House built for just over $2000

Ravenlost · #1 08/01/07, 09:32 PM

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fusea...ideoid=2822607

http://www.scraphouse.org

WhiteChristmas · #2 08/02/07, 06:28 AM

all the code enforcement people would have heart attacks take out this pens and note pads and go to town. LOL and as a final measure write her a ticket for littering. LOL......white

longshadowfarms · #3 08/02/07, 07:38 AM

Some friends have a GORGEOUS house that they have built mostly from second hand stuff, stone fireplace and woodwork done by barter, etc. It is AMAZING what they have done with very little $. The place is a showcase home.

belladulcinea · #4 08/02/07, 10:25 AM

I loved it! And the music was pretty cool too.

texican · #5 08/02/07, 10:26 AM

Code Schmode...

I am constantly amazed that people continue to live under the socialist yoke. Codes... ha! They'd rather you live in govt. approved crack houses.

Codes exists to cover builders from lawsuits.... the absolute minimum requirements for the building to not fall down or catch on fire. Also are used by bankers/insurance companies to cover their investments. If someone wants to live in a hovel, owner built, more power to em...

My current home was overbuilt to most codes... and I'm not happy... The one I'm building now will be built to stand a thousand years, not thirty.

edited............. good googly moogly... they may have spent only 2k on the "art work" shack, but it looks like several million dollars worth of architects, designers, consultants... non building bling... was involved... they make 'this old house' look like a bunch of slackers...

Locoster · #6 07/29/13, 09:36 PM

The other body that benefits from the building codes is the level of government to which home owners pay property taxes. Since the cost of construction is raised by the code requirements, the home 'value' is raised, and the taxing government gets more property tax money from the higher value.

The building material suppliars also make profit from the approval of inferior products ok'ed by code. Take sealed windows for example. Built to last 15 years. Or plastic window frames. There is no plastic that will survive use as long as good quality wood. Plastic water lines? How good, and for how long? Pec fittings--I had one in my house which was in a water condensation drain from my furnace and it was eaten away in three years--another approved inferior product.

Urea formaldehyde foam insulation was approved, then declared a health hazzard and anyone wishing to sell their urea foamed house had to pay thousands to clean up the hazzard. But chip board cabinets still on the market can be made with Urea Formaldehyde glue. Go figure? Now they are doing the same for some other types of insulation, giving Hazmat Cleaning companies lots of business. Just watch until fibreglasss is declared a health hazzard--which has been done in Denmark!

Yvonne's hubby · #7 07/29/13, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ravenlost

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fusea...ideoid=2822607

http://www.scraphouse.org

I am thinking that 2k figure has to be the material costs paid to salvage yards. Not considering a dime for labor, or the cost involved with locating, and transporting said materials to the job site, and certainly not including cost of the required building permits, fees, and inspections involved.

wharton · #8 07/30/13, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texican

Code Schmode...

I am constantly amazed that people continue to live under the socialist yoke. Codes... ha! They'd rather you live in govt. approved crack houses.

Codes exists to cover builders from lawsuits.... ..

Well, as a soon to be retired builder, I would have to say that you are about 100% wrong on the lawsuit issue, and actually contradict your first statement by saying so. . It is extraordinarily difficult to successfully sue a builder for a defect, since most homes don't have glaring defects, and typically even the garbage we club together today holds up pretty well until the short warranty expires. Codes can actually make it EASIER to sue a builder since the scumbag lawyer now has a thousand page code book in his hand, and will find many things that are not done 100% "by the book" if he is smart enough.

Codes are about conformity, control, transferring of wealth, and the every expanding reach of the bureaucracy. In the last seven years I watched a code free area, with a vibrant local building trade, deteriorate into a place where ever move is dictated by a totally worthless bureaucrat, costs to play the enforcement game have quadrupled, and the end product is actually a bit lower quality than before this whole scam started. Building codes are a huge cash cow for municipalities, and others in the game.

The best scam is the recent trend in outsourcing the work. The local government agency hands over the entire process of zoning, plan review, code enforcement, septic inspection and enforcement etc... to an outside agency, typically an engineering firm. This firm then gives a percentage of the take back to the township. Two things then happen. First, costs explode since the new provider needs to make a profit AND give a kickback to the governing body. Now the second thing is more subtle and brilliant. Enforcement suddenly becomes very weak. In our area we went from in house enforcement using highly skilled and strict professionals, to a bunch of clowns who couldn't assemble a dog house from a kit, or complete the most basic of mechanical tasks. They are stereotypical worthless drones. The reason for this is interesting. When you have a cash cow, in this case builders generating tens of thousands in fees per month, you don't want them rocking the boat. They will accepting being robbed by paying ridiculous fees for permits and inspections, as they can pass it on to the customer. They won't however tolerate paying that money AND constantly doing battle with a private company that demands that things get done right, by the book, and well. The builders had no choice if a government employee wanted to be hard nosed, but they will put a lot of political pressure on the local leaders to get the situation "softened up" if they grow tired of being "harassed" by ridged inspections. I have seen cases where individual inspectors are sent to distant, unpleasant assignments if they want to do their job too well.
The bottom line is that it's all a scam, and it will only get far, far worst.

Wayne02 · #9 07/30/13, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texican

Code Schmode...
edited............. good googly moogly... they may have spent only 2k on the "art work" shack, but it looks like several million dollars worth of architects, designers, consultants... non building bling... was involved... they make 'this old house' look like a bunch of slackers...

Yeah, I noticed that as well, that's one expensive 'budget' build.

texican · #10 07/30/13, 10:14 PM

If you build it yourself, who are you going to sue? I'd love to sue myself, but don't want to bother with all the hassles...

Side bennie of building it yourself, and avoiding the need of inspections, is your house won't necessarily make the tax rolls, until you hook up to utilities...

Not often you see a six year old thread pop up!!!