Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: More on Standard design and LDM

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

Unless you are going to build all the houses at once, using the same 
contractor resource, there is probably not much point in doing standard 
design for LDM's vs. custom design.  Custom homes, can be much more 
expensive than "standardized tract housing", especially in labor costs, 
but they don't have to be.  When you have standard floor plans, which 
is typically tract development process, the framing crews, etc. only 
have to bang out limited variations. No thinking, no improvising, 
little problem solving  compared to doing 30 custom homes.  In my 
limited experience in conversations with contractors, tract 
developments tend to use standard framing dimensions (8, 10 and 12 foot 
multiples)  and standard roof truss dimensions for no cut framing.  
This could be easily incorped into custom home design as well.  A 
custom 7'3" wall length means cutting all the lumber to that size, one 
extra step multiplied by the length of the wall.  Another typical tract 
development cost cutting strategy is to "stack" the plumbing by putting 
kitchens and bathrooms back to back so they both can use the some of 
the same pipes. Also to put bathrooms on top of each other for the same 
reason.  The other typical tract home experience is to use middle to 
low grade materials to save costs.

I did some personal comparisons between my custom home and some local 
tract homes.  Granted I did some of the work myself, and hired 
neighbors to build my home, who worked for me at very reasonable 
prices.  My 2400sq foot custom home, which has high quality heating, 
insulation above code, high quality low e windows, wood flooring, high 
quality cabinets, and a custom designed, passive, air flow cooling 
system, and a wood ceiling cost me 140K to build and 25K for the lot.  
In 4, local tract home developments which I visited, similiar sq foot 
homes, which all had low quality heating, cheap windows, low to medium 
quality cabinetry, and insulation at code,  were selling for $60-100K 
more than I paid. One difference is that all the tract homes had 3 car 
garages, and I do not have, want nor need a garage.  The other 
difference of course is the developers and contractors profit on both 
the houses and the land.

I think you could accrue some savings by using standard floor plans, 
but I am not sure they would amount to very much savings.

Rob Sandelin
Sharingwood