XII.
The cost of building depends so largely upon varying circumstances that it is impossible to give precise estimates without exact information upon such points as the amount of excavation needed, facilities for obtaining stone for foundation, etc. Then the prices of labor and materials vary greatly in different localities, so the figures here given can only be approximately correct. Cottage No. I could be built as shown on plan, for $500. A cellar under it would make it cost about $100 more. Cottages Nos. II, III and IV would cost from $600 to $1000. Those shown in plates VI, VII, IX, X, and others of similar character and size may be estimated to cost from $2.50 to $3.00 per square ft. That is to say, if, as in Fig. IX, the extreme exterior dimensions are 21 ft. by 29 ft., the house covers 609 square ft., and would cost from $1522 to $1827. Cottage No. XIV could be built for from $3000 to $3500.
These prices are given as guides, and may serve the reader as a standard to follow. If plain interior finish is adopted, these figures may be relied upon for ordinary cases. Some sites, however, present unexpected difficulties, and some localities are peculiarly favored. Then the style of interior finish adopted affects the cost greatly, and the expense may be easily doubled by the use of elaborate cabinet work.
A brick house of the same capacity as a wooden one, will cost nearly 20 per cent. more. Rubble stone, if easily obtained, costs about as much as brick.
In building double houses, we may save from 10 to 15 per cent. on the cost of the houses singly.
Good materials and workmanship are always the cheapest in the end, and it is by no means advisable to economize too closely on that score. There can be no comfort in a house that constantly needs repairs; and the money spent in building a home, carefully and substantially constructed, will never be regretted.
