T --- 1 -'-~---T-- 
January, 1916 
35 
A. Raymond Ellis, architect 
Two houses from the same plan. The one of brick 
was built in Arcadia, Wisconsin, at the cost of $8,000; 
A. Raymond Ellis, architect 
Two similar houses. This one was built of frame covered 
with stucco, in Akron, Ohio, and cost about $14,000 
COST AND THE LOCALITY 
A Consideration of What Part the Price of Labor and Materials Plays in Building—Why the Architect 
Cannot Give Exact Estimates—The Architect and His Client 
A. RAYMOND ELLIS 
W HAT is there different about houses, and how does it 
affect the cost? Two houses about the same size will 
vary five thousand dollars in cost. Why is it? Perhaps I can 
answer it best by saying that a Ford automobile performs the 
same function that any other automobile does; but the differ¬ 
ence between it and the most expensive car is apparent. 
The cost of building varies because the price of labor and 
materials varies, as well as the living conditions, requirements 
and methods of construction and finishing in different sections 
of the country. Therefore, the only accurate way to obtain 
an exact estimate on a house is to obtain bids on the plans 
and specifications. An approximate estimate may be made by 
comparing it with some house of similar dimensions and con¬ 
struction recently built in your vicinity. 
Sectional Tastes and Costs 
Some sections of the country have not progressed as rapidly 
as others, their standards of building are lower and they are 
not exacting in details of refinement and comfort. In many 
rural sections they are very careless about building, while in 
the large commercial centers, where the greatest progress has 
been made, the standards of building are very high, estab¬ 
lished by well fixed building regulations as well as the de¬ 
mand for well built and up-to-date houses. 
Many of the necessities and up-to-date equipment found 
in luxurious homes costing from $10,000 upward, would be 
considered by those living in rural sections as absolutely un¬ 
necessary for their comfort or mode of living. 
In order to determine if possible the exact difference in the 
cost of building the same house in different sections of the 
country, figures were obtained from the same plans and speci¬ 
fications in the following cities: 
The house in New York cost $4300.00; in Philadelphia 
from 10 to 15 per cent less; in Maine, 20 per cent less; in 
Southern New England, about the same as in New York and 
in some sections about 10 per cent less. In the middle South 
(in Kentucky and Maryland), 30 per cent less; in Chicago, 
10 per cent less; in the middle West (Ohio and Michigan and 
Iowa), from 5 per cent to 40 per cent less. On the Pacific 
coast Northwest, from 25 to 50 per cent; in Colorado, 25 per 
cent. In the Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico), from 
20 per cent to 35 per cent less. 
For several years I have watched closely the cost of various 
kinds of buildings and figures cannot be taken that will give 
the constant ratio, because the cost of building fluctuates ac¬ 
cording to the supply and demand. 
Another factor of cost is found between the rural section 
having no building laws, but cheap labor and native material, 
and the cost in nearby cities having building laws, organized 
labor and the best building material, with the additional over¬ 
head expense necessary to carry on business in the city at an 
increase from 10 to 25 per cent. This analysis, however, will 
A. Raymond Ellis, architect 
This one, built of frame, stucco and shingle in Hartford, 
Conn., cost $6,500. The difference is due to materials 
A, Raymond Ellis, architect 
Built from the plan of that shown above, this house 
erected in Newington, Conn., with slate roof and stone 
chimney, cost about $10,000 
