Buildingva

Choosing your log home building site can be a lot of fun but is extremely important in many ways. This is where you will spend a lot of quality time enjoying the comfort of the Log Home lifestyle you dreamed of. You will want to avoid unnecessary added costs that a poor choice in building sites can add to your bottom line. Many will look for a lot or acreage and then walk their potential future home until they find a spot that “just feels right”. OK… Many of us have made that soul connection with our “little piece of heaven” as well. But… you may have not considered some very important factors in avoiding extra costs. Big Costs!

Even if you plan to live there forever… You will want to choose the best building site for your Log Home or cabin for many reasons. The old saying: location…location…location, is very relevant in any real estate market. So carefully learning everything you can about the general area, what it’s long term economic development plan is, what zoning changes may effect your property values, and what the expected increase in home equity values will be in coming years, are just a few of the most important factors when choosing the right building site for your new custom log home or cabin. You will also want to consider excavation costs, drainage, driveway access, Electric power supply, and energy effiency as well. It is widely accepted that a southwest exposure to the side of your home with the most windows is best. This may not always be possible but it will result in added savings each year in heating and cooling costs. The difference in costs savings can range from 350.00 to 1500.00 per year.

If you plan to build on a basement you will want to carefully consider good drainage, water tables, septic requirements, restrictions, Trends, etc. If you are considering a “walk-out” Basement site, you will need to consider installing an 18″- 24″ wide drainage buffer or “French Drain” to insure that any water will have a way to be carried away from your basement walls. Your realtor should provide this information to you upon request. DO NOT attempt to pour a basement in a hole with (4) sides (or a subterranean basement). It has been the experience of most homeowners that this will likely cause flooding problems with this scenario. Stick with a (3) sided walkout basement with the drainage design above and you will avoid most of these problems.

Spending a bit more to purchase land that has a building site that will require less “dirt work” and has less challenges with drainage issues, erosion, and Septic, will save you potentially thousands in the long run.

What are your pre-development costs?

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When you are considering green home building or renovating and remodelling it can sometimes be difficult to know just where to begin. A good place to start, is to do a bit of a brainstorming exercise. This will help you get a lot clearer on what it is you actually want to build, the kinds of things that are important to you and the other people you will be building and living with and help you get some inspiration along the way.

Here are a few of the important things you might like to consider to get you one step closer to your dream of building green with straw.

Get Clear on the WHY of Green Home Building.

This is an interesting exercise to go through. List all the reasons that green home building is something you think is important and worth considering. The reasons will be different for everyone but some common reasons are: concern for your health and wellbeing, the natural feel of such buildings and lower energy bills as a result of good design.

What Do You REALLY Need?

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Building a house nowadays, is a decision which entails heavy costs, problems relating to finance and construction, delays in delivery and quality problems, titles, delays on building permits etc. Building a house is an investment decision, which should be studied carefully, as most families built a house once in their lifetime and the final decision in most cases can be irreversible. Below are some general guidelines, which could help the owner to assess the cost of building a house, since small items, which could build up the cost of the house, are usually ignored.

Cost of building plot

Prior to the commencement of construction of your own home, at least the plot should be, or nearly be paid. This will certainly give you an advantage with the financing of the building cost for the house and it is a prerequisite for all financiers. For the transfer of ownership of the plot a Governmental transfer fee of 7%-8% (on average) is required on the market value (not necessarily what you paid for) of the plot.

Cost of the Mortgage & Finance

To register a mortgage, a fee will be paid to the Land Registry Office of about 1% on the Mortgage amount. Normally the mortgage amount is the actual loan %2B 20% on top. You will have to pay the stamp duties and other Bank expenses, which could take the form of once and for all Bank charge (say, on average CYP1000). If you borrow from a bank there is an additional charge of approximately 1.5%-2.0% p.a. on top of the legal base rate of 4.5%. There are now many alternative housing schemes including Life Insurance finance, Co-Op financing etc which extend for 25-40 years and own contribution approximately 20% (usually through term life insurance).

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Now more than ever, there are more people building their own dream home all around the country! You can drive through inner city America in most cities and experience the rapid redevelopment of the inner city with dense townhome construction and McMansions. (McMansions are semi-custom homes from 3,500 to 5,000 sq. ft)

Likewise you can take an evening drive to the outskirts of town and see more McMansions and estate homes being built on acreage and waterfront home sites. Many of these homes are being built by families fed up with the low quality inefficient tract homes and are opting for a more custom and personal approach to the homebuilding process.

Most people consider the merits and even dream of building their own home but never really grasp the true financial benefits and the reality of being able to design and build their Dream Home! The allure of being able to build the home of your dreams with your favorite amenities is quite a temptation to resist however most get equally (if not more) excited by the tremendous savings that can be realized!

Building your Dream Home for less has nothing to do with cutting corners or building a home that lacks quality and first class workmanship. In fact, you will find that most Owner Built homes are superior in quality and design to many tract homes and overall provide a better quality of life for their owners.

There are several pieces to the custom dream home puzzle however, I have found that there are (3) primary strategies to employ to help you build your Dream Home for less!

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Steel buildings are a new trend in the construction industry. Different parts of these buildings are manufactured in a factory. Steel is the raw material used to make the skeleton of the building. Advantages of steel buildings are low building cost, durability and less time consumption. Steel building prices depend on the price of steel at the given time. Horse riding field, residential and office buildings, barns, garages, aircraft hangers, warehouses and industrial buildings can be constructed out of steel.

Steel building prices range from $6 to $20 per sq ft for standard size buildings. This price may include building materials, transportation, foundation and construction, depending on the terms and conditions of contractors. You can calculate the estimated building price during the pre-planning of the project. Depending on the building area, the price varies to a great extent. Standard steel building prices do not include extra features that are very expensive and optional. Color roof sheeting prices range from $175 to $1300 according to the size of the building. To enrich roof and wall insulation, around $795 to $5000 are to be spent with respect to the area of the building.

Steel building prices to include gutters and downspouts range from $375 to $1000. An average of about $500 is needed to add a 3×7 walk door with framed opening, metal door, lock and other accessories. For overseas delivery shipping charges are also counted. Double pane glass for windows and insulated doors are expensive, but increases the security and beauty of the building. Steel building prices hike to $40 per sq ft for complex designing with exterior brick finishing. Labour costs for steel building construction are charged hourly. As the complexity increases, a simultaneous increase in the labour cost also occurs. General contractors include foundation costs in their proposals but brokers and manufacturers do not bear the expense. Normally $4 to $8 per sq ft is charged for a concrete foundation. The bidding of steel buildings helps customers to select the best at low rates.