In a better place today
Posted on | March 8, 2009 |
My wife and I have been spending a ton of time over the last few days lamenting where we went wrong with this project and what we should do from here. Our conversations (ok, occasionally fights) have ranged from “let’s just sell it and get the hell out”, to “let’s look at alternatives, or maybe even build another Ramar house on the lot” (shudder).
Where we’ve ended up is somewhere in the middle. We had a pretty good call with Monica (our architect/designer) the other night. We settled on what we both believe is a fair kill fee, and we’ve left the option open to come back to this should we find a way to pull it off. This was a big relief for us, as Monica and her husband Greg are very good friends of ours and we don’t want to lose that friendship with the house project. Thankfully, Monica is a wonderful, yet pragmatic person. There’s no question that this wasn’t cheap, but as she said in our call, it’s certainly not for naught. We learned quite a bit in the process and as I like to say to my clients, it’s good to be usefully wrong.
So, where does that leave us? There’s no question in our minds that a traditional house is out of the question. This rules out all of the local builders like Ramar, Sawler or Scotian Homes. We simply don’t feel ‘at home’ in a saltbox or traditional split entry or two story. I know this probably sounds arrogant, but there’s a sense of relaxation I have when I enter an architecturally designed/modernist home that I just don’t feel in our house. I like it here, but I don’t love it.
We talked about taking the budget we have (about $300,000) and perhaps buying a house on the main Halifax peninsula. Seemed like a good idea, until we searched MLS. To me, this sounds like a lot of money, but it’s just not. Even $350,000 in the west, central or south end gets you a 70 year old house, in need of major repairs with small rooms and next to no driveway. I’ve lived in an old house before and have the scars to prove it. We have done the reno thing and although it’s pretty rewarding, I just don’t have that kind of time or the additional budget. Plus, even though we’d be in the city we’d probably still need to keep a second car which isn’t optimal.
When we first started this project, my mother-in-law said “Why don’t you consider Lindal or Interhabs?” Lindal builds beautiful cedar homes and Interhabs has a collection of amazing modern kit homes built right here in Nova Scotia. We hadn’t considered this because we were pretty set on a specific path (if you know me, you’ll understand). Secondly, there’s a stigma attached to a ‘kit home’, but the more we explore it, the more we like the idea. Kit homes have come a long way and there’s some pretty amazing detailing in each of these houses.
Interhabs Whistler
Yesterday, I swung by the Interhabs office in Bedford and just happened to catch Richard Tolson who was stopping in to check his email. He gave me some brochures on their houses and there are a few that we just love. I also really dug Richard’s style and attitude and understanding of the business. We’re planning to setup a meeting with Interhabs asap. The houses we’re looking at are the Whistler, the High Tech 2003, the Eurohab 4 and the Corner Brook Cape. They’re not quite as modern as what we had designed, but we’ve always liked them and the great thing about these houses is that your pricing is much more predictable. The cost of most of the these kits is about $100,000 and according to the people we spoke with at Interhabs, by the time all is said and done they come in at about 2.5 times that. Not bad at all, and very cool.
Turkel Design Lindal House
Last night we attended the Home Show at the Halifax Forum. Compared to last fall, we had a much more open mind as we no longer have a singular vision of how this project should end. We browsed the aisles, looking for cool builders and eco-friendly technologies. We looked at solar panels and other eco-heating/energy options but ultimately ended up at the Lindal Homes booth. My wife Sam grew up in a Lindal cedar home, and we’ve both always admired it. It’s really amazing and very different from your average house. We spoke with the dealer/builder for about a half hour and arranged for a site visit this week. We also reviewed some of their plans and talked about budget. They are generally quite willing to work within a specific budget, which is pretty cool. We also discovered a new line of Lindal homes, designed by Turkel Design in the US. These are modern, architect-designed kit homes and they are flat out amazing. Exactly what we were looking for. They are also looking for people in Nova Scotia to become early adopters of these houses, which is exactly where we want to be.
We also met the folks at Legallet Foundations, someone a client of mine has used on his new house. These air-tight energy-efficient slab systems are amazing. For about $27,500, you can have a slab system in our size range with active evacuated-tube solar heating and hot water. Incredible!
Anyway, all this to say that we’re still in the game, and we’re excited again about where this can go. Before we headed to the home show last night, we swung by the property and walked through knee-deep patches of snow to see what we still thought. After 20 minutes on-site, one thing became clear: we’re not ready to give up just yet!
Comments
6 Responses to “In a better place today”
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March 8th, 2009 @ 4:37 pm
Jeff, My parents live in an Interhab. They built it about 25 years ago, and have generally been happy with the construction of the house. I think the biggest problem they have had has been with windows, theirs were wooden lockwood windows, and in our climate they tend to swell and shrink with the seasons a bit too much, and the frames seemed to rot a bit prematurely. The house is definately an older model, I do believe it is called the “Eco Hab”.
March 8th, 2009 @ 4:41 pm
Thanks Brian. They have definitely updated the windows, but I will ask about the early rot issues.
March 11th, 2009 @ 11:30 am
Royal Homes from Ontario have an interesting line of homes they call their Q series. http://www.royalhomes.com/brochure.php
March 11th, 2009 @ 11:40 am
Very cool. I will check this out.
March 18th, 2009 @ 9:06 pm
Hello Mr White
I am the builder who did not become involved in the bidding process. From our initial conversation I could see many details yet to be nailed down.In this kind of project I would advise you to confirm with Mr Watts that you
have chosen him as your builder and together
you can finalize design and details.
He has a good reputation and from what I read
here he has shown interest in working with you.
The bidding process, done properly, does take a lot of time,and not just the contractors but all the sub-trades and suppliers. If you find a good builder whom you trust ,hire him.
This type of arrangement has worked well for
me in the past.
Wish you the best, take care
BK Sarty
March 18th, 2009 @ 9:27 pm
Thank you Bruce, I appreciate your comment. You’re right, Andrew and his crew are a fantastic company and build excellent homes. Unfortunately, their quote is well outside of our means (as are all of the quotes we have received). I’m not really one to proceed down a path that will put my family into debt that we cannot manage, so at this point, the project is on hold.