Re: Affordable Cohousing | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: R Philip Dowds (rpdowdscomcast.net) | |
Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:16:49 -0800 (PST) |
The three big costs (apart from land) of any design and construction project are ... (1) The design team (architects and engineers). Custom residence designers will want a fee = about 10% of the construction cost. But you can find other teams that will "do it" for 5% (and, infer that the 10% guy is ripping you off). (2) Materials and systems selected. A slate roof will cost more than a standing seam roof, and a metal roof will cost more than an asphalt shingle roof. For any system or product you can find economy (the $140 toilet) and deluxe (the $840 toilet); for most of us, the best choice is usually somewhere in between. (3) The contractor and subcontractors that put it all together. If you get five competitive bids based on decent drawings and specs (available from the 10% guy, but not the 5%), you may still see a range of plus or minus 20% -- or worse. Two factors that drive the bid down, even from qualified bidders, are (1) failure to understand the full implications of the drawing set, and (2) utter desperation to fill a hole in the schedule. In the end, miscalculation and desperation will not work to your benefit. I tell my clients to throw out the low bidder and the high bidder, and interview the remainder. (Sometimes they listen ...) So: What happens you shop hard, and find the cheapest designers, cheapest toilets, and cheapest contractors available? Same thing that happens when you book the cheapest hotel. Or buy the cheapest shoes or the cheapest lawnmower or the cheapest Balsamic vinegar. This is my long-winded way of saying I don't really believe that the design and construction industry features only bums and bozos who must be monitored every minute of the day. Nor that, reno or new, you can't get a quality product. You CAN get a quality product. Just not at a rock-bottom price. RPD AIA Sent from my iPad On Dec 31, 2012, at 2:22 PM, Sharon Villines <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com> wrote: > > > On Dec 31, 2012, at 2:03 PM, "R.N. Johnson" <cohoranda [at] yahoo.com> wrote: > >> You don't get the shiny new home with the neat features, but you do get to >> live in community. >
- Re: Affordable Cohousing, (continued)
- Re: Affordable Cohousing Sharon Villines, December 28 2012
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Re: Affordable Cohousing R.N. Johnson, December 31 2012
- Re: Affordable Cohousing oz, December 31 2012
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Re: Affordable Cohousing Sharon Villines, December 31 2012
- Re: Affordable Cohousing R Philip Dowds, December 31 2012
- Re: Affordable Cohousing Sharon Villines, December 31 2012
- Architecture Real professionalism Re: Affordable Cohousing Wayne Tyson, December 31 2012
- Re: Affordable Cohousing rpdowds, December 31 2012
- Re: Affordable Cohousing Don Benson, December 31 2012
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