Comments on: How home builders are saving money building your house

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:22:45 +0000

The Article:
http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/article/BREAKING-NEWS-Builder-fined-for-posing-as-architect/504607.aspx

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:19:14 +0000

This recent article on breaches of the “Architects Act” highlights the need to check the registration of Architects and building designers. Claiming to be “Architectually Designed” can add thousands of dollars to the price of a house.

By: John Nail

John Nail — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:13:15 +0000

One thing that I have noticed is why there is only 1 outlet in the whole garage. There are 3 walls, I would love to see atleast 2 outlets on each wall.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:05:18 +0000

@Steph,
wow! That is crazy! Being a midwesterner, I remember vacationing in southern cali and being amazed at how small the lots were and how close everything was. I guess that was the price paid for great weather!

By: Steph

Steph — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:00:46 +0000

Bob, we live in a house that has too small of an a/c unit for the size of the house. Talking to my neighbors, everyone has this problem. I think it actually costs us more to cool our home because of this. We set it to 80 and it still runs and runs and runs. Never shuts off until we turn it off. Here in California, I think every cost-cutting trick in the book is used. There are neighborhoods here in town where the eaves of one house nearly touch the house next door’s eaves. Maybe 3 feet in between houses? They have about 6 feet in the back and 3 feet from the street. They call it “zero lot” homes. Even where we live, the homes are fairly close to one another. I would guess ten feet maybe and our yard is actually one of the bigger back yards and it is 30 feet or less. Not much yard to mow because the original owners put in a cement patio on one side and the rest is a wooden deck. At least they used double-paned windows which only started in the early 90′s here.

By: TheDebtHawk.com

TheDebtHawk.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:37:28 +0000

Wow, I am not sure that I would compromise on any of these items. Of all of the places to save money, I am not sure that saving money by reducing the quality of your house is the best idea.

However, if certain things really aren’t important to you, that is where you should save. For instance, if you don’t really want a huge jacuzzi tub in you master bathroom, settle for a standard bathtub. If you don’t have to have granite countertops, find a synthetic material that you like.

But, building a smaller than normal garage seems foolish. If you feel crammed in your garage, you are going to regret it for a long time.

By: Ron

Ron — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:52:17 +0000

Having been a homebuilder and having been involved in the new home and remodeling industry for 25+ years, I can tell you that 3 feet on a garage doesn’t save anywhere near $8,500. That one is exaggerated .

Also, the thoughts of putting my own home on 24 inch stud centers is scary. The spruce studs that are typically used don’t meet code on 24 inch centers but yellow pine studs DO. The problem is that yellow pine tends to warp as it dries and causes your walls to become out of square. The average home takes about 400 studs at $2.29 each and spreading them out will save about 100 of those studs. Just not worth it to me.

Textured walls, yes. It saves money but it is extremely difficult to match it later on. Everything else in the list is accurate.

One thing I would recommend on the HVAC: send your plans to Doug Rye (http://www.dougrye.com/). He is by far and away the best in the world at accurately sizing an HVAC system and in showing people how to save money on their energy bills. I will personally use him on every home I ever build in the future.