Building a house takes many things– tools, patience, several cases of beer, and most importantly, a plan. In the last couple of years I’ve worked with a number of tradesmen and contractors, and even though I only threatened to bury one of them in the backyard once, I still recommend that anyone undertaking a project like this has an understanding of what it really…
Yes. We take care of everything it takes to build your custom home – tractor work, septic, well, driveway, permits, construction – you’ll see all the details in the package we prepare, with your very detailed estimate. Can I use my lot as a down payment? The new construction lenders we work with offer a variety of programs. We’ll be happy to provide their contact…
What affordable options are out there in the Kenyan market? The model that a prospective home owner chooses – from a detached house to a high-rise apartment – depends on a number of factors, which include but are not limited to taste, preferences and available funds. However, each of the housing models has special requirements in terms of special planning and implications…
If you build a concrete house (which has less maintenance than a wooden house), depending on where you are, you would pay US $75 to $85 per square foot. The most significant difference in price has to do with what is in the foundation and also where the house is located. For example, building a house in Placencia is far more expensive than building a house in Consejo…
If it takes a village to raise a child, what’s it take to raise a house? With earthbags, it actually doesn’t take as much effort as you might think (though having a village would certainly help). Earthbag construction is a method of building in which tubular bags (usually made of polypropene or canvas) are filled with clay or sand and then stacked in concentric circles…
A couple of years ago, we made a decision to build a home by hand. The primary reason is the savings from doing the labor ourselves. We ended up building a tiny cabin that we’re putting the finishing touches on this summer. It was a pay-as-we-go project, no construction loan, and absolutely nothing charged on credit cards or store credit. The total cost for materials…
LaMar Alexander had the perfect life before things came crashing down around him and he had to find a new way of living. Sometimes it’s the things that life throws at us that make us into who we are actually meant to become. Such is certainly the case for LaMar. Read his story down below of how he went from a normal life to homelessness, then to off-grid self sustainable…
Apartments and apart-hotels have appeared on the real estate market recently, but have already become popular investment objects. The main difference between this type of housing: from a legal point of view, it refers to non-residential real estate.A square meter in apartments, as a rule, costs 20-25% less than in apartments of a similar area. According to the documents…
Many styles of homes can be built from kits: domes, timber-frame homes, log homes and panelized houses. This house was made from a steel frame kit. JOHN HOUSE/KODIAK STEEL HOMES There’s one sector of the homebuilding market that seems to be weathering the recent economic storm better than the rest of its industry — kit homes. Kit homes are houses built from packages…
Whenever the problem of providing low-cost houses for the Indian urban dwellers is discussed, it generally arouses feelings of dismay and pessimism. For when the requirement is presented in concrete figures, its cost seems impossibly high compared to the spending capacity of the people and the government. This staggering disparity between the means and ends is one…
Credit: Adobe Stock Research by Iman Khajehzadeh, who graduates with a PhD in Architecture next week, explores the significance of housing decisions on the use of resources and impact on the environment. The average floor area of New Zealand houses almost doubled from 1974 to 2011. Over the same period, occupancy rate decreased—meaning fewer people are living in…
Custom building is all about the details. You literally need to think about every aspect of functionality for your style of living. For our custom build, now that the roof is done, we have the electrician starting to mount and cut outlet boxes, install recessed lighting cans, and run the hard wires to where the electrical panel is located, and to all devices. I thought…
The simple life is slower and you have to get used to things taking more time, but when you do, it s bliss. In the morning I make tea, usually ginger. Then depending on the season I make juice from the oranges, pears, pomegranates or grapefruits that grow nearby. I feed the wild kittens. They keep other creatures away, they re very useful and so cute. I try to do…
If you think that you cannot cope with self-installation or repair of electrical wiring, it is better to call an electrician . First, the specialist will do everything safely. Secondly, an experienced electrician will be able to offer you a more suitable wiring option, which will save money on the purchase of materials. Thirdly, at the end of the work, the wiring…
