Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
This is sort of tangential, but a question about a large coach house. I have a remote spot in BC that's pretty big (multiple acres) but owing to zoning can only have a single dwelling house on it, which it already has. But apparently, I'm also about to be allowed to build a second, guest-house-cabin sort of thing on the property, provided it doesn't exceed 1200 square feet. I want to do that relatively cheaply (without financing it), so I was looking at modular builders like this:
http://www.knottypinecabins.ca/
It's basically a home kit. Anyone have any experience with these sorts of builds? Some lessons learned would be nice from anyone who's gone through with something like that. |
Prefab or modular stuff usually isn't any cheaper than traditional construction and is often more expensive. That said, if it's a really remote site and the labor costs of traditional construction would extremely high, or if it's a situation where prefab means you can assemble it yourself vs. paying a contractor to build, then you might save a bit.
But with these kinds of things you're really only saving labor on the framing and probably a little on the siding and roofing. You'd still need someone to do excavation, some sort of foundation, assemble the structure, install doors and windows, do electrical and plumbing, install HVAC, install the roof, do the finish carpentry and cabinetry, etc. That's still a lot of trades. It's not like full prefab, where they basically deliver a finished structure and you only need about a week or two of work to finish it off.
So really, you'd need to compare the cost of the package (looks like $80-100 per square foot once you add in doors, windows, and insulation etc.) to a similarly finished traditional structure. Material wise it's not even close. A framing, roofing, siding, door/window, insulation, and drywall package for a house is usually in the $25-35 a square foot range. So the question is will the labor savings make up for that.