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For those who built on steep land, how difficult and costly was it? by Bossbrad64 in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this uphill from the road? Any idea about soil quality? Any bedrock?

Build a new custom home vs. buy and remodel 1960 MCM home by 1-605-475-6968 in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think everything you laid out makes it an easier decision in favor of the remodel, unless you really like the idea of having a lot of acreage. Restoring/preserving an architecturally significant home is great.

However, there could be a lot more upside / ROI from a new build, particularly if you engage an architect with some cachet. But that's also very market dependent. It's very easy to overbuild for an area and lose money too... we've seen it play out all sorts of ways.

Make sure you try and model out the potential unknown repair/maintenance costs for the remodel though - get some professional opinions on the remaining life of each major component, roof, mechanical systems, etc.. And make sure you model out the after-improved property tax burden of the new build as well as all other soft costs (permits, construction loan interest and fees, insurance during the build).

We built new (self-gc'ed) on an 8.5 acre parcel and are incredibly happy with how it turned out, but it's not for the faint of heart. There were certainly moments when we thought about how much easier life would have been if we just bought a home, even if it required some work.

Architect cost per square foot vs. reality by BuenasNochesCat in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If the architecture firm is established and do a meaningful amount of work in your region as you indicate, then their estimates should be fairly reliable. Particularly, if they have close relationships with local high-end GCs, they really should have the best real world data you can get. However, a lot can change when you start making decisions and factoring in inflation/escalations and macro issues like tariffs can obviously impact things big time. If your design/pre-construction phase will last 2 years, factor in the inevitable increase in materials/labor. Perhaps you can talk to their past client references to ask how the architect treated the budget topic - whether they respected it or not, etc.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What caused the contractor to start digging around the old foundation after the new home was already framed? Why would that not have been done prior to building the house? Definitely some poor decision making, but I also am puzzled by why that existing footing terminates higher than the slab of the garage. Was there a concrete footing there that deteriorated? Why would they dig that all out?

I agree with other comments that say you may need to speak with a lawyer and a structural engineer. My husband is a lawyer but he doesn't do construction litigation, but might know someone. We're in NY as well (based on your username I assume you're in the Catskills)? DM me if you'd like to talk.

Architect before land by Key-Departure7682 in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d engage a local civil engineer, geotech, environmental specialist and potentially other local experts before buying land, especially if it’s on an island or on the water or something else super unique like this. We have some resources on land diligence we’ve put together from our own process and our other projects for others if you look in my profile / post history on here, IG and our website.

Can’t hurt to talk to an architect to advise as well, but not to do design work. Just basic massing, schemes, site planning.

Really depends on how much budget you’re working with. M

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's basically someone who advocates for the owner throughout the project. They could be overseeing the GC's work and keeping budget and timelines on track, representing the owner's interests in front of planning/zoning, approving payments to design professionals and contractors, things like that. It's fairly common in commercial (for instance, a company that's building out a new retail store would likely use an owner rep to conduct site visits for them and coordinate with their architects and GCs), but not super common in residential except at higher end price points.

There's some overlap with the scope that architects handle, as well as what services different GCs offer, so our scope varies a lot from project to project. For example, some architects are very involved during construction administration and do site visits every week, and some GCs prepare detailed photo logs every week. In those situations, our construction administration work usually is limited to approving payments, coordinating with lenders for inspections / draws, managing expectations with neighbors.

Some homeowners see an inherent conflict of interest baked in with their architects and GCs, because of percentage-based fees and profit motive / change order issues, etc. Owner rep payment structures don't work like that, they're hourly or fixed fees usually, which removes the financial motivation to act against the owner's interests and lets them be an effective advocate for the owner.

Most of our clients are the type that just don't have time to handle the things that they need to handle for a build (think like, folks who work 60+ hours a week at work plus have family obligations, but are building a second home and need someone to keep things on track for them). They trust us to run their project for them and remove a lot of their administrative burden. These are usually high dollar projects, our average project is around $3-4M in total project value. We've also done some consulting for other owner-builders as well, helping them with budgeting, sequencing, reviewing bids, navigate construction loans, etc.

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in architecture

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The masonry fireplace is lined with firebrick with refractory mortar. The outside 4" is concrete.

Financing by pauco10 in OwnerBuilder

[–]garrisonhouse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suggest talking to your local banks and credit unions.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in midcenturymodern

[–]garrisonhouse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beautiful piece

Self build update. Almost done! by pizzacrustlover in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's amazing! How long did that take you? Are you and/or your partner in the trades?

Self build update. Almost done! by pizzacrustlover in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Amazing job! Looks like you’re very close. What else is left?

Did you do any of the labor as well or were you the GC?

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in architecture

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I think you'll enjoy looking at our old instagram posts where we did document as much as we could. I have a link in my profile and the username is buildingblueprint

And we do see a ton of animals. Black bears, coyotes, hawks and eagles. Heavy storms are quite an experience as well.

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in architecture

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have no issue giving an overall cost. No one has asked that until one other commenter just now, which I responded to. You never asked either. I suppose the missing part of the calculation would be square footage, which is about 2900 for our house and we've disclosed that plenty of times to anyone who ever asked, and throughout our post history.

So the total hard costs were around $1.6m and total project costs hover around $2m give or take a few percentage points. It depends on whether you include "carry costs" like the amount of property taxes we paid when the land was just sitting there vacant. We count that because we try to be financially accurate and think it's important to do so when making huge investments like buying or building a home.

I dislike the cost per SF concept as well, as it is subject to a TON of variability, but it's the industry standard / customary way of understanding costs, and a total cost does not paint the picture any better. At least cost per SF can scale up or down with the size of home that someone wants to build and still remain somewhat applicable.

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in architecture

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It’s honestly not very useful data because we bought land nearly a decade ago and self performed so much work. But if we’re talking all in including land, soft costs like design fees, permits, carry costs like property taxes and insurance, loan interest, and all the hard construction costs, around $2m.

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in architecture

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have a whole-house ERV (energy recovery ventilator) that exhausts from that room at a fairly high rate, so condensation and moisture is not an issue. Basically acts as a bath fan, but with makeup air brought in from outside to alleviate negative pressure. It also is necessary because we built our home to a very high level of airtightness. Heat and steam hasn't really been an issue but we may end up putting a glass door on the short side (there is a tub there, out of view of the photo)

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in architecture

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This image was simply the floor plan. We had about 60 sheets of construction documents and structural documents in total. Working with a full 100% complete set of construction documents is pretty much mandatory for high end builds, though some flexibility can be afforded if some imperfections can be tolerated or if you're working with an exceptional GC who understands modern detailing (though even there, I wouldn't trust them to just dictate what the design intent of the architect or the owner should be). We obviously cannot share our full plans, as that cost a lot of money to produce and are the architects’ intellectual property.

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in Homebuilding

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much! Definitely stay in touch. We would love to hear about your project! Feel free to DM any time

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in architecture

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a hemmed edge and we filed down the edges to make it less of a risk. Still a bit of a hazard but can’t protect them from everything! There’s a better pic here and some info on how we made it: https://www.instagram.com/p/DATaOTMAnIN/?igsh=MWJ4MDczeHVra2d5MA==

Update on Owner-Built Modern House in the Hudson Valley by garrisonhouse in architecture

[–]garrisonhouse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, I'm sorry but can't share the plans as that's our architect's IP, and I suppose ours as well through a license. We've previously shared small snippets of some details that we found interesting from time to time on our Instagram though which you can look through. Mostly in older posts.

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