Shism
2013-07-05 12:32:42
- #1
And we do the construction management ourselves, which means we award all the trades ourselves. This way, you can save a lot.
And you can also overlook quite a bit of shoddy workmanship that will cost you a lot in a few years if you are not familiar with the subject....
I would be careful about saving money at exactly this point...
You might think you have "saved" 15k on the architect, but the architect would have gotten the trades 10k cheaper and pointed out one or the other construction error to the craftsmen...
Just to be able to sleep peacefully, the experienced construction manager would be worth the money to me here... But if you are well versed in the subject, you might be able to save something...
Regarding controlled residential ventilation, I would not do without it... however, I would also not choose the version that the builder wants to sell you. Controlled residential ventilation is not the same as controlled residential ventilation. You are probably talking about a central controlled residential ventilation system with heat recovery. I would disregard pipework and heat recovery and install a pure exhaust device at "critical" points, such as in the bathroom/kitchen, preferably controlled by a humidity sensor. These then ensure minimal air exchange and make sure that moisture is quickly removed from the house in case of emergency. Window ventilation is of course additionally required in such a case, but you don't have to ventilate intensively five times a day; for comfort reasons, opening the windows 1-2 times a day is sufficient. Mold protection is probably achieved with window rebate vents as supply air even without additional window ventilation.
Investment costs are significantly lower (depending on the number of exhaust devices ~2-3k) and maintenance costs are significantly lower because especially filter and pipe cleaning are eliminated.
The central controlled residential ventilation system with heat recovery is more a matter of comfort, which one can gladly buy if there is enough money for it. It is hardly a way to save money, even if sellers like to convince you that the system pays for itself in a few years thanks to heat recovery...