The foundation may have been damaged beyond repair. A lot of work is usually required before the first cement can be poured or the first nail hammered in. When a new home builder has several houses under construction, even if they aren t all in the same area, work can be scheduled for the most efficient use of carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and other workers. If one house isn t ready for wiring, the electrician can probably work on another. When only one home is being built, the same kind of efficient scheduling is rarely possible.
Labor normally accounts for the largest share of home-building costs.
When new houses are under construction, there is usually no landscaping, allowing easy access to the site. Materials can be driven directly up to any side of each structure as needed. When a house is being rebuilt among existing homes, there are trees, shrubs, lawns, flowerbeds, fences and other obstructions limiting access. Materials often have to be off-loaded further away and hand carried to where they re needed. This factor is compounded if the building site is on sloping ground.