We have officially hit the first of many hidden costs in building from scratch.
Part of what the building engineer needs is info about our land. They need to know everything from the topography and elevations to the location utilities will enter the house. I have spent the last 2 weeks talking to surveyors and getting quotes. This was informative in many ways but I do have one huge take away.
The number one thing I learned: Don't always choose the cheapest way to do one step of a complicated process. Look at the bigger picture and ask people who understand the whole process not just the expert in that one step. Choosing to save money now may result in spending way more in the future. The septic system for our house is a prime example. I needed to listen to the surveyors but then take that info and talk to someone who understands the whole process of putting in a septic system.
The property already has an approved building plan but we want to move the proposed house location about 150 feet further back. This is still within our building envelope but a big enough change that the town requires a new plot plan. This is a bummer for us because we bought the land with the idea that this was all set. This means that new test pits need to be dug and testing for the septic needs to be redone. This part of the new survey/testing is $1000 alone. Then there are all the costs involved with redoing the plot plan and staking out everything prior to breaking ground. I am still waiting on quotes but so far my numbers are in the $4500-$5500 range. We were told we could leave the septic where it is and just move the house but it seems like a long term bad idea. Think about that extra 150 feet of potentially clogged pootastic pipe.
As Mr. Dometastic likes to quote
BUT biggest reason to change it isn't a potential pootastrophy. The biggest reason is a septic that normally costs 6-12k to put in now runs you 20-22k. THAT is not something that the surveyors told me! The cost of some extra pipe isn't the only extra cost. THAT is something the surveyors told me!
The pipes need be laid at a certain pitch down to make sure things flow smoothly. The longer the run, the deeper the other end and the more sand fill you have to fill the trenches with. All these little things can add up into thousands of extra dollars. The bummer is that redoing it takes time. Especially since we can't do it in the winter. So now we get to wait..... until spring.
Of course, the surveyors are also business men. They want the job and they know cost is a factor so they all told me we could leave the septic where it was already approved. That lowers their quotes by about $1000 but their pocket money by only $500 (the other $500 goes to the guy driving the excavator). What they don't tell you is that by saving a couple hundred on their work you will potentially double the cost of installing the actual system itself. Cheaping out on step one just to save 1k causes you to spend 10k more than you would have later on.
Part of what the building engineer needs is info about our land. They need to know everything from the topography and elevations to the location utilities will enter the house. I have spent the last 2 weeks talking to surveyors and getting quotes. This was informative in many ways but I do have one huge take away.
The number one thing I learned: Don't always choose the cheapest way to do one step of a complicated process. Look at the bigger picture and ask people who understand the whole process not just the expert in that one step. Choosing to save money now may result in spending way more in the future. The septic system for our house is a prime example. I needed to listen to the surveyors but then take that info and talk to someone who understands the whole process of putting in a septic system.
The property already has an approved building plan but we want to move the proposed house location about 150 feet further back. This is still within our building envelope but a big enough change that the town requires a new plot plan. This is a bummer for us because we bought the land with the idea that this was all set. This means that new test pits need to be dug and testing for the septic needs to be redone. This part of the new survey/testing is $1000 alone. Then there are all the costs involved with redoing the plot plan and staking out everything prior to breaking ground. I am still waiting on quotes but so far my numbers are in the $4500-$5500 range. We were told we could leave the septic where it is and just move the house but it seems like a long term bad idea. Think about that extra 150 feet of potentially clogged pootastic pipe.
As Mr. Dometastic likes to quote
The pipes need be laid at a certain pitch down to make sure things flow smoothly. The longer the run, the deeper the other end and the more sand fill you have to fill the trenches with. All these little things can add up into thousands of extra dollars. The bummer is that redoing it takes time. Especially since we can't do it in the winter. So now we get to wait..... until spring.
Of course, the surveyors are also business men. They want the job and they know cost is a factor so they all told me we could leave the septic where it was already approved. That lowers their quotes by about $1000 but their pocket money by only $500 (the other $500 goes to the guy driving the excavator). What they don't tell you is that by saving a couple hundred on their work you will potentially double the cost of installing the actual system itself. Cheaping out on step one just to save 1k causes you to spend 10k more than you would have later on.
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