Home builders with fixed price contracts can only absorb so much cost pressure. Research shows which builders were already at most risk, even before the war started.
Articles on construction costs
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In interviews with residents and builders after disasters from Hawaii to Colorado to Puerto Rico, an engineer and policy specialist found people often overestimating the cost of building back better.
As well as the added costs of upgrades and options that the marketing glosses over, people need to consider five other sources of cost blow-outs when building a home.
Our research shows decisions on the fate of public housing towers that are based on a proper process of considering all the evidence could go either way: demolish and rebuild, or retrofit.
Modular building techniques offer sustainable, affordable and adaptable solutions for a rapidly changing world.
An approach to building homes collectively, inspired by German baugruppen, has been adopted in Australia with positive results.
Australian plumbing standards require apartment buildings to have systems designed for three times their actual peak water use. This can lead to costly water damage on top of inflated building costs.
As with any major financial decision, you need to understand how the renovation fits with your broader life goals. Why do you want to do it?
Engineers, architects and builders can design and construct affordable new buildings that can resist tornadoes, floods and wildfires, but do not. We have that opportunity now.
Top contributors
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Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor in Research & Innovation, RMIT University
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Professor of Construction and Environmental Assessment, The University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor in Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
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Vice Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, RMIT University
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Senior Lecturer in Water Engineering, Deakin University
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Adjunct research professor, civil and environmental engineering, Western University
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Lecturer in Architecture, Western Sydney University
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Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University
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Associate Professor & Global Challenge Lead, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University; University of British Columbia
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PhD Candidate, School of Engineering, Deakin University
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Senior Lecturer, Finance and Financial Planning, Griffith University
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Associate Head of School (Research), UniSQ School of Business, University of Southern Queensland
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Associate Professor in Marketing, Griffith University
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Assistant Professor of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame
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Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder