Category: Blog

In the last blog, we discussed the critical implications of the construction methods of our homes and buildings on the causes of climate change. The energy consumption of our buildings is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions across our economy.

The building sector also provides us the largest source of low cost and easily attainable reductions in energy consumption and thus greenhouse gas emissions with existing technology. In many cases the climate-friendly options for our homes are those options that also save us money over time: improved insulation, high efficiency lighting & heating, or solar technology. No futuristic, yet-to-be-discovered technology needed.

Although saving money while saving the planet is as compelling a reason as any to build and renovate our homes with the best energy performance options available, there is another equally critical function that our homes can do for climate change.

Adaption of Our Homes:

When we think about adaptive strategies in buildings we must first consider what the impacts of climate change are, and will be in the future. Scientists agree that the most likely outcomes of increased carbon pollution to our atmosphere will be increased severity of heat waves, droughts, and wildfires.

Also likely are increasingly powerful storms, including larger rain events, which in Santa Fe and New Mexico means increased likelihood and severity of flash flooding. With changing temperature and moisture conditions comes changes to pest behavior, as we have seen with bark beetle infestations, and increasing difficulties for agriculture as California is experiencing today.

Our homes can easily be designed and constructed to respond to these climatic stresses. And often can be done in ways that add no additional cost in the context of typical new construction costs today.

Examples of Home Adaption for Climate Change:

Examples include proper solar design, where solar gain is optimized to increase the indoor temperature only in winter while fully shading the living space in summer. This coupled with high mass interior walls and floors can create a home that resists the temperature extremes of the exterior climate.

Similarly, fire resistive exterior building materials will reduce our risks to wildfires. Exterior materials such as steel posts and beams, metal siding and roofing and masonry walls can minimize fire danger to the structure. These materials are also pest and water resistant, improving our resilience in the face of flooding.

Water scarcity is already a reality for New Mexicans and in the future it is likely to only become more so. The use of water conserving fixtures is already code in Santa Fe and has become the norm, but the inclusion of rain water catchment and grey water re-use for landscape irrigation will afford us more garden enjoyment and food security without the added stress to our water supply.

Building & Renovating with the Future In Mind:

The ways in which we build and renovate our homes can afford us increased resilience to the impacts of climate instability. Such methods improve our capacity to remain comfortable and protected from the climate effects we are already faced with, as well as the increased impacts still to come.

If this is the first time you have considered building a custom home, the process of designing and building your dream home may feel daunting and can be worrisome if you don’t know what to expect.

As a Design-Build General Contractor in Santa Fe, Palo Santo Designs LLC, provides comprehensive architectural design and construction services tailored to your unique project goals.

The advantage of our design-build approach is that the design process is informed by technical construction knowledge and real-time construction pricing from the field.

Here’s an outline of the design-build approach:

• Design development of a home
• Gathering a team of outsourced services: surveying, soil study, structural engineering, storm-water management, energy modeling and landscape architecture
• Pricing, plans and permit set
• Selection of finishes and fixtures
• Design costs discussed and finalized
• Construction begins

Integrated team approach allows all the key players (owners, designers, contractor, sub-contractors, suppliers, and other consultants) to feed relevant information into the process early on. This allows the project goals to be met most effectively.

DESIGN

The first step in any successful project is Design. Generally our design process can be broken down as follows:

1. Schematic Design and Design Development.

The process of developing the basic floor plan, site orientation and exterior shape that works for you and the site. This is the most specialized aspect of the process and is different and unique onto each project.

For some, this process can be completed very quickly, but for others it can be time intensive depending on the complexity of the site, the covenants or other restrictions and to what extent you know what design is best for you.

Because of our hands-on knowledge of current construction costs, we are able to project a likely construction budget range during this early phase, optimizing the design process from the start to prepare you for the likely financial implications of the design.  In today’s market, an accelerated cost trend makes it harder than ever to be precise about construction costs until the plans are engineered.  However, the preliminary budget projection and basic house plan are suitable for beginning the bank loan process, should you need.

The final construction bid amount is not guaranteed until the final set of plans are engineered and completed. If your project will require preliminary approval from an architectural review committee or Santa Fe’s Historic Review Board, this would be the stage at which we would prepare the presentations necessary for you. Once we have a basic house design to your liking we then move into the technical aspects of the plan.

2. Outsourced Professional Services:

These services represent our ‘best practices’ approach to quality assurance in design. We work closely with professionals contracted by Palo Santo Designs LLC on your behalf including:

• Surveyor for topographic study and staking the building corners
• Geotechnical Engineering for soils study, assuring a design which that minimizes shift, settlement or other common problems in soil movement under your foundation.
• Structural Engineering to assure all structural components and attachments are sound, durable and safe.
• Civil Engineering to assure all storm-water management conditions are mitigated adequately and compliance with EPA and other regulations are met.
• Other professional services including Energy Modeling to optimize energy efficiency, landscape architect, or other services as appropriate to your project.

Pricing and Permit Set:

Based on the outcomes of the two previous steps, a nearly complete set of plans suitable for developing a detailed construction cost breakdown will be made. This will include:

• Cover Page
• Site Plan
• Landscaping Plan
• Floor Plans
• Exterior Elevations
• Roof Drainage Plan
• Building Sections
• Typical Wall Section
• Foundation Plan and Details
• Roof and Floor Framing Plans
• Window and Door Schedule
• Electrical/Lighting Plan
• Mechanical Plan
• Other Details as necessary

Finishes and Fixtures will be allocated budget allowances at this time, if not yet specified. The outcome of this step will be a comprehensive construction cost proposal and a set of plans ready for permit.

3. Permitting:

Palo Santo Designs will submit all permit application documents on your behalf and steward the approval process through for you. Permit fees will vary based on location, valuation of the construction and size of the home.

4. Specification:

While the parallel paths of permit approval and bank loan processing are underway, we will work closely with you and preferred vendors to assist you in the selection of finishes and fixtures that suit your taste and your budget.

Additional architectural design work may be appropriate at this stage including interior detail elevations of kitchen, baths, master closet and other key features as necessary to facilitate the selection of cabinets, tile, fixtures, countertops, appliances, and other finishes.

Creating the interior ambiance and overall impression of the home is the outcome of this effort, and allows us to finalize a construction contract amount.

5. Design Costs:

The total cost of the design process will vary based on the unique characteristics of your project and often fall in the range of about 6%-10% of the total construction costs.

Example home:

A home with a projected $1,750,000 construction budget may cost approximately $105,000 to design (6%); a home with a $3,000,000 construction budget may cost $240,000 to design (8%).

Remember that design costs are not included in typical square foot construction costs, so when considering the rough square foot pricing in the next section, the design work is always additional to those typical costs.

Contact us and we will provide you with our Updated Pre-Design Budget exercise which is a very useful tool in preparing for the likely costs of your custom home project.  [email protected] 

Step #2: Construction of a Home

Based on our experience building high quality, high performance custom homes in Santa Fe, NM and surrounding areas, we have developed a very good understanding of what typical construction costs are in this region.

Although each project is unique with varying site considerations, and finishes representing the unique taste and aesthetics of each owner, typical construction costs as of 2023 range between $650-$850 per square foot of heated living area.

In each case, a specialized and itemized construction budget will be developed that represents the exact costs of your project, and will vary somewhat from the typical costs shown here. 

Contact us for a detailed analysis of the likely construction costs for your project.  [email protected] or call us at 505-988-7230