Which Staircase Would Be More Cost Effective?
David Thomas
5 years ago
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tatts
5 years agorobin0919
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Which is more cost effective- Less SF or 2' increments?
Comments (5)The 2 ft. design saves more money on the exterior walls than on the interior, so that's where we put our focus. Try to design your window and exterior door placement on-module, so ideally they all fall within the studs. But, more realistically, so at least one side of every window/exterior door butts up against one of the studs. We also gave our builder the instruction to play with the roof slopes, within a small range, in order to maximize materials conservation on the roof sheathing. The sheathing materials all around are pretty pricey. Best I can tell, the modular design (2 ft.) only saves money if you're enclosing the same amount of space within it. There's no magic to it. You'll save, assuming the same size house, when you arrange the walls so that you minimize juts and corners, simplify your roof, and reduce square footage in the most expensive rooms of the house: baths and kitchens, generally. But you probably know all this. We found our builder MUCH more helpful in designing the house to control costs than our architect. But we brought the original concepts to the table. Have you read Ruiz' book Building An Affordable Home? Most of what you need to know is there....See MoreCondo Air Conditioner vs Fan: Which is More Cost Effective?
Comments (1)A fan costs a fraction of what the A/C costs to operate, but sometimes a fan just won't cut it....See Morecost effective deck stairs?
Comments (2)I've been using a stair system called EZ Stairs which is easy to install and strong-solid. It's probably one of the most cost effective ways to build deck stairs that I've ever used. A versatile handyman could even put them together for you. It cuts my labor cost in half and I save on materials too. It's worth checking out. I think 8 sets (16 brackets) of stair brackets are around $59. Here is a link that might be useful: EZ Stairs...See MoreIs it more cost effective to use a developer or design/build your own?
Comments (17)I like the comment about a better house, not bigger. We downsized last year and, although it's half the size of our previous home, I truly believe it lives bigger. We did end up buying property and building, and we drew up our own plan, taking it to an architect to tweak a little. (DH had designed our previous home, including all the construction blueprints; but this time he just wanted to get the layout done and then let the architect take over.) I think the reason it lives so well is the fact that we sat down together and discussed our daily activities and what we wanted in each room to make it work for us. We also considered the flow through the house and how it fit OUR preferences. This is our fourth house (3rd build), and I'm happy to say it's the best fit we've ever had---which is a good thing, since this is the house we will be retiring in and plan to age in place here. I don't have the breadth of experience to say whether developer or design/build your own will be more cost effective for you. I can say we definitely came out ahead with building our own (utilizing an architect and general contractor). Our builder was an acquaintance of ours who came highly recommended by friends for whom he had built a home about 5 years earlier. He stayed on schedule and finished right on time and within our budget. Of course, we stayed on top of the budget throughout the process and decided where we wanted to spend more money and where we could save money. We sourced a lot of items on our own, which also saved. We also found property in our desired area that had just been put on the market, which proved to be ideal for us and much better than any of the areas being developed in our area. It's very hard to find property in our desired area that wasn't already snatched up by a developer. If you're trying to stick to a budget, you do need to be able to discipline yourself not to splurge on everything when you're building---and, if there is something you want to upgrade, then you need to figure out how you're going to pay for it now (not over the next 10-15-20-or-30 years), such as by cutting back on something else. And, of course, allow a contingency for the unexpected. We did this by estimating line-item costs higher than we expected, thus building in a cushion . Of course, we were highly motivated because we wanted to own the house outright, with no mortgage, at the end of the build. Most of this would apply to a developer's house, as well. If you choose one before it's finished, then you could end up with the option of choosing some very expensive upgrades that could quickly put the house over budget. Hope you have success in your search for a new home. This site has some wonderful, knowledgeable contributors that can help you along the way. There are also a lot of beautiful homes with features that will inspire you to create a lovely home but also tempt you to start seeing a luxury as a necessity. : )...See Morefunctionthenlook
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5 years agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agosmit2380
5 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
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5 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
5 years agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
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5 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
5 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
5 years agoCarolina Kitchen & Bath
5 years agoSummit Studio Architects
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5 years agoAnglophilia
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5 years agoCarolina Kitchen & Bath
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