[therubberguard]

i know there would be a lot of variables but does anyone how much it would cost to tear down a house and build a new one per sq feet. family currently own the property but the house is getting old and problematic.
Thanks

[kalekain]

It's roughly $150 per sq feet.

[MindBomber]

An average home would cost between $175-225 per square foot to build, but you could very easily go way above that budget. If the foundation is in good shape and you're happy with the basic lay out gutting the home to the studs and renovating would offer substantial savings over building from the ground up.

[ntan]

Lot's of East Indian builders build East Vancouver houses from $120-$150 per sqft

[Hondaracer]

where?

our company tore down and rebuilt a house just off main and 22nd, we're a management company and the total including our fee was probably around 450k for a typical but new Vancouver special 3 story with detached garage into the alley

[therubberguard]

where?

our company tore down and rebuilt a house just off main and 22nd, we're a management company and the total including our fee was probably around 450k for a typical but new Vancouver special 3 story with detached garage into the alley

how many sq ft was the house that was built?

[Hondaracer]

hmm.. off the top of my head it was probably.. 2000? if that

my numbers may not be accruate though because ive got a bunch of figures for projects running through my head when i'm thinking of this one

[blkgsr]

Lot's of East Indian builders build East Vancouver houses from $120-$150 per sqft

ya if you want it built shitty

[frost91]

i built my house from scratch and it costed me the lower 200k, however this was before rain screening came into effect and a few other things. if you don't know what you're doing the sub-trades are going to take you for a ride and you'll be spending double what you're supposed to be spending

i would say the $120-$150 a square feet is pretty fair/accurate estimate, however hondaracer saying 450k is not out of the normal either.

all lots in vancouver are different, if you get/have one that for ex. use to be swamp land, instead of buying golden toilets, you'll be BURNING money getting the foundation sustainable for development

if you have any questions just PM

[Hondaracer]

yea, fortunately we did not have to do any preloading etc. and no engineered fill either

but yea, if your building in a tight neighborhood typical of Vancouver and you dont do it right, you could potentially be looking at lawsuits etc. when your new build fucks up surrounding structures etc.

and as Frost said, it's all in who you know basically and the type of quality and finishing you want

[highfive]

$150-200 per sf sounds about right.

It really depends what your family wants.

Regular house - 1 Kitchen, bunch of rooms and washrooms etc.

Upstairs suite and downstairs suite for rentals. (legal or illegal).

Your foundation/ framing/ drywall / exterior/ insulation/ or basically the shell can cost only so much.

It's what you want inside, if you have 3 kitchens? then it starts to build up costs, instead of building gas pipes for 1 kitchen, now you have to extend it to the two other plus you gotta make sure your hot water is enough for so many ppl.

Plus, getting a permit at city already costs you $10k already.

[therubberguard]

thanks for the replies everyone,
another question is the cost of a laneway house, ive been hearing 100k-150k
can anyone give me some insight?

[MindBomber]

thanks for the replies everyone,
another question is the cost of a laneway house, ive been hearing 100k-150k
can anyone give me some insight?

That would be a fairly accurate price range.

The cost of building a lane way house with comparable finishing to a full size house is a bit higher per square foot, because of mechanical systems costs distributed over a lower square footage.

[ws6ta]

where?

our company tore down and rebuilt a house just off main and 22nd, we're a management company and the total including our fee was probably around 450k for a typical but new Vancouver special 3 story with detached garage into the alley

don't mean to get into your business but I am curious what was your fee for doing this? how many sq ft? do you charge a fee based off of sq ft or a flat fee? I've never built for anyone but myself so unaware but curious. PM is cool too :).

thanks

[cunninglinguist]

That would be a fairly accurate price range.

The cost of building a lane way house with comparable finishing to a full size house is a bit higher per square foot, because of mechanical systems costs distributed over a lower square footage.

That's interesting. What does "mechanical systems costs" mean?

[highfive]

Mechanical systems costs

plumbing / heating & gas / electrical systems.

All the piping and wiring for you to have a running kitchen/ bathroom/ lights / outlets etc.... but less living space compared to a regular house

[MindBomber]

don't mean to get into your business but I am curious what was your fee for doing this? how many sq ft? do you charge a fee based off of sq ft or a flat fee? I've never built for anyone but myself so unaware but curious. PM is cool too :).

thanks

I work as a sub for general contractors, so I'm not completely familiar with how complete projects are billed, but I'm somewhat familiar.

I've met contractors who do a flat fee and others who bill hourly, the flat fee seems most common with commercial contractors and custom home builders working on larger projects that are well laid out at the time of the bidding process. Custom home builders for example, mostly bill a flat fee that comes off the instalment payments throughout the project, and if the owners need to spend time with the contractor outside of what's allotted for in the bid they're billed additionally by the hour. The guys who bill entirely hourly have mostly been doing renovations and other small things, usually they do a component of the work themselves. That's just what I've gleamed in my experience as a sub.

Mechanical systems costs

plumbing / heating & gas / electrical systems.

All the piping and wiring for you to have a running kitchen/ bathroom/ lights / outlets etc.... but less living space compared to a regular house

this.

To go into more detail: in a carriage house you still need a breaker panel, hot water heater, furnace and every other mechanical system, but downsizing those systems and installation costs for a lower square footage doesn't drop the price exponentially from a full sized house.

[Farfetched]

thanks for the replies everyone,
another question is the cost of a laneway house, ive been hearing 100k-150k
can anyone give me some insight?

i have to double check things, but i believe i was quoted only an extra 75k more to build a laneway house rather than a standard garage. this was for a new home build. for non-new home, the cost was much much more.

[Gridlock]

I work as a sub for general contractors, so I'm not completely familiar with how complete projects are billed, but I'm somewhat familiar.

I've met contractors who do a flat fee and others who bill hourly, the flat fee seems most common with commercial contractors and custom home builders working on larger projects that are well laid out at the time of the bidding process. Custom home builders for example, mostly bill a flat fee that comes off the instalment payments throughout the project, and if the owners need to spend time with the contractor outside of what's allotted for in the bid they're billed additionally by the hour. The guys who bill entirely hourly have mostly been doing renovations and other small things, usually they do a component of the work themselves. That's just what I've gleamed in my experience as a sub.



this.

To go into more detail: in a carriage house you still need a breaker panel, hot water heater, furnace and every other mechanical system, but downsizing those systems and installation costs for a lower square footage doesn't drop the price exponentially from a full sized house.

Yeah, I'm small fry in comparison to home builders...soon, soon :)

I do the same thing. I give you a quote on a job, go over what the quote includes, and what needs to be found to go over the quote. Anything extra is technically a change-order, but for my stuff I really don't get into doing it that officially, I just charge out hourly for extra work.

[Gridlock]

Oh...in fact, I had one guy that had a huge hump in the concrete where I was going to put down flooring. Was convinced that he needed a flat rate for the task. Told him that I can give him a flat rate, but it was going to have to cover any possible items that may come up.

Instead, he saw the wisdom in going hourly. I worked my ass off(goggles, respirator and ear plugs for 10 hours, I felt like I was cut off from the world) and still made money but didn't end up gouging him on extra time I would have included in a flat rate.

Sometimes you need to have a little faith in people.

[Death2Theft]

What i've always wondered is why more people dont build full concrete with concrete flat roofs, that way u get a sweet top deck that can be walked on and hopefully more durable than shingles. Plus with what people are charging to redo a roof..... 20-30k

[MindBomber]

What i've always wondered is why more people dont build full concrete with concrete flat roofs, that way u get a sweet top deck that can be walked on and hopefully more durable than shingles. Plus with what people are charging to redo a roof..... 20-30k

Suspended concrete flooring is a pretty expensive addition to an ICF home build, which is already expensive compared to a wood framed structure. ICF is monumentally better and well worth the cost imo, but it's tough to sell a client on a tight budget the benefits of spending money on structure instead of finishing. I know one contractor whose got a talent for convincing clients to step up on structure, love that guy, he sold a client on spending $220K on insulation once.

[Death2Theft]

Sorry whats ICF? Something to do with concrete footings? Whats the cost of the last concrete roof house you've done of similar sqft as a standard house?
I dont think most people spend 220k on heating in the life of the house.

I hate tile as they never look the same once you replace one even if it's the same model the color will be slightly off. Wood is too delicate and if you get it wet your done. Polished concrete with rugs are my only option so far.

[MindBomber]

Sorry whats ICF? Something to do with concrete footings? Whats the cost of the last concrete roof house you've done of similar sqft as a standard house?
I dont think most people spend 220k on heating in the life of the house.

I hate tile as they never look the same once you replace one even if it's the same model the color will be slightly off. Wood is too delicate and if you get it wet your done. Polished concrete with rugs are my only option so far.

ICF is an acronym for insulated concrete form, should have included that in the initial post, it's probably the most common method for building concrete residential homes. Depending on where you live it would be 20-30% more to build with icf over wood frame, maybe a bit higher with concrete floors on the upper levels since a rough estimate would be $20-25 a square foot for those alone. I'm not a general contractor like Gridlock, just a sub, so I can only give rough estimates on specialities outside my own.

Here's a pic of an ICF home build.
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i363/Austin_Taylor88/icfhome1_large.jpg

[Matlock]

I can tell you that most of the time you really do get what you pay for. I've worked on high end homes to mid end to cookie cutter townhomes and sometimes home owners might cheap out and not want to hire the builder's warranted sub trades just to cut corners and save a few bucks. Then that's when problems start popping up and they may end up paying more in the long run.

One thing that will definitely save anyone money is for them to make up their fucking mind. You have no idea how much money is wasted because people constantly change their mind on things. Put it in, take it out, put it in, take it out.

[Death2Theft]

Thing I dont get about insulation is why people waste money on insulation that can be damaged by water vs spray foam/foam panels. I can see with panels it might be a PITA to cut and fit for nook and crannies. Sticky spray on might be tricky to take out but if u ever did need to take it out a simple light layer of vapor barrier or membrane before spraying can fix that.

[MindBomber]

Thing I dont get about insulation is why people waste money on insulation that can be damaged by water vs spray foam/foam panels.

Money.

Spray foam is expensive in comparison to fiberglass, rock wool or cellulose and the majority of clients just don't care what's behind the drywall. The exception was the client who 220k in spray foam, he literally insulated every single wall in the house with the most expensive product available.

If you go with closed cell foam, you don't even need to worry about vapour barrier, it will stop passage of air directly at the sheathing.

In general however, spray foam is worth the cost. The measure of quality of a traditional insulation install is the fitment of the batts; if the installer crushes a piece of batt insulation a bit to fit it into place you loose R value, if they don't trim the batt perfectly to fit you have air leakage. No matter who does the installation, all those little air leaks add up to the equivalent of leaving a window or door open year round. Spray foam doesn't have the problem, it's provides a 100% perfect seal. Imagine how much higher a homes energy bills would be if it had a door open year round, that fact alone should make spray foam worthwhile. That's just one of a number of benefits.

[BMW M5]

i know there would be a lot of variables but does anyone how much it would cost to tear down a house and build a new one per sq feet. family currently own the property but the house is getting old and problematic.
Thanks

So many things that can increase or decrease the price in building a new home. A few examples would be the plumbing fixtures, kitchen appliance, heating system (radiant or baseboard), exterior siding (hardie, stucco or vinyl), soil condition (hard pan or blue clay), city connections (does it need sump pumps), interior finishing and so on. There are a lot of things to consider. I would venture to say that if you want a quality built house and not looking for all the high end top of the line fixtures. You are looking at $170-$200


PM me if you need anymore information. I am a licensed residential builder with the HPO and covered by National Home warranty.:D

[freakshow]

I know this might be a typical ricer/naive kid question, but are there any laws that prevent someone from building a medium sized house, lets say 2200sqft, but with a 4-5 car garage?

[Death2Theft]

There are builders out there that arn't covered under the NHW?
So many things that can increase or decrease the price in building a new home. A few examples would be the plumbing fixtures, kitchen appliance, heating system (radiant or baseboard), exterior siding (hardie, stucco or vinyl), soil condition (hard pan or blue clay), city connections (does it need sump pumps), interior finishing and so on. There are a lot of things to consider. I would venture to say that if you want a quality built house and not looking for all the high end top of the line fixtures. You are looking at $170-$200


PM me if you need anymore information. I am a licensed residential builder with the HPO and covered by National Home warranty.:D

[Manic!]

I know this might be a typical ricer/naive kid question, but are there any laws that prevent someone from building a medium sized house, lets say 2200sqft, but with a 4-5 car garage?

I don't think so just depends on what size structure is allowed on the lot.

[frost91]

There are builders out there that arn't covered under the NHW?

yup, some of them are really really good too, and some are..... not so good but in the end they have tons of inspections to pass, so if something isn't done correctly it won't pass that stage etc..etc...

[quasi]

i have to double check things, but i believe i was quoted only an extra 75k more to build a laneway house rather than a standard garage. this was for a new home build. for non-new home, the cost was much much more.

It was 45K more for me 4 years ago, I didn't want to deal with renters so decided against it.

[quasi]

I know this might be a typical ricer/naive kid question, but are there any laws that prevent someone from building a medium sized house, lets say 2200sqft, but with a 4-5 car garage?

Depends on the size of your lot.

We actually did work on a house for one of my dads friends last year that had exactly that. The actual living area was maybe 1200SQF, the garage was probably 2000SQF with 4 or 5 bay doors and a 14' Ceiling. You could park two cars behind each door. The house had a lot of funky details but it wasn't my cup of tea. 1 Bedroom, living room, 2 bathrooms, office and a kitchen. He was older, divorced and lived by himself with lots of toys. This was in aldergrove so he had lots of land, I doubt that would work in the city. The house doesn't even look like a house it looks like a small school because of the type of roof and the high ceilings.

The only problem is that house will be damm hard to sell if he ever wants to move and he put a lot of money into with the detail work and funky architecture.

[Hondaracer]

National Home Warantee = you're not good enough to get on with travellers.

[Gridlock]

Depends on the size of your lot.

We actually did work on a house for one of my dads friends last year that had exactly that. The actual living area was maybe 1200SQF, the garage was probably 2000SQF with 4 or 5 bay doors and a 14' Ceiling. You could park two cars behind each door. The house had a lot of funky details but it wasn't my cup of tea. 1 Bedroom, living room, 2 bathrooms, office and a kitchen. He was older, divorced and lived by himself with lots of toys. This was in aldergrove so he had lots of land, I doubt that would work in the city. The house doesn't even look like a house it looks like a small school because of the type of roof and the high ceilings.

The only problem is that house will be damm hard to sell if he ever wants to move and he put a lot of money into with the detail work and funky architecture.

My fam looked at a house in Abbotsford that was somewhat similar. It used to be a church, then had additional house built on, and then a massive 4 car garage added to the back.

It had been gutted, so the expense of the house had an additional 100k reno budget added. In the end, everyone fell in love with it, and then ran from it like a curse. Other than a really impressive coolness factor, it wasn't going to work for everyone. Beautiful little property too, with a stream running through the backyard.

[BMW M5]

There are builders out there that arn't covered under the NHW?

there are a few providers out there. I am just saying that I am a licensed builder and if anyone got any questions regarding building a house, they are free to ask me questions and I will try my best to answer them.


yup, some of them are really really good too, and some are..... not so good but in the end they have tons of inspections to pass, so if something isn't done correctly it won't pass that stage etc..etc...

passing inspection only means that the work meets the building code and its safe. The house could have framing thats not leveled, concrete floor thats wavy, painting thats bad and so on.

National Home Warantee = you're not good enough to get on with travellers.

This is a joke right? I really dont see any problems with NHW, we just signed up with whoever at the time.

btw, are you covered by travellers and why is travellers better in your eyes?

I know this might be a typical ricer/naive kid question, but are there any laws that prevent someone from building a medium sized house, lets say 2200sqft, but with a 4-5 car garage?

In Richmond there is a ratio that it goes by (forgot the exact ratio). But say for example if your house is 3000sq/ft, you are allowed to have your garage at 500sq/ft that will not count and anything over that the sq/ft will count towards your house.

[Hondaracer]

Travellers takes the best/better builders in BC, it's not really a secret

NHW takes alot of the builders travelers rejects, therefore have many more claims

If you're a quality builder and go with either it's a personal choice and costs etc come into play, but IMO travelers is the superior warrantee provider and almost all builders we deal with including us are covered under travelers.
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[BMW M5]

Travellers takes the best/better builders in BC, it's not really a secret

NHW takes alot of the builders travelers rejects, therefore have many more claims

If you're a quality builder and go with either it's a personal choice and costs etc come into play, but IMO travelers is the superior warrantee provider and almost all builders we deal with including us are covered under travelers.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

I really didnt know that and havent heard about it being that way. Either way, we never had any claims against us and we get a very good rate from NHW.

Are you also a builder?

[Hondaracer]

I'm a super for a construction management company, we build mostly town houses and other multi family
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[BMW M5]

I'm a super for a construction management company, we build mostly town houses and other multi family
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)



We also do the same thing for a developer. We built around half a dozen complexes in Richmond and a few low rise wood frame in Vancouver.

I am starting up a single family out in the west side. Should find a chance to meet up and chit chat.

[Selanne_200]

To give you a perspective from a first time home builder, what I noticed is that your interior finishing will cost you the most when determining the cost of your house. All the framing, sheathing, foundation pouring, isn't going to be substanially different from say a 3000sf home and a 5000sf home but a choice between say using laminate flooring vs engineered hardwood flooring alone can easily cost you 10k in difference or more. Also, doing a bunch of research, I personally found that building your house under a cost + base structure would probably give you better flexibility and probably better product in the end than a contractual 150 bucks a sf base. I'm a firm believer in you can what you paid for especially when it comes to hiring tradesman. Sure you can save 10k in framing say between an east indian framer and a high quality framer, but would you really want an uneven floor, wavy walls, walls that are not plumb, and rooms that are out of square? If you got more questions feel free to ask a guy who's still currently building his house in vancouver east right now. ( And no, I'm not building the house to flip but I'm actually going to be living in it)

[BMW M5]

To give you a perspective from a first time home builder, what I noticed is that your interior finishing will cost you the most when determining the cost of your house. All the framing, sheathing, foundation pouring, isn't going to be substanially different from say a 3000sf home and a 5000sf home but a choice between say using laminate flooring vs engineered hardwood flooring alone can easily cost you 10k in difference or more. Also, doing a bunch of research, I personally found that building your house under a cost + base structure would probably give you better flexibility and probably better product in the end than a contractual 150 bucks a sf base. I'm a firm believer in you can what you paid for especially when it comes to hiring tradesman. Sure you can save 10k in framing say between an east indian framer and a high quality framer, but would you really want an uneven floor, wavy walls, walls that are not plumb, and rooms that are out of square? If you got more questions feel free to ask a guy who's still currently building his house in vancouver east right now. ( And no, I'm not building the house to flip but I'm actually going to be living in it)


You are dead on with most of your points. I hire a quality framer thats around 10-11bucks a sq/ft, where as if I went with a EI framer it would be around 5-7bucks a sq/ft. But in the end you will have less headache with failing city inspections and your structural engineer inspections. Your interior finishing will really take around 25-30% of the whole project. Cabinets, fixtures, flooring, doors, trims and so on.

When I build a spec or custom house, I always go by cost + base like you said. Reason being is that the customer can always choose what they want and they wont be tied to use whatever I give them. In the end, the client will be happy and not be stuck with materials inside their house that they dont want.

But one downside is that, I get a lot of clients walking away from me when they try to pick a builder because I am never the cheapest compared to the builders that charges a lump sump to build the house. They dont seem to understand the you get what you pay for.

[quasi]

So different from Commercial, lowest price almost always gets the job. Then again in home design it's way more custom ie: cabinets, appliances, flooring ect.... Where in commercial the jobs there is less change after drawings are up for tender.

We build it how it's designed there isn't much room for play. This wall is here, it's built out of this material, this is the insulation we want in the wall and this is the finish we want. Stuff comes up where maybe the architect wants something changed here and there but for the most part what you see is what you get.

[Hondaracer]

comercial sounds nice lol

as Sellanne said there, it's amazing the people who absolutely cheap out on finishing when basically its the most important part!

and with that being said, the people you'd least think would fuck up their fininshing are also typically people with the most money

in the past 3 years we've helped 2 different developers who have homes in west van, one was one of the newest houses in BP, the other is down closer to the water

Both basically were in such a rush to move in when the drywall etc. finally got up that they just said GO GO GO GO with all their finishing

now we are in places that have had occupancy for like 2-3 years, never got a final, and they are -fucked- to the point where one of them when i walked in and saw the problems i was thinking "lol this is just like holmes on homes, i didnt think people could fuck this up this badly"

[quasi]

The problem with commercial and I'm sure you get this in residential as well but it is sometimes it's a race to the bottom. You get contractors coming in and driving down the prices. The problem is they aren't sustainable they might come in and pick up a bunch of work and be real busy for a year, maybe even two or three. Once the bills catch up to them the cashflow slows down and they run out of credit and start getting cut off by suppliers they fold.

Meanwhile they've had a longterm effect on the price of doing business and the wages in the industry. The wages in Steel Framing and drywall and ceilings right now are around the same place they were in 1992. Think about that, 20 years of inflation and this is where we're at in BC it's so fucking gross.

I'm working in Sask right now which is pretty busy, headed back to BC in Jan. and when I get there I have to take a 25% paycut to what I've been making over the last 4 years. It's so fucking disgusting. At least I'll be sleeping in my own bed and be able to tuck my kid in at night but yeah, not to happy about it.

[Selanne_200]

I think it always comes down to the owner when it comes to choice of sub-trades in residential homes anyways. If it's a spec home and built to sale, most of them would care less how to work is as long as it's the lowest bid for the job. I was just at an open house in west vancouver this past weekend, and a house currently listed for 2.9 mil has such a terrible finishing job it's disgusting! The floors on the top floor isn't even level and you can feel it when you're walking in the room barefoot, the drywall isn't even cut and then mud in properly around the switches so that there's already all sorts of nicks and cuts around it, the choice of granite for their counter-top is cheap (black galaxy if you know prices of granite), shower tubs are still using the real cheap 4mm framed slider show glass that wobbles as you slide them. This is absolutely outrages that these houses are demanding that money they are, the only thing they have going for them is location, but you would think they would put a little bit of conscience in it when they build, but nop!
If everyone was building a house to own/live in, i'm pretty sure 75% of those east indian would go bankrupt/jobless. I refuse to hire any east indian trades on any of the important tasks but even on the simple stuff they still manage to fuck up. My excavation and demolition contractor manages to fuck something up every time he's on site: Kinking the water line when he was back filling cuz they didn't support the water line properly underneath prior to just dumping dirt onto it, knocking and damaging the garage foundation with their bobcat during backfill of the garage, tried to bill for me something that was never discussed and claimed he did etc.
If you're planning on building a home for yourself and not to sell, if you can avoid it, I would avoid the east indian trades like a plague

[Hondaracer]

people also have to understand there is a compromise in finishing

its one thing to buy a 2 million dollar house and expect GOOD finishing

its another thing to buy a 350k townhouse and expect absolute top notch finishing, dealing with clients on these matters is the bane of my existence

[Selanne_200]

Hey hondaracer, I understand and I always preach you get what you paid for so that's why I was talking about a house that's asking for 4 million and the hosue is only about 4000 sq ft.

[Selanne_200]

You are dead on with most of your points. I hire a quality framer thats around 10-11bucks a sq/ft, where as if I went with a EI framer it would be around 5-7bucks a sq/ft. But in the end you will have less headache with failing city inspections and your structural engineer inspections. Your interior finishing will really take around 25-30% of the whole project. Cabinets, fixtures, flooring, doors, trims and so on.

When I build a spec or custom house, I always go by cost + base like you said. Reason being is that the customer can always choose what they want and they wont be tied to use whatever I give them. In the end, the client will be happy and not be stuck with materials inside their house that they dont want.

But one downside is that, I get a lot of clients walking away from me when they try to pick a builder because I am never the cheapest compared to the builders that charges a lump sump to build the house. They dont seem to understand the you get what you pay for.

I wanna praise you on keeping your moral and your work ethic. You may lose client now but in the long term, I'm sure this will only help you. It's a small industry in vancouver and don't under estimate the power of referrals from a happy client

[MindBomber]

I think it always comes down to the owner when it comes to choice of sub-trades in residential homes anyways. If it's a spec home and built to sale, most of them would care less how to work is as long as it's the lowest bid for the job.

It's possible that I'm just not following your wording, but if I am, your statement is not true in my experience. Most owners have a difficult enough time deciding how many pot lights to install, never mind actually being involved with choosing sub-trades.

Several of the builders I've worked with don't actually have other companies in my trade bid on projects, they exclusively work with us, I know people working in other trades with the same experience. Builders know we do outstanding quality work for a fair price and always get work done on time, once you get clients involved with choosing trades they'll want to bring in referrals from friends whose quality of work is unproven.

On spec homes it comes down to who the builder, just like everything else in construction. I've worked with home builders who build spec homes on the side using the same trades they use for custom projects with clients, outstanding quality finishings on the surface and the same level of workmanship behind the drywall. On the other hand, I've fixed a spec home for a home owner a year after purchase, only the areas of that persons attic within sight had been insulated, everything else was completely bare.

[Selanne_200]

Hey sorry, that was a bad post typed up compounded with typos. What I meant in that was not that the owners will choose the sub-trade but whether what kind of subtrades will work on the job site is largely dependent on the type of owner. If the owner intially chooses a builder that gives him the lowest bid for the job per sq ft wise, naturally the subtrades that's gonna be on the site will be those with some of the lowest bid and for subtrades, we all know that cheap = poor workmanship most of the time. I know most builders will always go back to subtrades they know but if it's a spec home builder, their concern is mostly finishing where the eyes can see and cheap out on things that people don't see/notice

[Death2Theft]

I wouldn't complain as that isn't the type of clients you want to deal with anyways. Just curious what you'd charge for a standard 33 lot in vancouver with a laneway house cost/base. For a fully finished house I was quoted in the 600k range.
You are dead on with most of your points. I hire a quality framer thats around 10-11bucks a sq/ft, where as if I went with a EI framer it would be around 5-7bucks a sq/ft. But in the end you will have less headache with failing city inspections and your structural engineer inspections. Your interior finishing will really take around 25-30% of the whole project. Cabinets, fixtures, flooring, doors, trims and so on.

When I build a spec or custom house, I always go by cost + base like you said. Reason being is that the customer can always choose what they want and they wont be tied to use whatever I give them. In the end, the client will be happy and not be stuck with materials inside their house that they dont want.

But one downside is that, I get a lot of clients walking away from me when they try to pick a builder because I am never the cheapest compared to the builders that charges a lump sump to build the house. They dont seem to understand the you get what you pay for.

[BMW M5]

I wouldn't complain as that isn't the type of clients you want to deal with anyways. Just curious what you'd charge for a standard 33 lot in vancouver with a laneway house cost/base. For a fully finished house I was quoted in the 600k range.

It all comes down to what you expect to have on the inside. Can range anywhere from 600-750k with the laneway house. I am building a house on the west end on a 33 lot, so if you want to come take a look and get an idea of pricing just PM me.

[Nicco]

Our company's been around for last 10 years if anyone needs advice or pricing on housing feel free to PM me.

[iEatClams]

This is a high quality thread that I just stumbled upon, thanks to all who have provided very valuable input.

I have a question,

Say you have empty land, when building a house, how much more is it to build a 2 storey with basement (3- levels in total) vs just a regular 2 storey.

Say if one house had 2 storeys above grade, vs that same house with a basement that is below grade.

Because the foundation costs are there, would the costs be marginal?

[alex.w *//]

^ very few people build 2 storeys now. Only if the foundation is not deep enough.

[Selanne_200]

The foundation costs would actually be more because you would have to dig deeper "the height of the basement floor", more lumber and joists because of the additional floor, and also your foundation form would be different. I say if you go for a basement if you have the money or can afford it, because you won't regret it;however, I wouldn't say it's marginal. With the cost of finishing and everything, I would say factor in at least another 80,000-100,000 at least depending on the size of your basement and whether you'll need special foundation footing in the area you're planning to build.

[BMW M5]

The foundation costs would actually be more because you would have to dig deeper "the height of the basement floor", more lumber and joists because of the additional floor, and also your foundation form would be different. I say if you go for a basement if you have the money or can afford it, because you won't regret it;however, I wouldn't say it's marginal. With the cost of finishing and everything, I would say factor in at least another 80,000-100,000 at least depending on the size of your basement and whether you'll need special foundation footing in the area you're planning to build.


thats complete bullshit because all that depends on the area and soil condition. Where I am building right now, we dig 2-3 feet deep and its hard clay which is good enough for a foundation. Not having a basement will also mean that you would save on the cost of concrete and depending on the city service you might have to pump your sanitary and sewage out with a basement.

Also consider the cost of damp proofing, draintile and so on...