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We often hear that the cost of home construction in Puna is in the $130 or $135 per square foot range. If one decides to build up (say, build a two or three story home) does this figure still work?
I ask because we have seen a home that we love (3 stories) and think it would work well at our location.
Also, since we have a couple of older relatives we may want to put in a home elevator, which is not unheard of on the mainland. Is this doable on the Big Island?
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All generalizations on estimating are very subjective. In general those figures would
be a place to start your planning.
People often have a tendency to spend more than they might need to. Spending money is fun. People also often have visions of saving money by being wiser in some way. Best to be conservative in your estimating and then be conservative in your spending.
Elevators are just as doable here as anywhere else. You just have to order the equipment, get the permits and install. If you are builidng a new home you can make some design decisions which would be helpful for a future elevator.
Assume the best and ask questions.
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Many subdivisions have height limitations which may not be enough for a three story building. Residential elevators aren't real common, I've only dealt with one elevator and one dumbwaiter in all the different houses over the years.
Many of the houses here are much smaller than their mainland counterparts since we don't have the enforced winter time hibernation the folks on the mainland have. Also if you have a smaller house it is easier to keep clean and less expensive to furnish it. The less you spend on your house the less you will have to work to pay for it and the more time you can spend at the beach.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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Catz is right, make sure you check the applicable laws in regards to the height limitation. I know of two homes with elevators in Kona. The biggest problem is when something goes wrong and it takes forever to get the part from the mainland.
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John S. Rabi ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,PB,RB
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Think it through carefully. We own a 3-story house (the only one I have seen in HPP). Besides worrying about being the lightning rod for the whole of Puna :-) it really is on the impractical side - great when you are young and healthy but when life's challenges hit you, you will kick yourself. I had a new baby and a c-section and a flight of stairs between my bedroom and the kitchen. We were told that the lady who build our house originally sold it to us when she made friends with a gentleman who couldn't manage the stairs.
Sure, you can add an elevator but as John Rabi said, you will have trouble maintaining it. And the local electricity company is not the most reliable in the planet. What if the power is out for hours (common during major storms) and you have mobility problems? I also have to tell you that when Pele shakes us up, you really feel it on the top floor. The land parcels in Puna are large enough to make building up unnecessary.
There is one advantage to a tall house. You can expose more rooms to the tradewinds (if you have thought well about how to orient and lay out the house). As there are fewer rooms per floor and often only one east to west, it is easy to have opposing windows to carry through the breeze. It can be done with a ranch house too, but it needs a bit more thought. I can't emphasize how important good airflow is. Between my husband and myself we have lived in 6 houses in this area and I can tell you good airflow makes the difference between a pleasant home and a stuffy moldy oven.
The other thing about a tall house is that you will have a lot of rooms above ground level vegetation. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. In exchange for more rooms with a view, you lose privacy and also you might not like what you see.
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Mobility issues definitely need to be thought out if building up.
We have friends that built up, have an elevator, and are totally off grid (solar)
David
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Probably for ground support.
Relatively soft ground + some kind of slope + lots of new weight pressing down from an addition = recipe for disaster
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com
