Comments on: 100K House Budget Review – Our Biggest Meeting to Date

By: vinyl windows fort worth

vinyl windows fort worth — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:09:51 +0000

It is also necessary windows material and glasses should be according to budget.Thanks for sharing prices and other information.

By: Kris

Kris — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:40:54 +0000

Just wanted to add a clarification. PVC is polyvinyl chloride and it is a different material than the cross-linked polyethylene from which PEX tubing is made. Also switching from PVC to ABS for plumbing drain pipes is an easy way to “green” a project.

By: 100K Budget Update - Time to Make Final Cuts | 100khouse.com

100K Budget Update - Time to Make Final Cuts | 100khouse.com — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:29:22 +0000

[...] construction budget and make our final cuts to try and reach our $100,000 target. Our last major post on the budget was all the way back in February. Scott at Build It Green Philly (aka Level 5 Construction) sent [...]

By: tracy

tracy — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:25:37 +0000

I may be missing an updated budget post by commenting on this older one, sorry if so. Given resale and owner environment, I just wanted to caution on removing things like 2nd bathrooms/half baths and patio/deck on second floor. And I also think that the fundamental 100K foundation needs to be modular enough so that over time, the owner could go further…make the roof green, add other green features. And so given budget is certainly a honorable constraint with this project, I’m wondering if you’ve done research into salvageable materials…whether that’s used energy star appliances or re-purposed industrial materials. Speaking for myself, I’d be cool with a used fridge if it meant I could have a patio/deck.

By: Sean

Sean — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:49:17 +0000

Noticed the effort to look at costs but have not looked at your whole plans (time is tight now). Has anyone looked at ICF’s? ICFs and SIPs in combination seem to reduce my footing materials requirments by a third, and my footer/crawl space/basement wall timeline by half. The additional cost of the forms seems about equal to the savings in concrete, and leaves reduced labor costs as savings for us (tying rebar is pretty much eliminated). Noticed the mention of SIPs in the project. We are doing a single story passive solar “test” addition with a green screen element in Media PA using SIPs and ICFs. We have a client who wants to build a full SIPs building in the next few years and we wanted some experience with both building with them, and living with them, so the addition is going on our “green” “test bed” house which is a 1400 sq foot 1926 twin which has been rehabbed as 2 ea 1 br apts and has been sealed, insulated to R-50 in the roof, and sports an assortment of LED bulbs we are evaluating and a collection of 2010 standard appliances too. After Sips this summer, we install Geo in spring 2009 and 6K PV to feed it in late 2009. I commiserate with you about standing seam: it is hard to fit into an affordable model, though it is an attractive design element, can last a long time, and, can reduce framing member sizes due to its light weight. Best wishes to you….we follow it as time allows. Our site goes up June 1

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:28:02 +0000

Chad,

I used SIPs for the roof system and even the basement… It did not appear to me that your plans included a SIP roof, however if it does you can save $ by staying with a conventional roof system. Then, after the drywall is up, shoot a 1″ layer of foam to seal, topped with celulose a dozen + inches. Same or better than SIP roof sys and much lower cost. I heat my house with forced air Lifebreath system charged with my Rennai hot water heater. Best of luck…

Jeff

By: chad

chad — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:00:54 +0000

Jeff,

Thanks for the encouragement. I did actually find one person who built with SIPs just down the road from us and he was kind enough to let me pick his brain. We will try to get the electrician on site while the SIPs manufacturer is still here teaching us how to install them to help with the learning curve. We do also plan to use PEX for all plumbing and radiant.

Thanks,
Chad

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:15:43 +0000

I built, largly myself, a SIP home finished about 1.5 yrs ago. Great energy choice but do not discount the other advantages of air infiltration and noise reduction. I am 80′ from the (subdivision type) road and can seldom hear the traffic. There must be someone local with SIP experience. Don’t let the electricians bull you about how hard is is to wire SIPs, it is not true, it is just different, not harder. Many now have pre-installed boxes… To save $ further have you considered using PEX for all the plumbing and not just the radiant heat.

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:37:01 +0000

Chad,

Glad your conversation with Bruce was helpful. Petersburg Commons is a good project. I do think, however, that you could get away with exposed concrete floors especially since you are trying to look modern, you are in the city and the floors will be warm. You may need to polish them or stain them but it could definitly be done.

As for vinyl windows – yeh they are generally considered to be not green. The manufacturing and the potential off gasing of dioxins, the potential health risks – all add up to not a green product.

I love the idea off a green fence/wall. What a perfect idea for a sustainable house. Petersburg Commons was supposed to have greenery growing on the trelis at the front entrance. It appears as though that might have gotten cut out.

Oh and PEX is not PVC, it is polyethylene. Much greener in my opinion.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:25:44 +0000

Hey Chad,

Thanks for the thoughts on vinyl. I haven’t done the kind of extensive research you have, but have always just “intuited” that vinyl wasn’t the *best* choice.

The Marvin line recently saw a small price increase. Probably as a result of their increased popularity. And, they have a new website, which is much nicer. Anyway, the vendors I’ve spoken with all say about the same thing: The Integrity line is a great value and rock solid. Consumer Reports recently reviewed them and rated them very favorably. And, like Chad says, they are great in terms of efficiency.

In case anyone is curious, the window package for our project runs a bit over $9,000. There are quite a number of windows. Good quality vinyl would save us about 20-30%. Inexpensive vinyls saves us almost 50%. Still, it’s not apples to apples: vinyl windows are a definite aesthetic and (to a lesser degree) performance compromise.

I have seen some folks strike a compromise in the window department – putting nicer windows on the front of the house, and less expensive windows on the sides and/or back. This strategy might work with some homes, and not others.

Last, but not least, fiberglass – unlike vinyl – can be painted. So, if you are looking for something other than the “white” trim window, fiberglass is a good bet.