Considerations with custom build modern house

[Anonymous]

We found a good teardown lot. Husband is keen on doing a modern style house (flat roof, rectangular shape, lots of floor to ceiling windows, etc). Besides the challenge of resale, increased energy costs, anything else we should be aware of?

[Anonymous]

How it's built will impact energy efficiency. Window coverings, for both privacy and protection of the interior against UV, will be expensive. Tear-down lots are in mixed neighborhoods - bigger houses interspersed with smaller, older homes, some of which may not be well-maintained and whose occupants may not have much in common with you. Renters may occupy less expensive properties nearby, which sometimes results in less care of the property and less desirable occupant behavior. There probably won't be a HOA, so local eyesores will go unaddressed. Zoning and lot size may limit home features (e.g., number of garage spaces) and size, which can impact resale for upper bracket homes.

Beware of drainage considerations with a flat lot which is not graded to promote water run-off. Drainage (and snow) is also a consideration for flat roofs.

[Anonymous]

i think you should check out the forums on Houzz. One thing I have read there of is that modern houses may require more workmanship to construct, for example if you are not using moldings or casings, the reveals will have to be close to perfect. Simplicity isn't always simple to achieve, especially for builders not used to it.

[Anonymous]

Talk to AV Architects. They specialize in modern custom homes.

[Anonymous]

We custom built but not modern style - I'd say find someone who does this style with some regularity. Our builder was good at doing our style (which they did a lot of), but I'm not sure I'd trust them to pivot style-wise and do something different, well.

Also - think about window treatments as part of your build (solar shades, etc. for big windows). Roll them into your mortgage if you can work that out.

[Anonymous]

They design the nicest modern houses in this area:

https://robertgurneyarchitect.com/

https://www.mcinturffarchitects.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How it's built will impact energy efficiency. Window coverings, for both privacy and protection of the interior against UV, will be expensive. Tear-down lots are in mixed neighborhoods - bigger houses interspersed with smaller, older homes, some of which may not be well-maintained and whose occupants may not have much in common with you. Renters may occupy less expensive properties nearby, which sometimes results in less care of the property and less desirable occupant behavior. There probably won't be a HOA, so local eyesores will go unaddressed. Zoning and lot size may limit home features (e.g., number of garage spaces) and size, which can impact resale for upper bracket homes.

Beware of drainage considerations with a flat lot which is not graded to promote water run-off. Drainage (and snow) is also a consideration for flat roofs.

These are really good points. Also consider that with the slowdown in the economy and sharp decrease of new builds, development will slow down. I wouldn't assume that the existing homes would continue to get torn down and replaced with a new build. Make sure you could be happy with the neighborhood as it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We found a good teardown lot. Husband is keen on doing a modern style house (flat roof, rectangular shape, lots of floor to ceiling windows, etc). Besides the challenge of resale, increased energy costs, anything else we should be aware of?

Ooooh, Id be careful with flat roofs, the build up of snow and leaves with nowhere to go (no arch allowing them to slide off) creates a mess of deterioration of your roof after just 3 - 5 years.

How do builders that build modern homes combat that?

[Anonymous]

I adore that style of architecture. But it belongs in the woods. There’s nothing worse than a gorgeous modern house stuck into a neighborhood where either you have curtains drawn all the time or it’s a fishbowl.

The most beautiful house in the world will look terrible in the wrong setting. A suburban neighborhood is probably the wrong setting.

There are a few exceptions in the area - tucked into wooded hillsides in Silver Spring or backing to rock creek park, or that one neighborhood with all the cute modern houses down towards Mt Vernon somewhere that has big, wooded lots.

Most of the time though it ends up looking terrible.

[Anonymous]

Construction costs are 1.5-2x a more traditional home. We’re in the same boat, so I’m interested in other viewpoints. DH is a home builder and for a colonial we’d budget about $150/SF for construction (at builders cost, not retail), for a contemporary, we’re budgeting around $250/SF and trying to manage to budget carefully to keep it that “low”. DH thinks it may swell to more like $325/SF We don’t do ANY contemporary homes, so part of the increased cost would be outsourcing more than usual.

Just to be really clear though- we have actually BUILT colonials in the $2-2.8 range at $150-175 per SF, including the wolf range and hardie siding, shingles (not slate/faux slate), Andersen 400s, wired for speakers, theater room, etc. etc.

[Anonymous]

Lot of good advice here. Custom is expensive, true modern even more so.

Do NOT do a flat roof. You’re asking for trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I adore that style of architecture. But it belongs in the woods. There’s nothing worse than a gorgeous modern house stuck into a neighborhood where either you have curtains drawn all the time or it’s a fishbowl.

The most beautiful house in the world will look terrible in the wrong setting. A suburban neighborhood is probably the wrong setting.

There are a few exceptions in the area - tucked into wooded hillsides in Silver Spring or backing to rock creek park, or that one neighborhood with all the cute modern houses down towards Mt Vernon somewhere that has big, wooded lots.

Most of the time though it ends up looking terrible.

I feel the same. A house in my neighborhood has enormous floor-to-ceiling windows covering one entire side, providing the occupants a glorious view of...the houses across the street. This kind of house belongs on a waterfront. And I do think they are beautiful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We found a good teardown lot. Husband is keen on doing a modern style house (flat roof, rectangular shape, lots of floor to ceiling windows, etc). Besides the challenge of resale, increased energy costs, anything else we should be aware of?

Ooooh, Id be careful with flat roofs, the build up of snow and leaves with nowhere to go (no arch allowing them to slide off) creates a mess of deterioration of your roof after just 3 - 5 years.

How do builders that build modern homes combat that?

For some reason our fairly new Arlington townhouses were built with flat roofs. They do have drainage into downspouts and that is effective. Once a year some of us get together and have the roofs cleaned. It is amazing what the contractor finds beyond leaves. The people who are too dumb to gent them cleaned have had roof leaks because the debris clogs the channels to the downspouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Construction costs are 1.5-2x a more traditional home. We’re in the same boat, so I’m interested in other viewpoints. DH is a home builder and for a colonial we’d budget about $150/SF for construction (at builders cost, not retail), for a contemporary, we’re budgeting around $250/SF and trying to manage to budget carefully to keep it that “low”. DH thinks it may swell to more like $325/SF We don’t do ANY contemporary homes, so part of the increased cost would be outsourcing more than usual.

Just to be really clear though- we have actually BUILT colonials in the $2-2.8 range at $150-175 per SF, including the wolf range and hardie siding, shingles (not slate/faux slate), Andersen 400s, wired for speakers, theater room, etc. etc.

Builder too but I am seeing reverse trend in the industry. Prices are a bit soft and coming down due to less down. I would say $180-200/sqft is more of a trend for premium or luxury custom builds.

[Anonymous]

Total newbie here. We like our house now but dream about building something custom further out one day. (Not modern.)

I don't want a house over 4000 sq/ft. Looking at the above estimates, that comes out to about 700k, which seems really low. What are the average costs on top I should have in the back of my dreamer mind? Understand it may vary so wildly depending on the lot, etc. that hard to answer.