How To Choose A House Plan - Part 5 of 10
When you compare house plans one of the more important characteristics you'll consider is the area of the floor plan - the size of the plan - measured in square feet.
But I'll tell you a little secret about "square footage" - it's not measured the same on every house plan. That means that any two house plans that appear to be of equal area may not really be!
Does that make much difference when you're choosing a plan? You bet it does! A difference of a mere 10% on a 3,000 square foot plan might unexpectedly cost you tens of thousands of dollars!
Apples To Apples
Builders, Architects, Real Estate Professionals, Bankers, Auditors, and Appraisers often all count square footage differently, to better suite their particular needs. House plan services also vary in their area-calculation protocols; in order to compare floor plan areas accurately you've got to be sure that the areas are counted the same.
Generally, builders and Real Estate Professionals want to show that a house is as big as possible; allowing them to quote a lower "cost per square foot", and making the house appear more valuable.
Appraisers and County Auditors usually just measure the perimeter of the house - a typically very rough way to calculate area - and call it a day, while Architects break the size down into components; first floor, second floor, porches, finished lower level, etc.
To arrive at an "apples-to-apples" comparison of house areas you've got to know what's included in the totals. Does the area include only heated and cooled spaces? Does it include everything "under roof" (I've seen garages figured into some plan areas!) or only "living space"?
Upstairs and Downstairs, Inside And Out
But even when you've discovered exactly what spaces are included in the area calculation you'll need to know how volume is counted, and whether the total is net square footage or gross.
Gross area is the total of everything within the outer edge of the perimeter of the house; net area is that same total - less the thicknesses of walls. In other words, net square footage is the part of the floor that you can walk on - gross includes the parts you can't.
The difference between the two can be as much as ten percent - depending on the type of floor plan design. A "traditional" plan (with more distinct rooms and therefore more walls) might have ten percent net-to-gross ratio, while a contemporary plan may have only six or seven percent.
Likewise, larger homes tend to have more walls - because larger homes generally have more rooms, rather than simply larger rooms.
You'll probably never see the volume of a house plan listed on a plan site, but the number representing the area of a floor plan often depends on how the volume is counted. Typically, the "upper area" of two-story rooms (foyers, family rooms) isn't counted as part of the floor plan. Likewise, stairs are only counted once. But not always - check how volume is counted to be sure you know how big the plan really is.
Plan services that design their own plans will have a consistent policy on area (and volume), but services that sell plans on consignment probably don't.
How does the designer or plan service you're buying from calculate the size of the plan? Sometimes that information is found on the service's website or book, and sometimes you have to call them to find out. But you should most definitely find out - it can make a very big difference in the cost of the house you ultimately build!
Richard L. Taylor, AIA is a published author and recognized expert in Residential Architecture. He is President of Richard Taylor Architects, a 5-person firm in Historic Dublin, Ohio. Residential Architect Luxury Home Plans
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Taylor,_AIA
Saturday, July 7, 2007
How To Choose A House Plan - Part 6 of 10
Lots of house plan websites and plan books offer to prepare a "materials list" for you - and for about thirty bucks some will even calculate a "cost to build" the house plan you've chosen.
But where does that cost information come from, and how useful is it? Can you rely on Internet material lists or cost estimating for your house project?
Local Cost Estimating
A homebuilder spends days, sometimes weeks, putting together a cost estimate for a new home project. The estimate has to be accurate because the builder may be competing against other bidders for the project, and because he's going to offer the homeowner a contract to build the house based on it.
His business depends on it.
Miss the cost by a few percentage points and he doesn't get the job - or worse, he gets it, but has lost money before he starts.
A homebuilder knows that every project is different; that the cost to build on one building site can vary greatly from another; and that prices for material and labor fluctuate almost daily.
And so the homebuilder does take-offs from the plans - a take-off is a calculation of the materials needed to build the house - and gives the take-offs to many vendors and subcontractors for prices. It's not unusual for a builder to send out fifteen or twenty sets of plans for pricing (as I'm writing this, I'm remembering sending out twenty-two sets to a builder just this morning).
He also estimates miscellaneous labor and material costs; permits; interest carrying costs; insurances; lot clearing; temporary electric service; portable toilet rental; overhead and profit; and a thousand other items necessary to successfully complete a construction project. A good line item take-off can use up five or more sheets of single-spaced legal paper.
But you don't need a detailed "take-off" at this point, do you? Don't you just want a ballpark idea of what the house will cost to build?
National Cost Averages
The problem is that building construction costs are just too sensitive to the idiosyncrasies of each building site, each builder, and each homeowner to get "ballpark" estimates from any place but building professionals who are familiar with your area.
What good is a "ballpark" estimate if your ballpark is Candlestick Park and theirs is Yankee Stadium? (You do remember Candlestick Park, don't you?)
There are a couple of national organizations that collect and distribute building cost data in books and on the Internet. They collect the information from building permits, from home sales reports, and from the United States Census (and a few other sources).
But even when comparing houses in a fairly narrow range of size and cost, the specifics of each house make average costs useless. Two identical homes can vary in cost by tens of thousands of dollars due just to the choices of finishes, fixtures, and appliances.
National cost averages are a reasonable way of comparing production-built home designs (a standard plan from a national builder) between regions, but area a poor and potentially misleading tool for guessing at the cost of an Internet house plan.
Back On Track
Fortunately there's a way to get a reliable cost estimate on the plan you like. Buy the "study plan" of one or two designs you like. Prepare as complete a specification list as you can for the house (more about this in the next chapter, "Construction Costs") and submit both to several reputable local builders for preliminary cost estimates.
The prices you get back (be sure to discuss them thoroughly with the builders) will be far more useful than anything you buy online. And in the long run you'll save money and time.
Out Of The Ballpark
A reasonably accurate ballpark estimate is a very useful tool in helping you decide whether you can afford to build a particular house plan.
But a poor initial estimate can cause you to pass up a plan you really can afford, or worse, get you far down the road with a project that's ultimately way outside your budget.
If you take the time to learn about what local costs are for houses like yours, with a level of finish like yours, using the same type of builder you'll use and in the area you want to build, you've got a very good chance of getting an ballpark estimate that's accurate enough to make meaningful decisions on.
But don't rely on a $30 internet "cost to build" - it can lead you right out of the ballpark.
Richard L. Taylor, AIA is a published author and recognized expert in Residential Architecture. He is President of Richard Taylor Architects, a 5-person firm in Historic Dublin, Ohio.
Residential Architect Luxury Home Plans
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Taylor,_AIA
Lots of house plan websites and plan books offer to prepare a "materials list" for you - and for about thirty bucks some will even calculate a "cost to build" the house plan you've chosen.
But where does that cost information come from, and how useful is it? Can you rely on Internet material lists or cost estimating for your house project?
Local Cost Estimating
A homebuilder spends days, sometimes weeks, putting together a cost estimate for a new home project. The estimate has to be accurate because the builder may be competing against other bidders for the project, and because he's going to offer the homeowner a contract to build the house based on it.
His business depends on it.
Miss the cost by a few percentage points and he doesn't get the job - or worse, he gets it, but has lost money before he starts.
A homebuilder knows that every project is different; that the cost to build on one building site can vary greatly from another; and that prices for material and labor fluctuate almost daily.
And so the homebuilder does take-offs from the plans - a take-off is a calculation of the materials needed to build the house - and gives the take-offs to many vendors and subcontractors for prices. It's not unusual for a builder to send out fifteen or twenty sets of plans for pricing (as I'm writing this, I'm remembering sending out twenty-two sets to a builder just this morning).
He also estimates miscellaneous labor and material costs; permits; interest carrying costs; insurances; lot clearing; temporary electric service; portable toilet rental; overhead and profit; and a thousand other items necessary to successfully complete a construction project. A good line item take-off can use up five or more sheets of single-spaced legal paper.
But you don't need a detailed "take-off" at this point, do you? Don't you just want a ballpark idea of what the house will cost to build?
National Cost Averages
The problem is that building construction costs are just too sensitive to the idiosyncrasies of each building site, each builder, and each homeowner to get "ballpark" estimates from any place but building professionals who are familiar with your area.
What good is a "ballpark" estimate if your ballpark is Candlestick Park and theirs is Yankee Stadium? (You do remember Candlestick Park, don't you?)
There are a couple of national organizations that collect and distribute building cost data in books and on the Internet. They collect the information from building permits, from home sales reports, and from the United States Census (and a few other sources).
But even when comparing houses in a fairly narrow range of size and cost, the specifics of each house make average costs useless. Two identical homes can vary in cost by tens of thousands of dollars due just to the choices of finishes, fixtures, and appliances.
National cost averages are a reasonable way of comparing production-built home designs (a standard plan from a national builder) between regions, but area a poor and potentially misleading tool for guessing at the cost of an Internet house plan.
Back On Track
Fortunately there's a way to get a reliable cost estimate on the plan you like. Buy the "study plan" of one or two designs you like. Prepare as complete a specification list as you can for the house (more about this in the next chapter, "Construction Costs") and submit both to several reputable local builders for preliminary cost estimates.
The prices you get back (be sure to discuss them thoroughly with the builders) will be far more useful than anything you buy online. And in the long run you'll save money and time.
Out Of The Ballpark
A reasonably accurate ballpark estimate is a very useful tool in helping you decide whether you can afford to build a particular house plan.
But a poor initial estimate can cause you to pass up a plan you really can afford, or worse, get you far down the road with a project that's ultimately way outside your budget.
If you take the time to learn about what local costs are for houses like yours, with a level of finish like yours, using the same type of builder you'll use and in the area you want to build, you've got a very good chance of getting an ballpark estimate that's accurate enough to make meaningful decisions on.
But don't rely on a $30 internet "cost to build" - it can lead you right out of the ballpark.
Richard L. Taylor, AIA is a published author and recognized expert in Residential Architecture. He is President of Richard Taylor Architects, a 5-person firm in Historic Dublin, Ohio.
Residential Architect Luxury Home Plans
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Taylor,_AIA
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)