Cost to build a hall and the lies of the cult

JimmyYoung

I was listening to a podcast on cost to build a hall and there was a brother from the stage saying it costs the cult half a million to build a hall. LOL its BS.

There is no Fing way that it cost the cult a half million to build a hall. This is an obvious lie. They get free labor to build, and materials are bought in bulk. The land many times is donated. What a hall sold for is not even close to what it cost them to build. I would say it costs the cult about 80 to 95k to build a hall. There is no kitchen so that expense is gone, there is no laundry room. Its only a couple of rooms one very large and two bathrooms and a furnace room with HW heater. I was in floor covering and used to get the FC at cost for the cult and we all got together and installed it. So this BS that it costs half a million is what it may cost in an expensive area like parts of California and NYC where labor is very expensive. Don't buy this BS lie.

WTWizard

It is plausible--if the dollar becomes toilet paper. Using the values at the time of this statement, it would have to be a very big building. And they are known to lie about their costs so they can bring in more candy money as donations.

Such as lying about its costing any 5-figures to run an a$$embly, in their own building, with some 600 in attendance for each day. Since when do you get a 5-figure utility bill? And they are boasting about respecting the place? Even a worldly sporting event costs less per session to host (minus the cost of the teams involved, which is most of the cost) despite extra cleanup work (from all the food and beer) and rowdy fans that are not exactly gentle on the venue. With the jokehovians having so many rules against this, wouldn't that be relatively gentle on things? Then where do they come up with these five-figure per day costs to run it?

LV101

It's all a good ole boy ponzi scheme w/minions buying their way into paradise.

Crazyguy2

So they still use jw labor, I thought because of issues in the past that they only do small stuff with jw labor now?

Still Totally ADD

Being in construction I could see that figure of a half million. Here are the things to look at (1) I have never been in a hall where land was donated it just doesn't happen today plus the wt. Is picky where to put the building. In large populated areas land is costly. (2) This is a commercial build not a residential build. Codes and permitting is costly. (3) Material cost alot today and being commercial build even more. (4) Even though many give their labor free there is still ones who get paid. I knew many brothers who charged for many items in the construction of KH.

Not to burst your bubble here is another example. I live in a 120 year old farm house. If I lost my house due to a disaster according to my insurance policy the replacement cost would be almost 250,000 dollars. This is just the building not the land.

I am sure the borg is making money on it somehow mostly in resale but it does cost alot today to build a KH today. Still Totally ADD

User99

I think they would announce a cost for electricity even if they used solar power.

LV101

StillTotally - I'm not in construction but cost made sense to me just from experience doing remodels/re-construction at couple locations. Construction is very expensive -- still would never trust WT and their begging pyramid scheme.

truth_b_known

Whether it was $500.00 or $5,000,000.00 is not the point. The real issue is that those poor window washers have to pay the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society for the loan to purchase that Kingdom Hall. Then a few years down the road a Circuit Overseer will tell them they have to build another one and sell the first one with 100% of the proceeds going to Watchtower.

This scheme mirrors the old literature scheme. Watchtower uses free labor to print a $0.05 magazine which they sell to a Witness for $0.50. That Witness then sells it to someone in the door-to-door ministry for $0.50 and donates that money to Watchtower. In the end, Watchtower receives $1.00 for its $0.05 investment.

JimmyYoung

Well ADD I think you are totally wrong. To even put replacement cost on your insurance is nothing but apples and oranges. First off most insurance company's over insure. Every home I have ever bought they wanted to insure it for 20 percent more than I paid. Second I have been in all the trades for 40 plus years. Everyone in my family was in the treads and its all I know. I have built myself several of my own homes and remodeled more. I was in Floorcovering as a trade in my last years and grew up helping my father in plumbing and heating. He was a master. I also would get off the school bus at my uncles building sites and help him with electrical and when younger I started by scrapping out and helping hang drywall. If you have never been in a hall that had land donated you were not much of a JW.

I know not all were but more than not that I have been around had land donated. Yes building materials are not cheap but when you buy in bulk and get the discounts that society gets, and in the cases of the several halls I was around that were built they have builders who get their discount and pass it on to the cult. In the average home of 2000 sf the actual cost of rough in materials would be around 15000 dollars. All in materials about 65k tops unless you are buying some exotic things. The labor is always more than materials on most items. Not all but most. when you are paying 20 plus an hour to the avg work man or more and you also have the cut going to the general of each trade.

Most owners don't do their own work, They have tradesman do it or at least work with them. In the mid west you can buy a 1500sf home new on land for 135k. So half a million is crazy money. And it is a lie. Also in a project you call a tradesman they add at the very least 10 percent to the cost of the material. They never pass it on. And that is very low, in my case we would add 50 percent to the cost of flooring. And we were low. Some builders would go cost plus ten and that was a scam. They inflated material added hours ect and then collected ten percent on top. It most times cost more than a bid job.

Homes new built should not really run all that much more than a comparable existing home. Unless you live in California or NY areas, Take a look at what you can buy with half a million in your area. Usually a 10 times more exotic and larger home than some 2 or three thousand sf KH. No add in that they did not pay labor and got a cut rate on material and you can look at three quarters of a million dollar homes to compare. Its an out and out lie.

I also know the avg ratios of two to one on rough in and three to one on mechanical, but what is never taken into account is the mark up on material. What I am referring to is the sometimes 50 percent or more markup on material. If you take this in to account on the KH builds and the discount they get when they are either given material or at a discount then its closer to one to one sometimes less. The point is no matter what half a million or a quarter of a million is a lie when it comes to building what amounts to a 3000sf open roof system with a couple of bathroom stalls in it.

StephaneLaliberte

Usually, in quebec, the rule is: Labor + material + land

Labor is generally equal to the material cost (or a bit more).

Using this logic, lets say WT could sell a KH for 500k. Land might be worth 150k. Thus, material would be 175k. This means that Watchtower would pay 325k for a 500k property. removing other expenses (such as chairs, decoration, etc.), net profit could be around 100k.

Cost to build a hall and the lies of the cult

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