[Kevin]

When you construct one, DEFINITELY spend the extra $ to make the thing last. Instead of wood frame/sheet rock type construction, consider steel frame and poured concrete -- saves lots of renovation $ over time.

Our Delta Epsilon's chapter house over at Oklahoma University is one of those more resiliant structures. Their living room floor is made out of this damned near indestructable stuff, so each year, there is a party in which they unload a truck of sand in the living room.

The rooms are poured concrete/steel frame. It's probably saved the house from burning down. I remember one of their alums who sits on our housing corp telling us about a fire they had in one of those rooms that totally gutted that room -- destroyed everything. The rooms adjacent, however, were untouched.

Slap a coat of paint on it every few years and it's good to go.