a home update

Posted on February 14, 2011 by murrayg1

It will be brief – I’m away to help a friend make plant-nursery infrastructure. We had a good few days recently – Anna has restored Ziggy (my old Paper Tiger) beautifully, and we had a good trial sail on Sunday. It always looked good through the water – despite being 10kg over weight, and 6mm too long in the starboard hull.

We had a lovely couple out to tea – cruisers who have a circumnavigation under their belt, then a lifestyle farm with WOOFERS, then their current boat. Not bad for an ex bomb-disposal man with hardly any fingers left. And somewhere in town is a fellow off the Wakas which Ish was tracking through the Pacific. We may get to catch up.

Madonna stayed out last night – our blonde bantam cross – presume she’s hunkered down clucky somewhere. Search party tonight. The fridge is now in the groove, the pelton wheel is producing more than we need, and I’m looking at retiring the solar panel. Progress indeed. In fact, with the peltop going 24/7. we are only using the batteries as capacitors in the system now – could really do without them.

Must away – have a good ‘un. 🙂

 

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well worth the read – HT to ‘Gertraud’ over at Interest.co.nz

Posted on February 14, 2011 by murrayg1

http://crash-watcher.blogspot.com/2011/02/export-land-model-analysis-for…

an excerpt:

My best estimate of the consumption rate per capita predicts a -38% decline by 2020, compared to 2009 levels.  I assume that this will correspond to a -38% decrease in standard of living.

I’ve had a great deal of respect for Brown and Faucher for a long time. Brave folk, clear-sighted. The link is the best thing you’ll read today, that’s my job done    🙂

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from Interest.co.nz – a little exchange about housing

Posted on February 14, 2011 by murrayg1
by powerdownkiwi | 11 Feb 11, 9:15pm

Matt – that’s the main reason

Matt – that’s the main reason we built for $50.000. We had an inkling (no, a conviction) that this would happen, and wanted to prove you could build for figures that make those quoted look stupid.

I reckon I could still – 5 years later – do 100 sqm for 50,000.

Land is a different matter – but for everyone who can’t afford it, there will be a ‘blocker who can’t make the mortgage. They could get together….

 

by petrus1942 | 14 Feb 11, 10:04am

Build 100m2 for $50,000? I

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Build 100m2 for $50,000? I dont think so! I have just gone back to the actual costing for a 136m2 brick & tile very modest unit we built. ( I build up to 30 per annum) I stripped out any vestige of profit,no floor coverings,no site work , allowance for unexpected events inc. at $2000.00 – and the answer is $136,564.00 inc. gst. And to build for that would require a flat site,friendly Build. Inspector! Good luck!

by bob | 14 Feb 11, 10:13am

100sqm for $50K?  Compliant

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100sqm for $50K?  Compliant with NZBC? Is that without labour or something?  More info please – low cost housing is cool and $500 per sqm is incredably cheap.

by petrus1942 | 14 Feb 11, 10:18am

The carpentry cost in my

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The carpentry cost in my example is $16,376.00 inc gst. Dont be fooled – you arent going to build for anything like $500m2.

In my example if I deducted GST & carpentry cost the answer would be $107,150 – or $787.87m2.

by petrus1942 | 14 Feb 11, 10:18am

The carpentry cost in my

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The carpentry cost in my example is $16,376.00 inc gst. Dont be fooled – you arent going to build for anything like $500m2.

In my example if I deducted GST & carpentry cost the answer would be $107,150 – or $787.87m2.

by bob | 14 Feb 11, 10:51am

I know you can’t really build

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I know you can’t really build for under $1000/sqm (and that’s on flat sites, multiple dwellings, larger cheap and nasties screwing down every trade), but I’d like to hear how downpowderkiwi reckon they can build for $500/sqm.

A cheap bathroom, cheap kitchen, cheap wiring, cheap plumbing and a building consent would leave about $228.50 out of the $50k for all structure, foundations, claddings, joinery, linings, insulation, painting etc. so I’m curious about the construction techniques that can make this happen.

 

by powerdownkiwi | 14 Feb 11, 10:59am

Re-$50,000 house – Bob and

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Re-$50,000 house – Bob and Petrus1942

Bob – yes, it’s ex-labour…….but the labour in the external shell (walls and roof, inside and outside, insulation, painted/finished both sides) was 42 person-hours. Myself, partner, and our two teenage boys, 10.5 hours total over 2 days.

Petrus – you don’t think outside the square, obviously. My dad taught me, from a very young age, to turn a problem ‘inside out, upside-down and back-to-front’.

Who said anything about timber, or brick?

Coolstore panel – coloursteel/polystyrene/coloursteel. Comes in any thickness – 50mm, 75, 100, 200. Comes with your choice of coloursteel colour (from their chart) insitde and out. We’ve got mist green outer walls, desert sand inner, titania ceiling and outer roof. (The roof is one panel.

Single story, the stuff needs no framing. No studs. The paint quality is up to the best gib-stopped surface, with a 20 year external guarantee internally!  Only thing is a slight join line (the panels fit together with a T&G edging) every 1.2m.

Walls and roof, five years ago, for a 135 sq/m house, delivered onsite, every last tube of silicone, rivet, flashing, capping, even the spouting – $16,100 inc.

The rest depends on your attitude – too worried about what folk think of you (which is insecurity, really – cheaper to deal with that at source) and it’ll cost you more to fill it. I’m telling you that we did it – with a mixture recycled and new (there’s no recycled double-glazing, for instance) for 50,000 ex labour, 5 years back.

Even with labour, theres no studs, no framing, roof panels span 5 metres (and more if 200mm) which gives a good big space without beams.

Downsides?  Reveal-sealing was one (and the external over-window flashing has to be thought about) and you either pre-plan wiring/services before erecting, or you use trunking. We use 200X50 macrocarpa as the skirting board, routed behind as trunking.

The solution to an arising problem, will never be found in the status quo. Think about it.

🙂

by powerdownkiwi | 14 Feb 11, 11:18am

An example of

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An example of lateral-thinking – shower:

Take a $5 recycled, perfect-cond bath. Buy a $120 flat sheet of clear polycarbonate. Stand the poly sheet upright, curve it to fit inside the bath (tap end). Two timber uprights (mine are old oregon marquee tent-poles) with a skil-saw-slot apiece, take the edges of the polycarb. Fully flashed (it goes 50mm down the inside of the bath, and up to the ceiling) end story. Nothing to smash if big sister slips on the soap.

But all the sheeple spend how much?

 

by petrus1942 | 14 Feb 11, 12:58pm

OK – I used your figure of

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OK – I used your figure of $16,100 for exterior & interior walls &  roof, & added 2.2% gst. – but nothing for 5 years of inflation. I excluded carpentry labour,insulation & decoration; but included everything else from plan drawing & build. consent thru to finish – & the answer is  $ 87,340.00 inc. gst – but you would end up with a house that would be extremely difficult to resell.

by powerdownkiwi | 14 Feb 11, 1:17pm

Petrus – re GST – i said

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Petrus – re GST – i said ‘inc’.

We’re talking past each other – which is a polite way of saying – you miss the point.

You don’t think that plan cost would be less, for example? My consent only took 3 inspections. (no pre-lining, no insulation) but of course, you need a producer statement from a CE.

I said “if you worry about what others think”  You said “difficult to sell”.

It’s the same thing. You’re well withing the square, methinks.

Although, at 87 thou, would it matter? I suspect you’d still do very well indeed – poly is 3 times the insulation of batts, and we’re heading into an energy-constrained world. We have groups of folk through this house all the time – bus-loads come specially sometimes – and there would be no prob re-selling, believe me.

Not that that should ever be your criteria……. it’s your home, isn’t it? I think you’re mixing metaphors there.

 

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