Exterior finish pricing and other ?'s

[WhiteRubi]

First off, thanks for a great forum...

Now, on to the questions.

Our first builder that we are getting a bid from says that a full brick exterior will be close to the same cost as HardiPlank. We had all but decided on HardiPlank due to not liking vinyl and wanting to avoid the cost of brick. So, does this sound right, HardiPlank and brick being comparable in price?

If it helps...2 story on a WOB.
1st floor is 1255 sq ft
2nd floor is 1056 sq ft

We would have done HardiPlank basically on the 1st and 2nd floor. The basement (back of house) would have been CulturedStone or brick. He also stated that cultured stone was about $12-$15/ sq ft.

Next question...
What is the typical breakdown for "draws"?
By that I mean:
the builder wants
50% framing
10% mechanical
etc etc etc ...all done in draws from the bank. How does that usually break down by percentage?

Just curious

[Cole]

Where are you located?

[WhiteRubi]

Where are you located?

Located in Central Kentucky.

[David]

So, does this sound right, HardiPlank and brick being comparable in price?

No, sounds odd to me. Hardi goes up much, much quicker. Less mess to clean up. And, I don't believe the material it costs more than brick.


What is the typical breakdown for "draws"?
...
50% framing
10% mechanical


From what I've heard, that sounds a bit steep for a first draw. I think equal draws of 33% (3) or 25% (4) are more common.

[Cole]

No No No, Brick is more expensive.

Your builder is trying to take advantage of you.

50% framing!!!!! That is just crazy!

[David]

I thought 50% was high too, but perhaps he's got excavation and foundation (walk out basement) tied in. If so, 50% would be high, but not quite to the crazy level.

[Cole]

I thought 50% was high too, but perhaps he's got excavation and foundation (walk out basement) tied in. If so, 50% would be high, but not quite to the crazy level.

That is very true.

[WhiteRubi]

Thanks for the info guys.

I did not mean to imply that the builder actually wanted the 50%. I just was looking for a rough idea of percentage per draw and how they fall as far as completion. Thanks again

[David]

OK. You should expect 3 or 4 draws of equal amounts.

I think Cole and I got a little skeptical of your builder because he told you Hardi costs the same as brick. I think you should probe that a little more.

[WhiteRubi]

Yeah, I'm a little skeptical too. I thought it would save us some money going with Hardi, but it looks better than vinyl.

So relatively speaking, what should the cost comparison be hardi vs. brick provided nothing fancy on the brick?

He told us roughly $5 / sq ft on the brick, mortar, installation everything with a soldier course at the top and reversed coin corners.

I've got a price on material only for Hardi at $8.25 per piece for 8.25" x 12' prefinished.

[David]

I can't say. I don't build professionally yet. My gut feel is that brick is 2 or 3 times more expensive than hardi.

You priced materials. You can get hardi for $1/sf. And the labor should be much cheaper as well. You pay for fewer man-hours due to less time and/or a smaller crew to install. You also save in the building timeline (subs like to work alone), and thus, some $ is saved in the form of interest.

Brick needs a ledge to sit on, so your foundation is that much larger with brick. It's not a lot, but concrete adds up quick.

The hidden expense to hardi is the trimwork. You'll need to be very specific about what you want and have it included in the bids and contract. The trim is commonly painted a different color and is more difficult to install than just the planks. But a framing crew should now how to install it and not have any problems.

Keep in mind that when building with brick in the south, it's common to have an air space behind the brick. On the outside of the studs is usually a rigid foam drainage plane. It's common around my neighborhood to install brick on first floor with the rigid foam behind it. Then on second floor is hardi installed right over felt-covered studs. This is a crock IMO. The hardi is not airtight, and neither is the wrb (the rigid foam is much closer to airtight, though it's not 100%). If you have any say, you want the rigid foam over the studs and the hardi over the foam. Please don't stick your hardi right over the studs. I've stressed that before to others.

[Cole]

Great Info, Dave!

[Pokey]

Where were you quoted $ 8.25 for 7" exposure siding. Thats not a bad deal if you were quoted as an individual homeowner. If you go that route watch your pricing on trim boards. last time i quoted the same product i was quoted $ 11.07 per peice, this was for a 15 year paint warranty. This is from a supplier that i buy 4-5 thousand square of vinyl siding from in a year.

[WhiteRubi]

Where were you quoted $ 8.25 for 7" exposure siding. Thats not a bad deal if you were quoted as an individual homeowner. If you go that route watch your pricing on trim boards. last time i quoted the same product i was quoted $ 11.07 per peice, this was for a 15 year paint warranty. This is from a supplier that i buy 4-5 thousand square of vinyl siding from in a year.


Yeah, 8.25" x 12" , 7" exposure Prefinished HardiPlank in Country Lane Red. The Mrs. works for one of the BIG stores.:D That is bundle price with her discount.
So what is common sq ft price for installation?

[Pokey]

Installation really depends. Around here labor only to install runs between 1.75 to 2.50 per sf in most cases. I'm sure a lot of outfits in other areas are less expensive due to the fact that it is a more common building material. We do not hang a lot of it, so our history is not that great to come up with good evidence on cost per sf.

[WhiteRubi]

Okay, here is the latest. We got the "bid" from the builder.

The house is a 2 story over WOB. Foundation in brick (exposed portion of sides and back) and 1st level front in brick, front of garage (side entry) also brick the rest is HardiPlank. Rectangular shape country style house, 1200+/- sq 1st floor, 1000+/- 2nd floor. I have figured roughly 4500 TOTAL square feet of exterior wall space.

His bid: $10500 for brick, and $12500 for HardiPlank

I have PDF files of the house plans and excel spreadsheet of his bid if anybody would like to critique :D

[Cole]

I would love to see, send it to me at info @ coleconstructiongroup.com

[David]

Damn, something doesn't sound right to me.

[Taitrerce]

Please do it right now. I love it to read something about this post.

[Boorchmen]

This was a great site. I needed to find something for my Homework and This site helped me out so much! Thanx alot!!!!