What rural area enforces building codes strictly?

And what market are you in where a double wide is 300k?

And why are you doing anything with asbestos if it's a new build?

There is a lot in this that doesn't really add up to me.

We didn't have to worry about code, because it's not enforced by the state, but local governments. We did build to code though.

A double wide was 125k fully installed. We chose to build a little smaller stick frame for 100k.

Asbestos. Um. Why?

And spray foam insulation is a terrible choice, unless the wall is already up. Why would you not do the much much cheaper blown in?

If you are building from scratch, why do you need an asbestos survey? What are you surveying?

And does your state really require spray foam insulation and solar? Or does it require an R-value for insulation and spray foam is the easiest way to get there with your design?

Demolition of existing structures from the 1920s and 1970s.

R-value required. This was the easiest/least expensive option.

Solar not required. If we didn't do it, we're paying ~$5k for power every year.

Spray foam is the most expensive way to get R-value. Unless you have space constraints, or existing air sealing concerns, you should not use spray foam.

Cheapest is double stud construction + blown in.

It makes sense that the asbestos stuff would be required for a building that has asbestos. Improper remediation can cause harms outside of your property.

The R-value also makes sense IMO. "You can't build houses that aren't properly insulated" is probably a net good -- although only if the insulation level makes sense for the region. If it's too high, I agree with you.

I don't think it's fair to complain about the cost of solar if it's not required.

> I don't think it's fair to complain about the cost of solar if it's not required.

I didn't read the solar comment as a complaint but rather an additional enumeration of costs. They wanted solar so it's a non-zero cost on the house. They could have also gone with the cheapest-to-regular slab thickness and saved money but didn't.

Spray foam insulation: $27k

Got to say using spray foam to insulate the wall cavities instead of using external insulation over the structural elements is about the worst idea ever.

Also how much solar can you buy for $27k? Enough to supply 60kwh a day to run a heat pump.

Building a perfect wall with external insulation is kind of expensive and hard to get approved by an inspector. It's much easier to just do it the way everyone else does and follow national building code.

When land is cheap, do what the locals do - out buildings abound!

It can be worth your while to sit down and map out house areas, purposes, and requirements, and change as many of them as you can to avoid mandatory features.

> Tipping fees

What is a tipping fee

You need to tip the builder 20% of constructions costs in the US

(Just kidding, it's the fee for taking the waste to the tip)

Really the issue is the PoS terminal the builders use default to a 20% and all the options presented are higher. You feel like a real creep tapping other and typing in 0 in front of them.

Waste disposal. Construction and remodeling both produce huge amounts of waste and it needs to be disposed of in specific ways.

Huh. Have never heard that called a tipping fee. When we've had work done there's just a line item for dumpster/removal/etc

Yeah, I had to look the term up to make sure I was right. The terminology probably depends on where you live.