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I'll be contacting local contractors this week, but wanted to get a ballpark idea. everyone here just says $200/sq. ft., but obviously there is a large range. what i'm hoping is people here can share a range, based on average materials for this project.
home is an all brick house, two stories, 1,400 sq. ft + 700 sq. ft attic on third floor. would like to double the size of the home, remove the back wall, and add the following:
Level 1 - Kitchen, Family Room, Mud Room, Powder Room
Level 2 - 2nd full bath in hallway, laundry room, master suite (bath, walk-in closet)
nothing to the basement or attic space. I'm guessing each level of addition would be 5-700 sq ft.
I know the range is wide, but the project requires plumbing, electrical, foundation, roof, ideally second HVAC system and 2nd water heater.
we consider ourselves "Acura People" we don't need the fanciest but like to stay on the low end of good quality, if that makes sense..so we don't need limestone tile and a Viking range, but would like to get something nice.
lastly, its an ideal layout for an addition, just imagine removing the back wall and building out. nothing on the original house would change at all. I can provide a spotty floorplan if helpful?
Rates vary according to where you live. With the down turn in the economy, contractors might be reducing their costs in order to work. We had an family room added on the back of the house 15x18, continuation of full basement underneath, addl sump pump, 10 windows, sliding glass doors, wood floors, central a/c from the house, recessed lighting (6), surround sound outlets in ceiling, ceiling fan $40K.
home is an all brick house, two stories, 1,400 sq. ft + 700 sq. ft attic on third floor. would like to double the size of the home, remove the back wall...
I'm guessing each level of addition would be 5-700 sq ft... project requires plumbing, electrical, foundation, roof, ideally second HVAC system and 2nd water heater.
any guesses?
The scope of this concept is very broad. Because of this the work needed will total more than building a comparable size structure from scratch would. Depending on finish material choices... maybe a LOT more.
Spend a couple thousand to have a competent architect prepare drawings and bid documents so when you do shop it you'll be able to compare numbers and have them mean something. It'll still go over budget by at least 10-30%.
thanks everyone, I am getting formal estimates, but was hoping to get ideas outside of the people trying to sell me on the job. I'm looking at buying a home, so I don't want an estimate that is artificially low, pushing me towards a purchase, followed up after with "well, the market has changed, blah, blah, blah."
overall its a pretty straight forward addition, basically the equivalent of building a new home connected to an old home, identical in size...
Because you are adding and outfitting the most expensive rooms in a house; kitchen, bathrooms, master bedroom- lots of plumbing, appliances, fixtures, cabinetry, finishes/flooring- expect it to be on the high side per s.f. costs. After that it depends on how complicated the overall building form is- more corners/complicated roofline=more expensive, also if you intend to finish it with brick and how many and what quality/type windows.
After that it is more about access for construction, terrain and soil conditions and trust me, whenever you knock out a major walls/roofs in any house you are gonna find some surprises that need to be attended to that weren't necessarily in the original bid/budget/proposal.
I 2nd the notion of getting an architect or designer to produce very detailed and complete construction documents to have the bids prepared and eventually signed off on. When I prepare these I go overboard in spec'ing every little detail that I can think of so my clients are somewhat protected by the contractor signing off on a very compete document that he is bound to.
Er, no. what you described above is anything but straightforward.
It touches on every existing mechanical system and element of construction from the foundation to the roof.
I would really have to work at it to conceive a more complicated approach to a remodel than what you outlined.
Quote:
basically the equivalent of building a new home connected to an old home, identical in size...
And if it were an actually separate structure...
then you could begin to describe the scope of work as "pretty straight forward".
I mean the addition (while obviously major) does not require any real changes to the existing home except for gutting the small kitchen/bath in the rear. There is a hallway on levels 1 and 2 already in place, that can directly connect to the addition. Its a square home and will remain square after the addition. Unlike other homes I have seen that are oddly shaped and/or configured, where the original home needs additional work just to attempt an addition. this case is "pretty straight forward" in that regard.
There is a hallway on levels 1 and 2 already in place, that can directly connect to the addition.
And are those hallway end points (3' x 8'?), and presumably already with suitable headers for the windows, the limit of the attachment area and disturbance that the existing structure will experience?
Perhaps something like a breezeway between the existing home and the new structure? That could be interesting.
But still meet with a pro to get some drawings and bid documents prepared.
The questions they ask you in person, and likely more kindly than you'll get here, will be an education itself even if you don't follow through on this plan.
hth
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