BART Cottage
The project
This cottage was completed around 10 years ago as a downtime project when the people at BART couldn’t work on other projects or had a few extra hours left over in the day. It was designed to be a reproducible home that could be built all over the country and the original intention was that this one would serve as an example for potential customers. However, due to the markets taking a dive in 2008, followed by the earthquakes in Christchuch that caused massive damage to the area, other priorities emerged and this intention was realized.
The cottage is of typical timber framed construction found throughout the county, with board and batten cladding and a corrugated metal roof. It has an open plan kitchen, dining, and living area, 2 bedrooms, a 2 car garage, and a combined bathroom and laundry.
There are clerestory windows installed at the top of the northern facing walls which provide natural light for the second bedroom and the kitchen area, and also help in ventilating the home. The sloped ceilings combined with the clerestory windows cause the home to have a more spacious appearance from inside. BART decided to build their own timber framed windows to prevent condensation problems associated with aluminum framed windows and also save cost on the windows.
The roof was constructed in such a way that it could accommodate 10kw worth of solar panels, although on this project they were never installed. Exterior insulation was installed (via insulating panels) on the west wall, to protect the timber from sun damage, as that side of the home gets a lot of sun on this site and has no source of shade.
While the cottage cost quite a bit less than $150,000 at the time, BART estimated that by today’s standards, it would be possible to build it for about $150,000.
Low Cost
Costs were kept down on this home mostly due to its size. Fewer materials were needed and less work was involved. The construction method of timber framing is also simple and the design is uncomplicated, making the build more efficient which in turn produced cost savings.
Another element that helped with cost was the willingness and “know how” to build things rather than buy them such as the aforementioned homemade timber window frames. Glazing is a significant cost in many projects so finding a way to save in this area was a good way to cut costs.
On a side note, BART noted that although the construction crew worked on this project during their downtime, the majority of the work that went into the home could also be done as a DIY project given the simple nature of this building.
About Building and Renovation Team (BART)
BART has been in operation since 2005. It is still in business, but has dramatically downsized and shifted focus since then. The company today concentrates on kitchen and bathroom renovations, project management, and consultancy work.
They can consult on areas that will help you through your build, including options that will make your home more affordable. They also do consultancy around the area of accessibility.
Contact
If you’re interested in getting in contact with BART about any consultancy work or general inquiries, you can get in contact with them at graham@bart.net.nz
