Cutting Costs

Cutting the Costs (and sometimes the quality)

Quantity vs. quality	Builders serious about the quality of the homes they build shy away from cheap alternatives. In the long run, they know that even if you insist on cheap, inexpensive windows, they reflect on the builder's reputation. For these builders, smaller, fewer, or going without is preferred to a cheap alternative. Don't be surprised if a few builders resists or flat-out reject cheap alternatives.
Reducing the house size	Scaling down the size of a home quickly reduces the overall cost of the house. From the foundation, all the way to the roof shingles, the cost goes down.
Complexity & type of house	The more complex the house, the higher the cost. Contemporary styles with open cathedral ceilings and special roof lines can double the overall cost to build a house with the same square footage. However, changing house styles later on can be prohibitively expensive.
Level of craftsmanship	An interesting paradox of home craftsmanship is that home buyers generally assume that most homes are built with the same level of quality. And the biggest area where this occurs is with the structural framing of a house. Unfortunately, the overall quality of homes varies as much as the quality of automobiles and any other products that you may purchase. Fortunately, well established builders, like the modular home manufacturers depend on their reputations for high quality. For a new home, the level of craftsmanship needs to be assessed not only for three basic areas. These include the internal living area, the external weatherproofing and trim, and the hidden structural and support systems. The exposed interior and exterior work can easily be inspected, but the hidden areas require more diligence.
The quality  of materials used	A common way to reduce the overall cost of a house is to use lower grade materials. Price differentials between high and low quality material costs vary widely. Using low grade materials, builders can lower the price of a house thousands of dollars. For some people, especially those who intend only to live a house a few years, this low quality approach is more than adequate. But in the long run, the lower quality materials add considerably to the long term maintenance and upkeep of a house. In building a new home, virtually every component has a variety of high and low quality products available. As we go through the following listing of architectural upgrades, we also note the lower grade options.
Lower quality windows	With the high cost of windows, they are especially prone to substitution. Unfortunately, all too often the new home owner is forced to install ugly storm windows to compensate for the inadequate windows. New construction windows should have at a minimum an R value of 4.  The difference between a high quality window and a low quality one ranges anywhere from $50 to $150 or more. When an average size house has around 15-20 windows, the savings from inexpensive windows can exceed $3,000. But heat loss, and the eventual cost of storm windows can far exceed your savings.
Lower Quality Doors	Doors represent a popular avenue for cost cutting. Interior doors offer an especially appealing opportunity to lower the cost and quality of a new home. High quality interior doors can cost as much as $50-$150 more than the least expensive interior door. An average size home with three bedrooms has around 15-20 interior doors (closets, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.).  The use of lower cost interior doors can save upwards of $3,000 for a typical house. With an average of three exterior doors, the substitution of lower quality exterior doors represents a savings of around $300.
Lower quality siding	The selection of siding has both a functional and an aesthetic perspective. Many people insist on real wood siding, despite that fact that in the long term, they will be perpetually painting, scraping, and staining their new house. If money is no problem, then the every five year $5,000 bill to re-stain your house is not an issue. The problem with wood siding is that do you really want to spend an average of a $1,000 annually to maintain the siding on your home? Years ago, vinyl and aluminum siding offered little in terms of style, but today the better grades of vinyl and aluminum siding offer both an inexpensive, practical and good looking alternative. An interesting trend is that many of the really smart money people are selecting upscale vinyl siding for its combination of good looks, low cost and long term weather protection. Cement fiberboard is another option to consider. While not common in the states, I have heard that it is used widely in the Caribbean Islands. It is difficult to install properly, but holds up well to high winds and storms.
Less expensive bathroom fixtures	Fixtures and cabinets represent a costly expense for new homes. Installing inexpensive fixtures lowers the cost of a new bathroom. One piece showers and tubs have replaced hand placed tile. Inexpensive countertops dominate most new homes. The most typical bathroom counter top used  consists of poured plastic-molded sinks. The molded plastic usually has an artificial marble look and feel. Inexpensive cabinets and lower grade faucets further lower the cost. Most modular home manufacturers use high quality bathroom fixtures, cabinets and faucets. To keep costs down, virtually every manufacturer uses the fiberglass or compound showers and tubs. Working with your general contractor, you can go with a tiled bathroom and shower/tub for an additional cost.
Plan for a future bathroom	Rather than use lower grade bathroom fixtures you might consider building a "planned future" bathroom. As you work with the general contractor laying out your ideal floor plan, you include all the necessary bathrooms. But when it comes time to build, all the rough plumbing is installed, but none of the fixtures are installed. Use it as a closet, and in a few years when you are ready, have the bathroom finished off. Initially, the shortage of bathrooms is cumbersome, but in the long term your home has high quality fixtures rather than several bathroom all with leaky faucets and broken toilets.
Less expensive kitchen cabinets, or fewer well-built cabinets	The major expense in kitchens comes from the high cost of quality cabinets. And once the selection is made, a few years down the road the cost to upgrade to a better cabinets can be quite costly. Most modular home manufacturers use a good quality cabinet. Several manufacturers do however, give you a choice of style and quality. If cost is a consideration and you intend on keeping the home one way to lower your initial cost is to install fewer cabinets than you have planned to for. Over time you can simple install the new cabinets. The first few years may be cramped, but in the long run, you end up with a kitchen with well built cabinets. Many people go with lots of inexpensive cabinets, and in five years it shows.