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> How do you design a home that someone living below the poverty line can afford, but that anyone would want—while also providing a living wage for the local co
by rgbrgb 11y ago
> How do you design a home that someone living below the poverty line can afford, but that anyone would want—while also providing a living wage for the local construction team that builds it?
Material is $14k.
- noja 11y agoThe articles says "Originally, the project aimed for a house that would cost $20,000 in total, including construction, though they now believe that more money may be needed to provide a living wage for builders." So more than 20k. Plus land. How much does the land cost?
- morganvachon 11y ago> Plus land. How much does the land cost? According to the article[1], it's in a development area with "million dollar homes", so I'm guessing (based on similar developments near me, also in the Atlanta area) around $200k for a half-acre plot. So in reality, it's a $220k home for "poor people". Granted this is the pilot program, but it's nearly impossible to find decent land in the right location and conditions to build a home upon for under $20k/acre, at least here in Georgia. So let's say you're lucky enough to find a five acre plot (the minimum for what this kind of home requires to comply with zoning laws near me) for $50k. You buy this kit for $20k, take a leave of absence from work for six weeks to build it (~$6k, if your blue collar job doesn't give you paid leave), hire a licensed electrician ($8k) and licensed plumber ($10k) to handle those jobs because it's not included in the kit and building permits require licensed work. Now we're at ~$94k for a home that will not be as nice as a traditional home that costs the same. Not to mention, $94k is at the upper end of what someone with a $50k/year income can afford. I get the intention behind the program, but right now it's no different from any other "sustainable initiative" out there: It's a great theory but only applicable in near-perfect conditions or as a prototype. All of that said, I'd love to tear down my house and build something like this, if only the zoning laws here would allow it. [1] "The development near Atlanta might at first seem like an unlikely place to build the pilot homes—it's a lush planned community that includes million-dollar houses."
- roel_v 11y ago6k = 12 working days for a builder skilled enough to do everything from working an excavator to hooking up hvac. So they're claiming a house that can be build in 12 day, by a single person, ready to move in? Clickbait.
- imtringued 11y agoPrefab houses can be built in a single day. In fact in china they built a prefab skyscraper in 15 days.
- roel_v 11y agoIncluding plumbing, flooring, electricity, hooking up utilities etc. ? Please cite your sources because extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
- jholman 11y agohttps://www.google.ca/search?q=china+skyscraper+15+days https://www.google.ca/search?q=china+skyscraper+15+days It's been discussed on HN half a dozen times. "Extraordinary claims" is a context-dependent idea.
- roel_v 11y agoYes, I know about the skyscraper, I meant the 'build home in a single day' part.
- noja 11y agoiirc the designer of that skyscraper admitted that the plumbing was not ideal.
- st3v3r 11y agoKeep in mind they had several small armies working on it at the same time. They could throw bodies at the work and get it done quickly. The real challenge would be in coordinating all of that.