $365 to $435 at mid-range custom, and $435 to $490+ once the work is high detail. Each band averages many builds, so it suits a first Hollis budget and never stands in for a price on your particular lot.
| Finish tier | What it usually means | Average per sq ft | A 2,800 sq ft house |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple and efficient | Vinyl siding, an asphalt roof, a plain cape or farmhouse plan | $315 to $365 | $882,000 to $1,022,000 |
| Mid-range custom | Fiber cement siding, fiberglass windows, a porch and more tile | $365 to $435 | $1,022,000 to $1,218,000 |
| High detail | Metal roofing, wood windows, custom cabinetry throughout | $435 to $490+ | $1,218,000 to $1,372,000+ |
Averages from many turnkey builds, land excluded. A Hollis well, its septic system and the lot's site work each carry their own price.
How much do a Hollis well and septic add?
A Hollis well and septic add two lines to the budget, $15,500 to $26,500 on average to drill the well, plus $17,500 to $44,000 to put the septic in. With no public water in Hollis, plan on the well, and the site evaluator's design decides how high in that range the septic falls.
What does site work add to a Hollis budget?
Site work puts somewhere near $77,000 to $105,000 into a Hollis budget when the lot is cleared with utilities at hand, a total that includes drilling, the septic system and the power hookup. Woods to clear, a long driveway or wet ground to work around can carry that figure past $165,000.
Why does one Hollis house price above another in the same tier?
One Hollis house prices above another in the same tier on the strength of its finish choices, whether it stands on a basement or on frost walls and a slab, and how large the plan draws the kitchen and baths. A 2,800 square foot house with a plain kitchen can land below a smaller one finished at high detail.
Ready to See What Your Hollis Lot Can Hold?
What your Hollis lot can hold becomes clear on a walk with us: ask for a free estimate, and we look at the zone, the ground and the well site before any price goes on paper.