I cannot tell whether the house for which plans are offered is the same one as built for a private client in Vermont, or not. If not, can it be modified to match the Vermont house? i.e., screened porch (not heated space), smaller bumpout in MBR, etc.

Gene,

The showhouse plan is based on the Vermont house. When plans are available from Healthy Home Designs, they will offer three versions - one with a basement and a screened porch, like the Vermont house, and two without a basement and with sunrooms, like the showhouse - one with garage and one without. I'm guessing that arrangements can be made to mix and match these elements as needed, but you will need to e-mail Healthy Home Designs at info@healthyhomedesigns.com to get all of the information. They should be able to answer all of your questions. Thanks!

Susanka Studios

This message has been edited. Last edited by: notsobig,

Susan:

I live in Pacific Palisades, California, less than a mile from the home of Charles and Ray Eames. The convergence of my daughters leaving the house (happily for college and post college plans), reading your books (I knew there was a reason we loved Minnesota when we lived there in the 70's) and visting the Eames house several time, has prompted my wife and I to decide we're ready for a NSBH/Eames/hey the Shakers had some good ideas kind of house.

Can you recommend how to get started or an appropriate architect in Los Angeles.

Thanks much.

Jim

If my client wants to build a version of the Vermont house, we'll spring for the plans. In the mean time, I am doing some computer doodling with my 3D CAD software, and trying to come up with a rough estimate of cost. Here are some questions.

Is the roof pitch 4:12? Looks that way to me.

Is the fireplace stack a full masonry job?

If not, is the stonework above the roof a veneer of cultured stone, fixed to sheathed wood framing?

Is most all the roof framing done with engineered trusses, or is it stick-framed?

Is the stonework exterior wainscot real, sitting on a brickledge, or is it a veneer of cultured stone?

Thanks for the feedback.

Can someone tell me what the cost per square foot was to build the showcase home? - Either the Vermont version, or the one in Las Vegas, or both. The home looks beautiful with many special details...any insight on which details are on the more expensive side, and lower-cost alternatives, would also be appreciated.

I also wonder if the one built by the Stardust in Las Vegas is still available for the public to see?
-thanks in advance-

Hi Joyce,
Architecturally designed houses on average run about $200 per square ft to build. The director of the Showhouse project just told me that this Showhouse was deconstructed and is currently being reassembled in Henderson, NV. It will sell somewhere in the $800k range (including land).

The online walkthrough of the Vermont house, narrated by Sarah, is still at http://www.homebydesignshowhouse.com/3d.asp if you would like to see more detail about the interior of the house.

Thanks for writing!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: notsobig,

I am zeroing in on a cost workup for the cold-climate "Vermont version" as best as I can without having the plans. I have modeled it in 3D CAD, using the stuff I can see and print from this and other related sites, and am confident that I am pretty close. There are some things I will enumerate here that make this house expensive.

The steel roofing, at my selling price to a client, adds over $20,000 to the total. It could even be a $30,000 premium, the way steel costs are escalating. The foundation work is very extensive, due to frostwalls needed under all the terrace edges way beyond the house walls, and the stoneledge required for the stone wainscot and walls. The masonry veneer work, over 2,000 sf of it, might be contributing over $50,000 more to the price tag than painted wood might be, and the large paved terrace and screened porch areas, with their expensive roofs and ceilings above, and bluestone slate flooring, are helping to blow the budget.

I've built a few of these gorgeous tightly orchestrated architect-designed homes, and can tell from experience that you cannot change the plans much if at all, without seriously compromising the look and feel of the whole composition. In fact, you can really botch it by messing around.

As an example, I have heard that people, inquiring about the plan sets for purchase, are asking if the "away room" can convert to a bedroom! Really! Open that can of worms and you might as well hire an architect and start over.

But that said, here is what I would do to reduce the cost of the 2004-V house.

Roof it in 30-year architectural shingles, but do the eyebrow dormer over the screened porch in standing seam copper. Use EIFS stucco instead of where stone is used. With the exception of the cherrywood ceiling lattices and stair trim, case, base and band the whole inside in painted fingerjoint pine, as was done in the Vegas version. There is a whole lot of maple and cherry in the house otherwise.

Speaking of white trim (Vegas) versus maple and cherry (Vermont), the pictures available on the web, in which you can see a lot about the original, and a few good peeks inside the builders' showcase model, show two different beautiful interior scheme choices for the same house. Sort of like two different sets of clothes. Same plan, though, essentially. One adapts perfectly to the flinty landscape of ski country Vermont, and the other to the warm colors of the southwestern desert.

I cannot say what it might cost you in your market, and would rather not tell you what I might charge in mine. Your question is best answered by finding a qualified builder where you would like to do this, and make sure he or she is capable of this kind of work, and willing to work from a purchased plan set. My own experience with building these houses (Susanka, Twombly, Mulfinger, Mahady) is that the plans and specs detail everything down to the molding and trim stuff. Once you have found the right builder, and shown him what the house has in it, ask him the money question. Ask her also to show you stuff she has built with this level of fit and finish.

The person from NSBH (I have a feeling it is a she) has said that houses like this are priced somewhere around $200/sf. You might consider that a starting point, and it won't include land, permits, utility and sewer work, or any professional services like engineering.

But, hey, I could be wrong. Your mileage may vary. You might have a cousin or sister-in-law who is a master builder, and is hungry and needs the work right now. All the local artisans required to slap this one up in your neck of the woods might be unemployed and willing to work for less than their usual rates. Maybe you own a truss plant. Who knows?

Good luck!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gene Davis,

Gene, thanks for all the information! If we take this plan to our builder, I'll make sure I'm sitting down when we ask the money question. - I agree that the interiors of both versions were beautiful. Of course the exterior is gorgeous too and according to your estimates, the cause of a lot of budget-blowing. I will keep looking for your updates - I hope your client goes for it.