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I have some insight into the high-end architectural world. You (in the general sense) absolutely can get houses of exceptional quality. You (as in Spivak) proba

I have some insight into the high-end architectural world. You (in the general sense) absolutely can get houses of exceptional quality. You (as in Spivak) probably cannot. Because they are insanely expensive today. But these are bespoke, 'if you have to ask you can't afford', old-money type expenses. When your estate/arch/construction costs start to exceed $20-50 million, you can get basically whatever you can think up. Giant multistory libraries, entirely of solid, old hardwoods with a glass walkwalk suspended from the ceiling? Done. 18-car garage? Done. Pool and minigolf on the roof? Done. Commercial level home gyms? Done. The client wants the absurdly large kitchen's cabinetry done without fasteners, just joinery: Done. When the client says 'I want a much higher PSI concrete for the foundation, even though it literally won't matter: done. $25k for a coffee table? Basically the same as an Ikea table to these clients. A few examples: A home being built for client of a friend had a 26ft-tall marble fireplace from a castle/villa in Italy (which the client also purchased for this purpose) disassembled, shipped to the US, and reassembled in his CT home. This was 1 of 4 fireplaces in the residence. Hell, I've seen a property in the Hamptons where the guest house would have been the envy of Newport, RI; and even the full-time help lived in a beautiful home on the estate that exceeded most normal people's homes at 3600 sq ft. Humans can build nice things. It's just a matter of how much money you're willing to spend. To build great things, it's a matter of how much money you're willing to throw away.

abakker 5y ago
Indeed. this is completely correct. In my hobby woodworking business in 2019, I made a $45k wall all out of CNC machined mahogany. It was patterned, and 2" thick. The design, Machining, install, and finishing took months. it was >$5k in raw material in wood, not counting the costs of fasteners, sub-wall, finishes, etc. Labor made up the bulk of the costs, though. Every part of that house in seacliff was following that mantra. Exceptional attention to detail, independent craftsmen contributing special pieces, and carefully selected design language. It was cool to work on it. Even as the lead person on creating that, I can't afford to replicate it in my own house. And my house isn't cheap. Its just not practical, and short of doing the whole house as an exercise in design and craftsmanship you just can't get the return on those things vs drywall.
wilkommen 5y ago
What do you think it would cost to get a 750 square foot home built super quality in old style? I don't mean fireplaces from italy, I just mean stuff like real brick masonry, super well insulated, slate roof, hardwood floors, a real fireplace. Basically I want to build a house that looks like a brick house from 1875 but is energy efficient and structurally sound, with modern electricity, plumbing and climate control. Is that a thing that any builder would do?
- sumtechguy 5y ago
  You would probably want an architecture firm to put it all together. They have the correct connections to the right people to make it work. You just listed off several different contractors. Roofer to do slate, Mason to do the brickwork, carpenters for the interior/exterior wood work, electrician for the modern electrical runs, plumber for water, architect for a nice plan for everyone to follow, AC/heating specialist for climate control, general contractor for all the general stuff and keeping things going to plan and holding people to task for not doing the job right and many will do things badly and argue they did it right. Had to argue with an AC guy once for an hour because he installed the unit in backwards, until the foreman showed up and made him 'put the unit in correctly'. A friend is currently dealing with a roofing guy whos crew did a seriously bad job (as in scrape it off and do it again bad). Add in something like 'smart home/IoT' and you will need a firm that does that sort of thing. Doable? Very much so. But it defiantly is a learning experience. Also keep in mind what you put into it may not translate into what it will sell for. That will depend on the area you build in and similar sized homes in the area. No mater how nice it is.
- wcarron 5y ago
  To be quite honest, I have no clue. Your comment was what I'd actually wanted to say, but you found the words instead of me, haha. I essentially only have been exposed to the architecture and construction of homes for the ultra-wealthy. Numbers weren't that important other than there were more zeroes than I'll ever have. Things have weird values and a number would be hard to give. I rent and am not super knowledgeable about 'regular people' housing, oddly enough.
randomsilence 5y ago
>exceed $20-50 million, you can get basically whatever you can think up. Does that money give you access to people who can build a home with soul? An 18-car garage on its own is just a flex. >had a 26ft-tall marble fireplace from a castle/villa in Italy To me, this is a hint that the client couldn't find somebody to build something soulful anew. Instead, he had to take something exquisite from somewhere else to fill the void in his new house.
spc476 5y ago
Biltmore House [1], the largest private home in the United States, cost $5,000,000 to build in 1895-1900 (I think it's a beautiful home and I would love to have it's library). Adjusted for inflation, it would cost around $160,000,000 [2] (maybe more, depending upon how you figure inflation). In fact, I'm not sure you could build that today for any amount of money. [1] https://www.biltmore.com/ https://www.biltmore.com/ [2] https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare/result.php?year_source=1895&amount=5000000&year_result=2021 https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare/result....
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

abakker 5y ago

Indeed. this is completely correct. In my hobby woodworking business in 2019, I made a $45k wall all out of CNC machined mahogany. It was patterned, and 2" thick. The design, Machining, install, and finishing took months. it was >$5k in raw material in wood, not counting the costs of fasteners, sub-wall, finishes, etc. Labor made up the bulk of the costs, though. Every part of that house in seacliff was following that mantra. Exceptional attention to detail, independent craftsmen contributing special pieces, and carefully selected design language. It was cool to work on it. Even as the lead person on creating that, I can't afford to replicate it in my own house. And my house isn't cheap. Its just not practical, and short of doing the whole house as an exercise in design and craftsmanship you just can't get the return on those things vs drywall.

wilkommen 5y ago

What do you think it would cost to get a 750 square foot home built super quality in old style? I don't mean fireplaces from italy, I just mean stuff like real brick masonry, super well insulated, slate roof, hardwood floors, a real fireplace. Basically I want to build a house that looks like a brick house from 1875 but is energy efficient and structurally sound, with modern electricity, plumbing and climate control. Is that a thing that any builder would do?

sumtechguy 5y ago
You would probably want an architecture firm to put it all together. They have the correct connections to the right people to make it work. You just listed off several different contractors. Roofer to do slate, Mason to do the brickwork, carpenters for the interior/exterior wood work, electrician for the modern electrical runs, plumber for water, architect for a nice plan for everyone to follow, AC/heating specialist for climate control, general contractor for all the general stuff and keeping things going to plan and holding people to task for not doing the job right and many will do things badly and argue they did it right. Had to argue with an AC guy once for an hour because he installed the unit in backwards, until the foreman showed up and made him 'put the unit in correctly'. A friend is currently dealing with a roofing guy whos crew did a seriously bad job (as in scrape it off and do it again bad). Add in something like 'smart home/IoT' and you will need a firm that does that sort of thing. Doable? Very much so. But it defiantly is a learning experience. Also keep in mind what you put into it may not translate into what it will sell for. That will depend on the area you build in and similar sized homes in the area. No mater how nice it is.
wcarron 5y ago
To be quite honest, I have no clue. Your comment was what I'd actually wanted to say, but you found the words instead of me, haha. I essentially only have been exposed to the architecture and construction of homes for the ultra-wealthy. Numbers weren't that important other than there were more zeroes than I'll ever have. Things have weird values and a number would be hard to give. I rent and am not super knowledgeable about 'regular people' housing, oddly enough.

randomsilence 5y ago

>exceed $20-50 million, you can get basically whatever you can think up. Does that money give you access to people who can build a home with soul? An 18-car garage on its own is just a flex. >had a 26ft-tall marble fireplace from a castle/villa in Italy To me, this is a hint that the client couldn't find somebody to build something soulful anew. Instead, he had to take something exquisite from somewhere else to fill the void in his new house.

spc476 5y ago

Biltmore House [1], the largest private home in the United States, cost $5,000,000 to build in 1895-1900 (I think it's a beautiful home and I would love to have it's library). Adjusted for inflation, it would cost around $160,000,000 [2] (maybe more, depending upon how you figure inflation). In fact, I'm not sure you could build that today for any amount of money. [1] https://www.biltmore.com/ https://www.biltmore.com/ [2] https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare/result.php?year_source=1895&amount=5000000&year_result=2021 https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/uscompare/result....

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]