0tterbot wrote:
recently, for reasons which are actually irrelevent now, we were looking at
what sorts of kit homes etc one could buy. it was often the case that the
more pleasant, smaller, subtle houses did not represent "value for money"

Most kit home builders have 2 bed (or even 1 bed) 1 bath designs. Try
finding a 2x1 house anywhere else.

http://www.ezyhomes.com.au/manadalay.php
http://www.beachlifehomes.com.au/kit...kitplans_id=58
http://www.kithomes.com.au/326-budget.html

House construction definitely falls into the "economies of scale"
syndrome. For instance, the kitchen and bathroom are the most
expensive rooms in the house, and the cost of a kitchen or bathroom
is the same irrespective of the total cost of the house. Then you have
to get the trades in - it is cheaper to get in one electrician to wire
up a large house than to wire up two houses half the size. These
things are fairly self-evident, and if there is not much demand for
small houses it is because customers aren't prepared to pay a
higher price per square metre. It isn't really the builders' fault.
They just want to sell houses. Customers want environmentally
sound houses until they have to pay for them.

only a few small, nice ones. not enough companies had passive solar
design or inclusions like solar, or solar hot water, or such as that. it was
disappointing to say the least

Much of the passive design involves correctly orienting the house
on the site. Most builders will let you move windows and modify
window size at little cost, and passive design largely involves
relatively minor customisation to suit the house orientation. Most
kit homes are lightweight framed construction, so not suited to
thermal mass principles, but you can pack plenty of insulation
into the frame/ceiling/floor. As far as your water heating goes,
a kit supplier might offer a particular solution as standard but
you are free to install something else.