All Forum Posts by: Eric Teran

@Ian Carter a lot of times flippers will do it the easy way and then the homeowners discover something like this. There is a lot of space between the two walls. Your question is too hard to determine without doing a site visit and determining the directions of the joists and what is above.

A few questions:

1. Is the new wall carrying the addition above? 

2. What is above the old wall?  

3. Can you figure out the joist direction?

It may be a big cost but it depends on what you are going to do with the space. If you are going to convert it into a rental it may be worth it. For example, it may cost an additional $10k to remove the wall and install a beam but you may earn more money and within a year or two it will have been paid off. 

@Josiah Keener20" is great! If you need an Architect I would be happy to help you. Actually, in DC you will need an Architect and structural engineer to lower a slab. Depending on what you are doing to the cellar (you want it to be a cellar and not a basement, they are different in DC) will depend if you also need an MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) engineer. I will PM you. 

@Rachan Malhotra might? You definitely should. You have gone this far. What is one more phone call? Keep us posted.

@Josiah Keener you can dig the hole yourself. Be careful and do not damage the party wall or footings. You want to dig next to it and dig deep enough until you get to the underside of the footing. To drop the slab 7" you want the footing to be at least another 8" deep. Those 8" is for a 4" slab, some gravel, and insulation. When you dig you want the bottom of the footing to be at least 15" from the top of the slab. If it is more then you can have a higher ceiling. If it is less then you will have to do underpinning. Also, remember, if you see the photos I provided you can see the footing sticking out. You cannot remove that without underpinning. You have to keep that in and you will have a step at the bottom of the wall. Most of my clients are fine with this as this is a rental unit. 

@Jinglei Cui I was able to build my place on a vacant lot for $130 SF. However, I was the Architect and acted as the GC. Without that, I would have been around $200 SF. That was all in. Only the modular was around $90 SF. I think modular makes sense in expensive markets. If labor is cheap then the cost savings will not be that much if any. The company I used is in Pennsylvania so you will have to find someone a lot closer. I believe Vancouver has some modular companies as well. You need find a company close to you or you will pay more for traveling. Try to find one less than a day drive away, so probably 6 or 8 hours. Any trip longer than that will result in you paying for hotel rooms for multiple people. 

@David Edwards good to have a tag team partner. 

@Jennifer T. Another Architect weighing in. I think it depends on how big your project is. If you are only doing cosmetic work then you can do it yourself or work with an interior designer. If you do it yourself pick out everything you want before construction begins so that the cost doesn’t go up during construction. More information at the beginning will always save you money at the end.

If you are moving around a bathroom or a non-load bearing wall then if you are an experienced flipper you will probably be okay. If it is your first time I would maybe be on the cautious side and hire an architect.

If you are doing an addition then I would go with an architect and maybe even a design build firm (if they have a good reputation). Sometimes a jurisdiction will require an architect once an addition is being done so you may not have an option.

Good luck.

@Quinton Campbell in regards to zoning you can use this link, https://ca.baltimorecity.gov/codes/Art%2032%20-%20Zoning.pdf and go to page 193. That is the section it starts to talk about R8 zoning. On many small projects I agree with @Greg Dickerson that you can call the city and ask about zoning. On bigger projects like this I would suggest to have an Architect take a second look. The Architect should do it for free or charge a few hundreds dollars at most.

A lot of times the people at the city only give you yes or no answers. If you don’t ask the right question you may not get the right answer. Before I start any project I do my own investigation to make sure a client can build what they want. For me it usually takes 10-15 minutes at most so I don’t charge. I once had a client who didn’t realize a property they bought had a bird corridor easement and they lost 30% of their property.

If you go to the city ask these zoning questions:

1. Setback requirements?

2. Height limit or story limit above grade?

3. Lot occupancy for new buildings. This percentage is usually a hard number unlike an existing building asking for an addition to go over with an exception?

4. Open space requirements?

5. Green area ratio?

6. What is consider a basement so that I doesn’t count towards your story limit?

7. Any review board hearings?

8. Any sight line requirements?

9. Any FAR requirements?

10. Parking requirements?

11. Any requirements to match adjacent rear of buildings? For example can you extend 10’ past your neighbors rear wall.

12. If you want to get an exception or variance what is the process. For new construction I highly advise against this because you can’t show hardship which is a big requirement and neighbors can and will show up.

13. Any neighbor notification letters required?

14. If your property doesn’t extend to the street and you will have to build stairs or retaining walls in public space what are those requirements?

Building department questions:

1. Storm water requirements. With new construction you may have to have all the rain water connect directly to the storm drain?

2. Water meter and lateral requirements?

3. You mentioned prefab so ask if modular construction is allowed? Most likely yes but if you go this route ask a modular company if they can drive their flatbed trucks to your property?

4. Utilities, do they have to be underground?

5. If there is no sidewalk or curbs do you have to build them? Do you have to put up a bond until they are complete?

Whoever you speak to always ask, “are you sure there is lo thing else I need to investigate?” Also, look at you deed for any easements. Sometimes the city will not have these. For example, there might be a road easement that access a lot.

These are all the big questions. Most likely the majority of these will not pertain to this project but I always ask as much as I can because you never know.

Good Luck

@Josiah Keener was the $65k just for the lowering of the slab? My clients are paying between $100k to $140k depending what the scope of work is. The higher end is when they convert the basement to a separate unit and all the utilities are divided. DC is expensive right now and no one is hurting for work so they can charge more.

@Christopher Currall there is a slab and a footing. The architect probably made you work on the footing which is the structure. Especially if you are adding a second floor. The slab is not structural. It is Usually only 4” or 5” thick. A crack is most likely not a big deal.

With that said an inspector may ask for additional items from the approved plans. If they asks for anything it will probably be for verification that an item is acceptable. For example, they may ask to prove that the crack does not interfere with the structural integrity of the footing. The Architect May draw a detail, provide calculations, or write a letter that everything is fine. That will be submitted to the city and kept on file.

I wouldn’t be too worried about. Just make sure you, your contractor and Architect know what is going on.

Good luck.

@Jinglei Cui this topic has been coming up a lot recently on BP. I built my own modular house and have designed a few. They definitely save time and money depends on a few factors.

The biggest thing to do is to start your design with the modular requirements. The goal is to get the design to work with the least amount of boxes that have to be transported. This will save lots of money.

The next thing is to get as much of it as possible built in the factory. The problem is that the majority of companies have ugly finishes or will not do anything custom.

These two factors are the biggest in saving money and time. I built my house in 4 months and I know I can get it down to two months next time. Everything goes much quicker so you need to have a lot of money up front.

Resale value. I believe it is the same. It depends more on the design and aesthetics of the house. If a buyer sees a beautiful well kept home they do not care if it is modular, built with 2x4 or with masonry. No one can tell if a house is modular unless they are told. Others on BP don’t agree with me and it may depend on the region.

Loans are more complicated because a lot of banks don’t deal with them. You can find them but you will have to do lots of calling. I had to call over 30 banks. The issue is that the loan is normally disbursed after certain milestone throughout 8-12 months of a project. With modular it is basically three withdrawals within 3-4 months. One for site work, one huge withdrawal when the modular units are delivered, and the last one at final completion.

Lastly, if you like modular construction check out Superior Walks for basements. I used them as well for my house and they installed 156’ linear feet of wall in 3 hours.

I believe in modular construction if done correctly and there is a lot to know to make it work to your advantage.

Good luck.