What would make a house more affordable?
Two builders, one in Texas and the other in Oregon, offer some unconventional solutions.
To embellish the backsplash in the stove area, mirror shards were added to the mosaic.
The first thing, they said, is perhaps obvious — build a smaller house, and not just a notch or two below today’s average-sized 2,500-square-foot house. These builders are talking 650 to 1,200 square feet for a household of four.
The second place to save is materials. Lydia Doleman, who heads Flying Hammer Productions in southern Oregon, uses straw bales and other natural, minimally processed materials. Dan Phillips, owner of Phoenix Commotion in Huntsville, Tex., works with salvage, using materials from demolished structures that are widely available at little or no cost.
The third way to save is by doing some of the work yourself, and both these builders help their homeowners acquire basic home- building skills.
To make his houses affordable for his target market — low-income households, especially those headed by single parents and artists — Phillips sizes them according to building code minimums in his jurisdiction (240 square feet plus 100 square feet per occupant). This works out to about 650 square feet for a household of four and would include two bedrooms, a modest- sized bathroom, a kitchen/living area with “space to dine as a family,” and a “sleeping loft for the kids.” A larger household would have more space, but Phillips holds the line at one bathroom. He said he tends to go “lean on windows and storage,” but provides a generously sized covered porch that often wraps around three sides of his traditionally styled “Texas bungalows.”
The results could be forbiddingly austere, but not in the hands of this former dance instructor at the University of Houston who regards whimsy as an essential part of his designer’s tool kit. He uses 75 to 80 percent salvaged materials, giving the exteriors a rustic look (weathered wood siding and slightly rusting metal roofs) and unusual interior details (for example, a multicolored wood ceiling in a herringbone pattern made with hundreds of picture-framing samples). Phillips said his cost runs about $30 to $40 a square foot (about 60 to 70 percent below conventional new construction in his market); this works out to about $21,000 to $28,000 for a 700-square-foot house. His low- income clientele has been able to get financing from a local bank that has supported Phillips’s unusual venture.
Phillips insists that his homeowners participate in the planning and construction, not only to keep costs down, but also because “if you participate in the process, you’re vested in the results, and you’re committed to maintain the house.” The work is not just the “fun stuff,” he said. “You get dirty and sweaty and epithets escape from your mouth.” He also notes that his homeowners acquire the skills to enlarge their house if they find they need more space. Some of his homeowners, including several women, have become so adept at construction that they’ve gone on to careers in home building and remodeling.
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