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Your contract needs to be IRON CLAD putting all of the risk on the contractor.
That is good advice.
Thank you.
My next step is to get the specification details and the drawings.
I read too many of these threads where the original poster never shares what happened in the end.
I will try and keep my thread updated in case someone down the road is curious.
By the way, I had a "modular home builder" bid already but he essentially put a bid in for one of his standard homes like he never bothered to look at my graphed layout and what I was asking for. His bid, which was for a similar size home came in at $144 per sq ft., and additionally included 2 garages.
Hi
Thanx for for insight , I too am looking to add a simple addition
I am presently awaiting my final drawings from an architect then will take them to the town for approval.
Any other insight you can share would be greatly appreciated
I would like to know who will be doing the addition and a reasonable cost also how you chose the contractor
You seem to be a few steps ahead of me and never having done this before is a little scary especially for the amount of money involved
Thank you in advance
OP, I am curious as to why you don't try to find a house that better suits your needs, rather than modifying your existing house so drastically? It is certainly possible to add a second story to a house, as you've discovered, but you have to be SO careful about the foundation especially.
Your quote of $105 per square foot is dirt cheap, even in the boonies, and you're not in the boonies. That's why I'm really curious as to what they included and (more importantly) what they didn't. For example, adding bathrooms is considered to be a relatively expensive proposition (so more than the "usual" square-foot charge), and I think you are adding 2 bathrooms -- yet your quote was still just $105/square foot?
You say you are doing "nothing fancy," but you are adding on an entire FLOOR ... that is a huge undertaking.
I do wish you the best and hope you report your progress as you go, but I am very skeptical of any firm that could do what you are asking for $105/square foot.
I am unsure why you think $105 per sq ft is dirt cheap? I certainly don't. How much can a 5x 9 bathroom with a sink, toilet and normal tub cost? $8k was what I mentioned a neighbors boss paid during his new construction upgrade...and I am sure the builder made money on it even at that price or why even offer the upgrade? Even if mine are twice that price, I am no where near 160K. Since your are suggesting that prices change (apparently drastically) depending on where you live, I guess that is due more to labor cost than to material cost?
This little 700ish sq ft home we own was roughly 200k 15 years ago. Now it would cost more than twice that to buy it. If I wanted a 2400 sq foot home in this area (that we love) laid out the way we want, there is no way we could afford it now. I can't even afford the ones that are not laid out exactly the way I want that size. But I can afford a 160K addition, especially at the current low 3+ percent home equity loan rates.
When I get the drawings and specs I will have much better perspective...and I will share that perspective as well. Hopefully by the end of the month (Feb) I will have obtained the specs, got multiple contractor bids back, and if needed, taken a reality check.
Even if they lowballed me, they would be crazy to low ball me by more than 10%. Since all bidding contractors will have the same drawings and same specs, they will basically be bidding their labor and profit....and I agree they should make a nice profit. If some want to make 150k profit off this job while another may be fine with 50k profit.... time will tell.
I will definitely hire my own structural engineer once I have the drawings as the foundation seems to be the most critical piece.
Hi
Thanx for for insight , I too am looking to add a simple addition
I am presently awaiting my final drawings from an architect then will take them to the town for approval.
Any other insight you can share would be greatly appreciated
I would like to know who will be doing the addition and a reasonable cost also how you chose the contractor
You seem to be a few steps ahead of me and never having done this before is a little scary especially for the amount of money involved
Thank you in advance
You still don't have your drawings? I just read the below quote from another thread that you posted back in September. Why is it taking so long? Hopefully that is not the norm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by yrrek
Thanks to all who responded\
I have contacted an architect and waiting for some plans
Could those of you that have gone thru adding to your home recomend any reliable reasonably priced contractors
Also any tips you may have have that you stumbled upon during your experience
thanx
I am unsure why you think $105 per sq ft is dirt cheap? I certainly don't.
It is, going by prices I've seen for additions, especially those with bathrooms. And yours will be complicated by making sure the foundation can support an entire new second story.
I don't mean to be a downer -- I was honestly just blown away by that quote.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Key1cc
How much can a 5x 9 bathroom with a sink, toilet and normal tub cost? $8k was what I mentioned a neighbors boss paid during his new construction upgrade...and I am sure the builder made money on it even at that price or why even offer the upgrade?
The cost of the initial construction tends to be lower per square foot than the cost of renovations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Key1cc
Even if mine are twice that price, I am no where near 160K. Since your are suggesting that prices change (apparently drastically) depending on where you live, I guess that is due more to labor cost than to material cost?
Yes, labor costs tend to be higher on the east coast than anywhere else in the country (with the possible exception of California).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Key1cc
This little 700ish sq ft home we own was roughly 200k 15 years ago. Now it would cost more than twice that to buy it. If I wanted a 2400 sq foot home in this area (that we love) laid out the way we want, there is no way we could afford it now. I can't even afford the ones that are not laid out exactly the way I want that size. But I can afford a 160K addition, especially at the current low 3+ percent home equity loan rates.
Ah, now it makes more sense why you want to remodel/renovate instead of move.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Key1cc
When I get the drawings and specs I will have much better perspective...and I will share that perspective as well. Hopefully by the end of the month (Feb) I will have obtained the specs, got multiple contractor bids back, and if needed, taken a reality check.
Even if they lowballed me, they would be crazy to low ball me by more than 10%. Since all bidding contractors will have the same drawings and same specs, they will basically be bidding their labor and profit....and I agree they should make a nice profit. If some want to make 150k profit off this job while another may be fine with 50k profit.... time will tell.
I will definitely hire my own structural engineer once I have the drawings as the foundation seems to be the most critical piece.
Thanks for your replies
Key1
I look forward to seeing your progress -- I love "watching" renovations!
This little 700ish sq ft home we own was roughly 200k 15 years ago. Now it would cost more than twice that to buy it. If I wanted a 2400 sq foot home in this area (that we love) laid out the way we want, there is no way we could afford it now. I can't even afford the ones that are not laid out exactly the way I want that size. But I can afford a 160K addition, especially at the current low 3+ percent home equity loan rates.
Key1
Can I ask roughly what this area is? Which county?
Well, if you can really sell your current house for roughly $400k then couldn't you buy a $560k - $600k house? That would be almost the same as taking out additional $160k in loans that you plan now. It just seems that what you are trying to undertake is so complex, complicates and risky. I have heard a lot horror stories about these complicated additions...
Did you by the way get a definite approval from your town of absolutely everything you want to do? The town were I live is extremely reluctant to allow significant additions of any kind.
Do you know if you will be able to live in your house while the renovations are in progress. Sounds problematic to me at least when an extension to the first floor is being built. Most likely, your family will have to live somewhere else for 3 - 5 months while this work is done. Unless you can live with friends/family, this is the cost that you also have to keep in mind.
I do not have any definite approvals as I have only communicated with the zoning officer as to what is possible. He indicated the following:
1. I cannot build over 30 ft high
2. I cannot build on setback areas without a variance which he indicated is not likely.
3. I cannot build that results in the total structures on the property encompassing more than 25% of the total property.
4. I cannot have impervious coverage (including all structures, driveways, pavers, overhangs, etc) encompass more than 41% of the total property.
Most of the houses in my immediate area are the small ranch style that have additions off the rear.
Some have additions that built up and added a 2nd story, and 2 were complete tear downs and rebuilds into modern small McMansions. Apparently anything goes as long as you do not violate the above 4 rules.
I won't find out what is actually doable with certainty until I submit my drawings for permit approval.
As far as living in the property during construction, we have family close by so we have no intention of returning until it is totally finished .
Later in the process when contracts are finalized and the build is underway I will share more personal info and pictures.
My Architect has provided me my final layout and has indicated that this is my last chance to make any changes (without paying additional money) before he scales it up to the blueprints. He is indicating that even though my town will not allow me to build over 25% structures (which would limit me to about 2600 sq ft max) I can still add certain things that are exempt from that requirement. Meaning that if my house was at the max build of ~2600 sq ft, I could still add a porch and a shed as long as they do not go over 100 sq ft each. He also said I could add a garage if it stays under 280 total sq feet.
Key1
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