Tag Archive for ‘Cost’
Can You Choose a Contractor on Cost? Does Hard Bid Work?
Hard bid pricing is a standard in the building industry that after several years in decline appears to be making a come back. In a hard bid situation, multiple contractors take the same set of plans and specifications and at the end of the bid period provide a cost for the project. The bid can [...]
Parking Garage Construction Cost – Structured Parking
With tighter urban site designs we frequently discuss the option for structured parking. Its an attractive option for creating a walkable urban environment and it also makes great economic sense when land becomes expensive. The first question is always, “What does a parking garage cost”. The answer is…depends. Parking garages are often budgeted on a [...]
Wood Post Bearing in Historic Denver Homes
This week marks the third time in as many weeks that I have been asked to observe the foundation in a historic Denver home and found that the wood main floor framing is supported by wood posts that bear directly on soil floor of the crawlspace or basement. A photo of such an occurrence is [...]
2010 Lumber Costs Soaring in First Quarter
I just received this data regarding current market data for lumber and OSB for the first quarter of 2010. The graphs pretty much speak for themselves. As you can see, the days of the lower cost building materials appear to be largely behind us, with the trend continuing to rise well above the 5 year [...]
Construction Cost per Square Foot of Community Centers in Major US Cities
In a continued effort to offer timely information on construction cost for a variety of building types (see also cost of commercial construction per square foot and Cost Per Square Foot of Educational Facilities), I did some research on another project type that we frequently design: Community Centers. This is a unique project type that is often realized by local [...]
Cost of Masonry Cement Regionally by Quarter
We are regularly updated on various construction costs by RSMeans, the leading resource for construction cost estimating in North America. This week’s cost data is on Masonry Cement (ASTM C91) by the bag. Cement is the binder in concrete, and therefore, a primary ingredient in concrete, mixed in various proportions to sand, aggregate, other chemical admixtures, depending on [...]
Is it More Cost Effective to Build Up or Build Out?
I received a question from a reader of EVstudio.info. He asked: “Does it cost more to build two stories vs one story?” The answer is that it really isn’t that simple. A two story house should cost less for these simple reasons: Land Cost. If land is fairly expensive then going up will allow you [...]
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Home?
We get this question a lot. People who are planning their dream homes often don’t know where to start. A large part of our discussion in our programming meetings centers around how much home you can afford and if your program is in alignment with what you are expecting to pay for it. First of [...]
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