Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cost estimates

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Feb 14, 2010, at 4:19 AM, Marganne Meyer wrote:

> I'd logically think that the more experience you have, the better
> you'd be at setting a budget.

Think through the construction of ~40 homes with all the underground  
work through all the piping, walls, wires, insulation, bathrooms and  
kitchens, etc., and how many different contractors have to be  
coordinated. Plus all the permitting and town board approvals,  
rezoning, and inspections of all that. Weather --  monsoon rains.  
Suppliers going bankrupt.

Green technology that workers are using for the first time.  
Manufacturers shipping the wrong carpet. Wood floors laid where  
linoleum was supposed to go. The concrete truck stuck in traffic. Look  
around the room. Each item required a plan, a decision, a search for  
materials, an order, a delivery, a sorting, a transport to the install  
locations, installation, inspection, finishing.

It's complicated and no project is just alike. I actually don't  
understand how anything gets built! I would go nuts with the number of  
people that have to be coordinated. And dealing with city inspectors  
is a whole job, and totally unpredictable. In NY bribes are part of  
the budget.

Budget overruns are often because the codes change in the middle. One  
restaurant rehab here just had to completely redesign the plumbing in  
a building and get new permits because the city changed the code in  
the middle of their project. Back to architect, back to drawing board,  
back to the permitting office, back to suppliers, etc. No income for  
another 6 months. End of restaurant.

Construction costs can change overnight. We had bids on a teeny tiny  
iron stair support last year that almost doubled because they price of  
iron went up. The fence installer made fence bids subject to the  
current price of iron at the time we decided to install. Magnify that  
by 40 for 40 homes and you are in a heap of trouble.

That's why developers loose money on projects. The purchase price is  
set at contract signing but costs keep going up. The later sales have  
to pay for those cost increases.

We have had tons of complaints about our construction but aside for  
some poor design issues, other developers have consistently said, Oh,  
that always happens.

I once thought that having new construction would avoid all the  
problems of old houses. And need no renovations. Wrong. Completely  
wrong.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org