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OK, I made a similar post in the St. Louis forum before realizing this would be a better place. Sorry for the dupe. (Mods, if this is a problem, feel free to delete my other post).
Basically, I'm looking for a ballpark cost for two possible home additions (not sure I'd do either - thinking about it at the moment).
Home is 2 story built in 1996 in St. Louis County, MO, vinyl siding.
Option 1) 200-250 s.f. single story addition out the side. No new plumbing - just a single finished room, with siding, roof, interior finish, and ~4 foot foundation.
Option 2) ~360 s.f. room over garage. Single room, no plumbing. Existing attached 2 car garage has rafters, but they are not suitable for finished interior space. So, take off existing garage roof, build up, put roof back on, clean up siding and such (a bit of brickwork on the front).
Can anybody give me some ballparks on price, either total or per s.f.?
Between $50/sqft and $500/sqft. Option 1 will probably be much less than Option 2.
Why not call some general contractors in your area and get free estimates?
Assume that the original studs and structure were only enough to support the trusses/roof, and that therefore new load-bearing stuff will need to be added, does that give you enough to ballpark it?
ask a local contactor, he would know better than we would.
I don't know if option 1 really would be any cheaper than option 2. it depends on how things tie in both internally and externally upstairs.
I would bet you'd need an engineer or architect for both plans. or hire a contractor, who will hire one of the two. in my area the town would need to approve a set of stamped plans for both situations.
my guess is 30-50K probably closer to 50, but who knows....if its a simple break through situation, but again, depends on what the house looks like to tie in, the level of finish, the needed support in the garage.
in my area they are advertising 20X16 family room additions on slab for 20K. I'm not sure if people are actually paying that or if it jumps up. I know that doesn't include finished floor and includes only "basic" windows and a 3 foot breakthrough.
5 years ago we built a 400 sq.ft addition to the back of the detached garage which is an office overlooking the pool. It has a vaulted 12ft ceiling, double doors a double pane window at the rear and a skylight. No plumbing and a split 220V A/C system - this is in TX. There is a 4ft slab and Hardiplank sides with a pitched shingle roof (this matches the garage finish). We upgraded the insulation and used radiant barriers to keep the A/C costs down.
All-in we paid $44k including architect plans, contractor, materials, permits, inspections, sprinkler relocation, re-sodding and a new side fence (10ft). The contractor also had to move the window to one side in the garage we were attaching to and installed a pull-down ladder and walk-out boards in the (until then) inaccessible space above the existing garage. I'd say option #1 would probably run about the same consider smaller size but increased costs over 5 years ago. Option 2 is more open ended but certainly more. If I was going to do it again I'd go bigger as I'm not convinced the sq.ft scales linearly with a new build addition....
Current structure is basement. But I wasn't necessarily expecting a full basement for this expanded area. The 4' foundation is because ground level at the likely expansion point(s) is about 4' below where the floor of the expansion would be, and on a slope, so using a flat slab would be unlikely, and a basement is probably more than what's needed for an expansion.
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tim - thanks for the info. Agreed that it's unlikely cost scales linearly with SF. Our house is basically big enough already, save in a few selected categories. The issue I'm trying to address here, with the possible expansion, is the need for one more room as an office or bedroom. (Other areas where we're a little short are storage and general garage space.)
Limitations of the lot size and layout and my desire to keep our backyard relatively intact play in to the equation as well. We're on a hill (going downhill in the backyard) and on a cul-de-sac, which create some limitations.
last year i was dreaming of adding on to my kitchen--sort of extending into the back yard, and i went online and found it was in my area about $125 per sq ft.
My steps in projects like these is to first draw up my own plans, bring them to the local building inspector and shown him (or her) what I am thinking of doing. In the past I have found these guys to be very helpful. If asked he may very well give you
a guestimate as to sq footage construction cost. He will also more than likely clue you in to any problems he forsees such as the existing ceiling joists in the garage may not be adequate as floor joists for a second floor addition. Also, in this area code calls for an 8" foundation for single story construction and 10" for two story construction which also increases the size of footer required.
That said, my guess is about $80 per sq ft. although the possible problems mentioned for a second story addition would push that higher.
It's been years since I built homes, but the above are my initial thoughts.
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