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> Demonstrate this please. https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/landscaping-materials/the-project-store/home-projects/shop-all-home-projects/dbi1129

> Demonstrate this please. https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/landscaping-materials/the-project-store/home-projects/shop-all-home-projects/dbi1129-the-calumet/p-1444422383216-c-9919.htm?tid=-1878320667885260804 https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/landscaping-... Has an extra bathroom, an extra 2-car garage. And modern electrical, and plumbing. It's not pretty at all. But it's $7k cheaper ($40k), safe, and is to-code legal in most places. https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/landscaping-materials/the-project-store/home-projects/shop-all-home-projects/dbi6710n-the-kincaid/p-1444422218763-c-9919.htm?tid=-1878320667885260804 https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/landscaping-... Has 1.5 extra bathrooms, an extra 2-car garage, and modern electrical and plumbing. Probably a closer match to the style, at roughly that price ($46,600). Also to-code legal in most places. - - - Obviously we're never going to get an exact match in materials. In many cases, you wouldn't want to -- a lot of safety standards have improved since then. But "you can buy what $47k got you for quite a bit less" is a reasonably accurate claim. If anything -- kit houses at the $47k price tag are probably much nicer today than the were back in the day. (more space, more amenities, safer, etc)

internaut 10y ago
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. No word on the materials but that does seem quite reasonable. I'm not sure why I don't see more people buying these then. I'm guessing getting a Lot in a good zip code, and then having to match housing requirements from local zoning or the HOA is what drives prices. Rival goods basically.
- maxsilver 10y ago
  > I'm not sure why I don't see more people buying these then. I think one major hangup is finding the labour. I have almost no construction skill, and also work a full time job. I can't take on a kit house myself without becoming homeless in the process. Any contractors I talk to are so busy they are booked out months (or years) in advance. Another hangup seems to be the design. Any contractors I have found who are willing to build, only ever want to build/sell you a house they designed. And they all seem to exclusively want to design/build suburban homes on huge empty lots that (in my opinion) look like dated McMansions. I would love to build a small (900sqft - 1400sqft) modern kit/prefab house on a small urban lot like this: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3920/14620317361_5766da68c1_z.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3920/14620317361_5766da68c1_z.... or http://prefabcosm.com/media/photos/2008/01/12/ecube1398.jpg http://prefabcosm.com/media/photos/2008/01/12/ecube1398.jpg Every home builder I've ever talked to will only (exclusively) build huge (1800sqft - 3000+sqft) homes, on large empty suburban lots, that all look like this: http://www.mayberryhomes.com/CmImageDir/inventory_1695.JPG http://www.mayberryhomes.com/CmImageDir/inventory_1695.JPG or https://nhs-dynamic.secure.footprint.net/Images/Homes/AllenEdwinHomes/18067362-160402.jpg?w=1000 https://nhs-dynamic.secure.footprint.net/Images/Homes/AllenE...

internaut 10y ago

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. No word on the materials but that does seem quite reasonable. I'm not sure why I don't see more people buying these then. I'm guessing getting a Lot in a good zip code, and then having to match housing requirements from local zoning or the HOA is what drives prices. Rival goods basically.

maxsilver 10y ago
> I'm not sure why I don't see more people buying these then. I think one major hangup is finding the labour. I have almost no construction skill, and also work a full time job. I can't take on a kit house myself without becoming homeless in the process. Any contractors I talk to are so busy they are booked out months (or years) in advance. Another hangup seems to be the design. Any contractors I have found who are willing to build, only ever want to build/sell you a house they designed. And they all seem to exclusively want to design/build suburban homes on huge empty lots that (in my opinion) look like dated McMansions. I would love to build a small (900sqft - 1400sqft) modern kit/prefab house on a small urban lot like this: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3920/14620317361_5766da68c1_z.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3920/14620317361_5766da68c1_z.... or http://prefabcosm.com/media/photos/2008/01/12/ecube1398.jpg http://prefabcosm.com/media/photos/2008/01/12/ecube1398.jpg Every home builder I've ever talked to will only (exclusively) build huge (1800sqft - 3000+sqft) homes, on large empty suburban lots, that all look like this: http://www.mayberryhomes.com/CmImageDir/inventory_1695.JPG http://www.mayberryhomes.com/CmImageDir/inventory_1695.JPG or https://nhs-dynamic.secure.footprint.net/Images/Homes/AllenEdwinHomes/18067362-160402.jpg?w=1000 https://nhs-dynamic.secure.footprint.net/Images/Homes/AllenE...