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I have been a yearly visitor to Ruidoso most of my life (51 yrs old) and for the past 10 years my wife has joined me on these trips. This summer we decided to look for land to build on in our retirement years. After several trips this fall we found a half acre lot near the Upper Canyon area and bought it. I had a couple of construction questions.....
1) Is building a basement problematic in Ruidoso? I have already drawn up our retirement house plan and it involves a basement area under the garage (which would be on the downslope) to be used as a music recording studio.
2) What are some guidelines of materials costs? For instance, I don't see hardly any brick houses in Ruidoso so I am wondering if it is cost-prohibitive? What are some inexpensive building materials? I am mainly referring to exterior......
Depends on what your idea of "basement" is. Many people have homes on steep lots that have "basements" as the lower level. Street entrance being on the uphill side of the upper or middle level. There are houses in a few areas that have been built on flat lots in recent years that have traditional "eastern" or "midwestern" style basements. With either plan, making provisions for drainage is a must if water damage from runoff is to be avoided.
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2) What are some guidelines of materials costs?
Last information I had on costs of new housing being contractor built is $250/sq ft, and up.
The majority of homes built in recent years are wood frame construction with stucco exteriors. Local tradition of building with rough wood siding is the other prevalent style. While anything is possible, finding qualified crafsmen for such things as brickwork can be problematic. And nothing gets done quickly here, especially now that the construction trades have shrunk significantly. Finding a RELIABLE and HONEST contractor who will get the job done expeditiously can be a challenge.
Best suggestion is to start interviewing prime contractors to see what is available now. Doing it yourself can be a huge headache now, considering the tightening Planning and Zoning requirements in the village.
Thanks for the reply joqua......our lot is not as steep as some but has about a 20 degree slope. The plan I have drawn up has the entrance to the basement going down stairs from within the garage.....it would basically be the same size as the garage and directly below it. Was just asking because I am not aware of how much rock would be involved or whether water leakage would be a problem. The lot is not in a flood plane.
I am not really wanting to use brickwork, I was just using it as an example of what my question pertained to......my house plan incorporates a pony wall with the bottom half being smooth rock and the upper half smooth vinyl or smooth wood siding....was just wondering if that would be cost-prohibitive.
I have no plans on DIY construction.....I have drawn a plan but don't have the skills to build a house......for my dogs yes....for us, no.
One problem people have with basements is that they run into huge rocks, and it isn't worth the trouble to get them out of the way. Plus we don't have tornadoes here, which makes them less useful. It's all about decks in Ruidoso... not living underground.
A common thing you see is a block wall crawlspace that follows the contour of the ground, and can be ground level at one end and over 8 ft at another. That could serve the purpose, though it wouldn't be a full basement.
Ruidoso charges impact fees for new building. Don't know what they are exactly ... seem to remember ~$5k. I'm assuming you have water and sewer?
Building costs. The national average is ~$100/sq ft, and I see no reason why Ruidoso would be that much more. I know a guy in town who had his (fancy) house in Ruidoso built for ~$90/sg ft in 2003... but that was a contractor in El Paso. The crews drove all the way up here every day.
Basic frame construction (2x6 walls to get code R-factor), vaulted ceilings and metal roofs is the norm on new houses. I think stucco is the best low maintenance exterior finish, but a lot of houses have wood. The lack of brick is probably a style thing.
Is your house in a sunny spot? If so you might want to take advantage of it for winter heating. Summer heat isn't a problem so long as you avoid big east or west windows.
The "basement" area would be used for a music recording studio.....but it's nice to know you don't have tornadoes.....got plenty of them here.
We will have water but will have to have a sewer system installed.....
My house design has a pony wall with the bottom half using those large round stones set in concrete, the upper half with regular lap siding.....any problems with that, so far as availability/cost?
The lot has a downward slope and faces south....looks down into a valley.....since you live in Ruidoso, the lot is 210 West Redwood.....the property to our east has a very large house with a red metal roof and a large parking area.
Don't know if you've looked into aerobic septics, but that is what you need here... and figure on ~$12k, and mandatory maintenance. Your impact fee will probably be less though.
So the "basement" is a stone wall with frame for the part above? I'm not in construction... just been looking into options for building recently. I've seen a few stone walls but I don't know who does it. I have a feeling it isn't that cheap.
Lap siding... just regular boards... painted? Not common, but I don't see why not. One thing... the sun really ruins south side finishes in a hurry... east and west don't fair so well either.
As I recall that location requires driving on some *very* steep roads... like >20% grade. No big deal if you can wait a day or two after a storm, or have good chains and 4wd. And you are up high and near the top of the ridge, yes? Should have a good view and good sun if there aren't too many trees.
Ruidoso does NOT allow a septic system if there is a sewer line that can be accessed from your lot. I don't know why anyone would want septic when sewer is available.
Also, there are a few lap-sided houses in the Upper Canyon area built in recent years. The ones I really like are those that have the raw logs sawed into boards with the bark left on. This leaves an un-milled rough edge on the board that makes for a very different (and to me attractive) look. You can see an example of this type siding at a house built about ten years ago in the 500 block of 1st street. From Main Rd. turn onto South Street, and then take a right onto 1st and it will be on the left about one block from South St.
As I've already stated - people in Ruidoso commonly refer to the lower level of houses built into a steep hillside as "basements." That is how you're describing yours. How much useful space there is depends on how much cutback is made into the hill to provide level flooring for the "basement." As for the stone wall - the old cabin built in 1930 which is still in my family has a "basement" that is actually a half-basement with a level floor. The fully wooden sided cabin (board and batten style) rests on an eight foot high rock wall that forms the basement closure. But it is NOT round river rocks - rather the rocks have been worked by a stone mason to be flat on two sides so that the wall is more of less flat on both interior and exterior surfaces - similar to how walls are built in El Paso, where everyone has yards enclosed in rock walls.
As for outdoor decks - the ones that last the longest without major repairs are those with a roof over them. Uncovered decks built from redwood or cedar will last about ten years before rotting begins to require attention. Some recently built decks are using the recycled plastic product that "simulates" wood, but I don't know if its been around long enough to test its longevity vs wood.
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Originally Posted by robntoni
I asked a few realtors and a building contractor.....they gave a range of $100-$200 per sq ft with the average at $160......interesting
My figure is likely wrong since it relates to before the housing bust and refers to state of the art construction in the upscale areas like Alto CC and White Mtn Meadows. I'm sure that a self-contracted home can be built for much less. I do NOT think it's currently significant to compare square footage of resales (in this depressed market) to new construction costs. And my figure is all-inclusive, including the cost of the lot and whatever excavation is required to accommodate the building. Best bet would be to inquire of your neighbors who are already living in that area.
Last edited by joqua; 02-12-2012 at 08:09 AM..
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