Friday, August 21, 2009

Per Square Foot



The house above definitely caught my eye because it somewhat reminded me of what the Potic addition will look like once it's completed. This Sag Harbor residence, featured in yesterday's New York Times boasted its money saving use of materials, especially the use of Skatelite for siding and countertops. You may remember I investigated Skatelite -- a pressed paper-and- resin material for skateboarding--for Potic, because I love the flatness of the color and the surface, but at $15 a square foot, it was easy to just say no. What other 'cost saving' advice did this project offer? The homeowner extended his mahogany decking indoors, saving $600. Now I know times are lean and I'm not going to sniff at $600, but in the overall cost of home construction, it hardly seemed like a figure to showcase, especially when the article ended with "The house was completed earlier this year for$300 a square foot, about half the cost of most high- end homes in the area." OK, there you have it. Our Potic budget is--uh-- $90 a square foot and a bottle of tequila thrown in for good measure. With their kind of budget, I would preferred to see more sustainable energy systems, not simply finish work. As for Potic and finishing, I have thought of some great (read: inexpensive) ways to finish the walls of the bathroom. Needless to say I won't be looking at Skatelite.

2 comments:

modernemama said...

I guess when you do the math it's still a very inexpensive build for the area (1300 sq' x $300) but I think they could have gone a step greener, too

Nadine @ BDG said...

Hey you changed your pic! I know people will pay $12 a clam out in the Hamptons, so I know the price is a good one for the location, but for the Times to present it as 'cost saving' seemed a bit disingenuous.