We finally had the landscape crew back to get the irrigation system operating. Underground sprinklers is definitely a great feature for the new owners to enjoy the convenience of a lawn that waters itself.
Trade craftsmanship and material quality in Calgary - a complex topic
Often the 'old times' are referenced when it comes to construction and how good it 'used to be'. I don't actually know much about building before the late 90's, however I have torn down a bunch of houses and they were, without exception, awful. True, they had better lumber back then, but mostly the homes I have destroyed were about 60 years old and just nasty, defective, smelly relics.
The building code is far more stringent and the materials vastly superior today. For example, wiring, furnaces, appliances, cabinetry and countless other products are designed with technology and materials unheard of in the post war period. We now feature LED lighting as a standard in our pot lights, this was cost prohibitive just a few years ago.
While materials are far better, what about craftsmanship? Today's fast pace and the pressure to get stuff done can frequently interfere with getting the material installed with the care and attention the client deserves. For the most part we have been able to hire good crews and we are impressed with the technical work that is done. A good example is the electrical panel we had recently completed, neat, safe, extremely reliable. Not likely possible 50 years ago!
The 30 day basement challenge - what did it cost?
Often we get inquiries about how much a project should cost. Estimates vary widely, and without comprehensive specifications we have difficulty ourselves coming up with a number. What we do know, is what it cost to finish our own projects. You could say we have a pretty tight control over what our spec homes cost, because if we do not, we risk losing significant sums of our investment.
Recently we completed a basement in 30 days. It was a considerably effort to do so on that timeline, and it required our sole focus to manage effectively.
We are going to publish a rough itemization of the cost to have the work done below. While this is somewhat proprietary, we do not have a problem sharing the information if it helps others with managing the budget on their own project. There are also various ways to account for the total cost of the job. We are just going to list the bills received to get the job done, and not go into project management fees, financing fees, overhead and other soft costs.
framing
750
lumber
350
plumbing rough in to final install labour
700
tile material only
715
electrical
1050
tile labour
645
lights
300
quartz countertop material and labour
600
cabinetry supply and install
850
drywall to paint all inclusive
6600
carpet supply install
1825
cleaning and dump fees
250
plumbing finish supplies
675
finishing all in (doors, trim, materials)
1600
mirror and shower door
480
central vacuum tie in
200
total
17590
So, now we know the raw cost of the material and labour to do the job. We can convert that back to a square footage price ($29.31) and that can be a guideline for those attempting to manage the job themselves. This is where we get to the fine print. This price would be for a homeowner who (a) has an understanding of market price for labour and gets reasonable deals from the trades, and (b) has the time and energy to manage the effort of 20 + suppliers and workers, and the knowledge to make sure the work is done properly. I would estimate that any full time employed person would not have the ability to do this (while working themselves), nor the experience to manage quality control of the workmanship.
Other costs that would be factored in are city permits/inspections, cost to finance, and project management. For a business to do this for a client, the cost would have been considerable because many hours of management were required.
Searching for new land in inner city Calgary
We are currently in the process of acquiring land for our next project, or projects possibly. The Calgary market is in a strange state of flux. Finished homes, particularly the newly built stuff in the higher end has come down in price considerably. We have seen some pretty serious and painful price reductions in the market segments above where we position ourselves.
What is not available, unfortunately, is land. Property to develop multi family townhouse project is in short supply, despite the apparent real estate and economic bust. Two factors are at play here, first, the builders that own much of the land base are refusing to sell into current market pricing, and secondly, the city acts to constrain supply by making sure rezoning application are costly and slow.
Given the lack of supply, prices are now too high given the end value of the product. We are seeking out private deals and off market property to attempt to get a decent project. We are actually in a strange position of having the funds to close on a property, but unable to find an suitable seller.
What we will not be compromising on is quality and location. We can thrive in the down market, but we need a great location to build in. Stay tuned to this blog as we will be updating it as soon as we buy land. We will update our project on every step from design through construction, as we have for our last two projects.
This house was a real disaster when we purchased it. Right now we are dreaming of another just like it...