Q & A

Gary Silverston is a General Contractor focused on private residences in the West Los Angeles area. In the past 30 years he has built and re-modeled over 60 homes in Los Angeles, including Santa Monica, Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades and Malibu, among others. His work reflects a broad and diverse stylistic portfolio, ranging from Classic Mediterranean, French Country, Mid-Century Modern, Contemporary, Santa Barbara Mission and more. In the past 10 years, he has educated himself on building elegant, energy-efficient, sustainable homes that combine exceptional quality and lifestyle with passive and active-energy systems.

Below, Gary answers some questions from his clients:

Question 1:
I hear an awful lot about pre-fabricated homes and how they can save both significant money on new construction and energy usage.  Yet, the disparity in the $$ cost per square foot of pre-fabricated homes is huge and from what I’ve seen, building pre-fab can be just as much, or even more than standard home construction.  Can you help this layperson understand the difference in the hype and value of pre-fabricated homes and offer any advice on considering pre-fab vs. standard construction?      Bill K. – Santa Monica, Ca.

G.S. -  The issue is style. There is a big difference between a mobile home and a pre-fab architectural home.  The pre-fab homes showcased in Dwell and other magazines are world-class designs by top architects and they can end up costing as much, if not more than a standard built custom home.  The beauty of this concept however is the flexible design options available.  It is my opinion that pre-fab homes will not be a viable alternative until the units are produced off-shore and they are 100% accepted by local building permits.

Question 2:
We are close to deciding on building a new home and would like to build as much energy-efficiency as we can into our home.  Any general and specific guidance you can offer on what we need to think about, such as costs, $$ return-on-investment and various passive vs. active energy systems and efficiency?      Jean and Rob S. – Pacific Palisades, Ca  

G.S. -  The issue is always the same.  How much does it cost and how long will it take to get the return on a “green” investment.  The homeowner has to do their homework on each method and decide for themselves.  Some items like solar are still a reasonably good investment as long as you get the various rebates from the government, but you also need to look into life expectancy of the solar panels and also consider how long you will keep the house.  Each system needs to be carefully evaluated and in the solar panel example, it’s best to get 2-3 different companies to provide a proposal and detailed long-term evaluation.

Question 3:
I’m working with an architect now to build a second story on my existing house.  Does the architect choose the contractor or should I research and interview contractors to determine which one might be a best fit.  What are the key questions you would recommend I ask when interviewing a General Contractor?     Murray D. – Malibu, Ca.

G.S. – Usually the architect will have contractors they recommend, but it might be a good idea to bring in an outside contractor to compete with the architect’s recommended contractor. The best questions to ask the contractor are for references from projects similar in scope to the one contemplated.  You can learn a lot by speaking to someone who has spent time and has gone through the process.

Question 4:
Is steel construction still considered to be viable for a new home?  Besides termite-resistance, are there any real benefits of steel vs. wood construction and should I even be considering this?!     Jim W. – Mar Vista, Ca. 

G.S. -  All materials used in construction around the world are always based on which materials are readily available, their cost and what the local labor is used to using.  Steel is very expensive and is usually only used in high-tech contemporary structures or as needed for seismic control.