Make Your Multiplex Or House Less Expensive By Making It Easy To Build
- Daniel Clarke
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
You can drive down the cost of building a house or multiplex with key strategic moves to make the home easier to build without compromising the quality or sophistication of design. I'll share a variety of things which I've learned from builders that tell us what things can be done for a lower cost - particular systems, technical approaches, and a consideration for how the workers on site get their jobs done. These tips apply to anywhere in BC, not just to Vancouver and the rest of the Lower Mainland.
I've been hearing from a variety of individuals and developers the message that with red tape out of the way for building up the "missing middle" with multiplexes and other small-scale multifamily buildings, land cost and construction cost remain major barriers to projects moving ahead.
Property owners who call me come typically from one of two scenarios. The first is the older generation who want to help their adult children get into homeownership but realize that buying a home that isn't an undersized condo apartment or squished half-duplex is cost-prohibitive. The second scenario is the younger generation - often adult children with their own families - who want to consolidate their households into a multigenerational home to look after the aging parents and to help each other with other challenges.
#1 Workability Reduces On-Site Awkwardness
A building designed for workability—where every element can be handled and assembled with ease—translates directly into lower construction costs. The most efficient designs consider not only how components perform in service, but how they are physically built. Avoiding elements that are too large or heavy for one person to carry or place accurately minimizes both labour inefficiency and risk. Components that can be lifted and installed by hand rather than by crane keep the site agile and reduce the cost of equipment rentals and setup time.
Straight, direct pipe and duct routes eliminate the need for awkward bends, specialized fittings, and multiple connection points - common sources of leakage, condensation, and error. When the architect anticipates these realities of construction, the result is a project that builds faster, safer, and more economically, with less frustration. While applicable to even a house project, a multiplex benefits more due to the greater number of service lines.
#2 Repetition Improves Quality, Efficiency, and Speed
Repetition brings consistency, and consistency brings reliability. When details and assemblies repeat throughout a building, the subtrades gain familiarity and confidence. For example, using identical window installation details - same flashing method and membrane transitions - means each unit goes in exactly the same way. Crews perfect their process, resulting in tighter seals, fewer adjustments, and faster installation. The same principle applies to standardized membrane transitions in the building envelope and consistent termination details for exterior finishes. Every repetition is an opportunity for improved quality.
Tradespeople are naturally more productive and careful when their work is familiar. Once the technique becomes second nature, the worker's installation speed increases and his frustration disappears. Multiplexes can take more advantage of this repetition than a custom home. City permit review can also be faster when plan reviewers see repeated, well-resolved details instead of a multitude of one-off conditions. Simplicity in detailing is not just about fewer drawings; it’s about turning construction into a repeatable, reliable rhythm.
#3 Standardized Materials Reduce Risk, Complexity, and Coordination Effort
When a project uses a limited, well-chosen palette of materials, every aspect of construction becomes easier to manage. The real simplification of site staging comes from reducing how many different materials the site supervisor must coordinate - fewer deliveries, fewer storage locations, and fewer conflicts between trades competing for space and access. A unified material strategy minimizes both scheduling conflicts and logistical clutter.
Procurement also becomes clearer. With fewer material types and suppliers, ordering is streamlined and bulk pricing becomes achievable. Coordination between subtrades is simplified when responsibilities overlap less; a single trade can often complete multiple scopes. Every reduction in material diversity removes a layer of risk, coordination, and delay.
This simplification has knock-on effects; a simpler building is inherently more climate resilient and lower maintenance in the future.
These efficiencies can easily offset a modest increase in unit cost for higher-quality materials. In many cases, one robust material can perform multiple roles, such as heavy timber meeting both structural and fire-rating requirements, 5/8" Type X gypsum board providing a one-hour assembly without additional layers, or a 1¾" rim board meeting fire-blocking standards automatically.
#4 Simpler Forms and Details Yield More Reliable Results
Simplicity in form does not mean austerity; it means clarity. A clean, efficient core geometry provides a foundation that is easy to construct accurately and performs reliably for decades. Complexity can always be added later through the careful layering of exterior elements -sunshades, balconies, cladding textures, or landscape structures - without burdening the core structure itself. This approach preserves visual richness while keeping the building straightforward to assemble.
This approach is fundamental to ultra high-performance buildings that are designed to Passive House and is a valuable technique for homes built to the Net Zero standard.
Ironically, most triplexes appear to be the worst offenders yet would benefit the most from their high cost-to-area ratio. By reducing the number of transitions and intersections in the primary form, the design minimizes the risk of water penetration, air leakage, and thermal bridging. The work can also be distributed more broadly among available trades, since fewer custom details require specialized skills or supervision. The outcome is not only faster construction and fewer errors, but also a building whose durability and performance remain consistent well into the future.
#5 Detailed Documentation Removes Guesswork and Prevents Costly Adjustments
Good documentation should not just be a record of design intent. Given the struggle of tapping a stretched pool of skilled, engaged workers in an environment of increasing building complexity, the documents should be the instruction manual for the making of a building. When drawings are written and illustrated as direct, step-by-step guidance rather than as concepts open to interpretation, they become an instrument of efficiency. Clear instructions allow each trade to understand exactly what is expected, reducing the need for correction - or more frequently having to accept compromises when remediation isn't practical.
Most construction errors are not the result of carelessness but of confusion, assumptions, and defaulting to past methods. When workers must interpret a vague detail or reconcile conflicting conditions, they make field adjustments that introduce other problems. Well-prepared documentation helps prevent this. It anticipates how materials come together, how assemblies interface, and how systems fit together. Each intersection has already been coordinated in three dimensions on the computer, allowing construction to proceed smoothly without delay.
In this way, the architect’s clarity of communication directly shapes the quality of the finished building. Time invested in developing precise, instructional documents pays back in shorter schedules, fewer disputes, and a level of craftsmanship that reflects both the builder’s skill and the designer’s foresight. My SAPPHR Strategy includes this extra detail as a 'Hardening' phase of the technical documentation.
I have worked on a wide variety of project types and therefore with a variety of contractors with a range of experience. I also watch closely and chat with subtrades during site visits to understand the time impacts of design and technical decisions made before construction. The workers usually tell me what parts of their jobs go very quickly and what part of their work takes far longer.
When I am in early design, I'm already thinking about what workers are on site at what stage of construction and physically what they're doing to build what is designed. I adjust the design to optimize the amount and complexity of work involved. You could have a great-looking project that breezes through the construction phase and finishes at a cost less than most multiplexes. Alternatively, you could try to price a design that has high costs built in, and your family remains scattered.
How can you take advantage of this more comprehensive design? My process does that, and it starts with booking a free Diagnostic Session with me to discuss where you're at. By the end of this call, you'll know the next step to take to a successful project. Use the button below to book a session in my calendar.
If you want to see an overview of my SAPPHR Strategy for yourself, you can download a copy using the link below.
DISCLAIMER:
The information included in this article is to an extent generic and intended for educational and informational purposes only; it does not constitute legal or professional advice. Thorough efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of the article, but having read this article, you understand and agree that Daniel Clarke Architect Inc. disclaims any legal liability for actions that may arise from reliance on the information provided in this article. I am an architect in BC, but readers are recommended to consult with their own architect on their specific situations before making any decisions or exercising judgement base on information in the article.