Quality of Kit Homes?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Rogerluli

It sounds like the total cost for a conractor built kit house would be at least triple these kit prices. Do any members have actual experience in this?

That's kind of the rule of thumb I've heard mentioned... finished cost about 3X the kit price.

[Wernerfla]

Thanks for all of the responses! I will also check out Honsado and HPM, to see what they have to offer. Looks like I need to find a reputable GC, electrician and plumber. I am pretty sure that I will be doing Post&Pier.

I have a question is regards to ventilation and cooling. My lot is at 2500' elevation; lots of rain. To better ventilation (keeping humidity control/mold in mind), Is it better to have floor vents that draw cool (humid?) air from beneath the house, or have ceiling vents that rising heat exits which draws cooler air thru the windows?

How much does a septic system cost? Clearing, gravel/cindering and grading a driveway and pad? Water catchment system? How far will the power company bring a electrical line before the start charging by the foot?

Mahalo!!

[Shorty1952]

HELCO (Hawaii Electric Light Company) will "give" you 90 feet for 200 amp service. I believe it is 140 feet for 100 amp. Make sure you allow plenty of time. We submitted a request for service to HELCO (with a copy of our approved building permit) for our place in South Kona in July of 2011. We finally received approval about a month ago. And no, that is not a typo---it was July of 2011. I will say that once we received approval, they provided the hook-up within about a week.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Site preparation and hooking up utilities can both be surprisingly expensive. Water and septic can also be a lot of money.

Make sure the foundation comes with the kit, because it very well may not be included, and that is a big chunk of money.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Wernerfla

I have a question is regards to ventilation and cooling. My lot is at 2500' elevation; lots of rain. To better ventilation (keeping humidity control/mold in mind), Is it better to have floor vents that draw cool (humid?) air from beneath the house, or have ceiling vents that rising heat exits which draws cooler air thru the windows?

Your GC can help with that, and making non-structural changes like adding vents is not hard.

There are two key factors affecting ventilation. First is prevailing wind direction. In my nabe the wind is a trade wind from the northeast about 80% of the time. Second is heat flow inside the house. Putting intake vents low on the cool side, and outtake vents high on the hot side creates an automatic chimney effect to create a natural air flow.

How much does a septic system cost?

Figure $7,500

Water catchment system?

Depends on what quality and type you want, but maybe $3K for middle of the road equipment, plus installation.

Don't overlook this point... easy to do... for catchment you need a suitable roof surface, meaning no shingles. The most popular solution is corrugated metal, the most elegant is standing seam in colored finishes, like HPM manufactures.