The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-21
THE COST OF BUILDING
Fully 500 Times rs Much in some Places
as In Others.

as IN others.
Once upon a time, saws a writer in Coun-
try Life m America, there was a magazine
which offered prizes for plans and photo
graphs OF houses that cost IS, 900 to build.
An architect in a little inland town won
first prize. His house was finer and larger
than those OF the city architects.
There was some grumbling among the
losers and many readers were sceptical.
That house was never built for IS ,000,'
they said.
But it was.
Another tins a magazine published
photographs and plans of a house that cost
$40 700 to build in a fashionable suburb
Of New York. Some people up State
sneered.
This magazine is foolish" said they.
1T brags because a man has built a house
for SIC, 600 that we could build for 1880"
They were right. So was the magazine.
Il costs less to build in Philadelphia
than in Boston or New York; it costs still
less in certain small cities which are not
near large cities and yet possess first class
shipping facilities; it costs less still in small
towns in the lumber belt, where labor and
lumber are both cheap.
The difference is not a slight one; the
difference between the highest and lowest
extremes sometimes amounts to almost
300 per cent.
Many factors enter into the COMPARE
tive cost Of building. The two principal
ones are labor and material.
As to the lumber, it is probably unneces
sary to state that it is much cheaper where
il is plenty than where It is scarce. It's
the freight that runs the price up. In
parts Of Maine. Pennsylvania and Georgia
it is comparatively cheap-provided the
local varieties are u~sed-while in New
York city or western Nebraska it is very
expensive.
nected with the cost Of lumber. In western
New York State hemlock cost 81 a thousand
three years ago. Lumber has become
more scarce in that section and hemlock
now costs 500 a thousand. The cost Of
building has increased in like proportion.
In sections where the supply OF lumber
Is steady, the cost OF building has not great
Iy increased. Poor shipping facilities, which
affect the price Of lumber, affect the cost
OF building in like proportion.
The price Of labor varies greatly. Where
the union system is strong, as in New York,
the cost Of both skilled and unskilled labor is
at the maximum. In other places the union
scale is lower, and the cost OF labor is still
less where there are no unions. Labor is a
very large item in New York and q very
small item In many country towns.
For exa mple, the services OF a good car
penter can be obtained in C~hautauqua, NY,
for 81 a day, while a carpenter in Rochester.
100 miles or 30 distant, costs a a day. Natu-
rally, the scale Of building costs in one place
cannot be applied to the other.
A third factor is the contractors fee. This
varies in different places. In Philadelphia,
for example. all contractor and sub-con-
tractors are willing to work for a smaller
m argin OF profit than in New York. This
is due to various economic conditions.
Furthermore, the cost Of building a coun-
try house il affected by its proximity to or
distance from a large city where building is
expensive. 1t costs more to build a house
in Morristown, N. j., or Flushing, L. l., than
IN Bryn Mawr, Pa; it costs still less in a
small town that is not near any large city,
other things being equal.
To get somewhere near the facts ! chose.
as q specific example, a country house
cslI.t- Mohican Lodge, built in the summer
Of 1905 at Sinking Springs near Reading, Pa,
at a total cost Of V 1851. so. submitted
photographs, plans and specifications Of this
house TO half a dozen architects and build
ers in various sectins OF the country. From
them I nave secured estimates on this house
for their localities. These estimates range
all the way from t14 200 in New York, under
the most expensive conditions, to aS,I7i in
Bangor, Me-, where lumber is plenty and
labor cheap.
Neither rave I made any attempt TO cover
the entire country but | think I have selected
places representing the different classes
of conditions. have estimates from North
and South, from large cities, small cities
and country towns. The estimates OF total
cost are al follows:
Vicinity Of New York ..,........... 81. mas 10 n. IA
Vicinity OF Boston ,......... iL..ae