ball park estimates for some basic home improvements (Austin, San Carlos: wood floors, how much)

[teasipmom]

Can someone give me some ball park estimates on the following:

1. installing granite or modern counter tops in a kitchen with an island

2. replacing carpeting with hard wood floors on the bottom floor (living area)
of a 2200 sq ft house (assume all bedrooms are upstairs and won't have hard wood
floors)

3. installing hard wood floors in a 2200 sq ft one story house through out (includes bedrooms, but not bathrooms or kitchen, which will have tile)

I'm just looking for ball park estimates to give me an idea of how much things like this will cost. Please, nothing super expensive, just average grade (but not laminate flooring or other cheaper replacements).

thanks!

[centralaustinite]

Maybe $8 a sq foot for the flooring installed, don't know about the granite, granite supply can change and that impacts the price as well as quality, size, etc. Plus can the existing cabinets support it etc.

Go to home depot and ask, that will get a ballpark estimate

[sezzam]

Do you plan to install these yourself or do you plan on getting someone to install?

[G Grasshopper]

You might want to think twice if you are thinking of putting new counter tops on old cabinets. This is a real turn-off for lots of people (including me.)

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by teasipmom

Can someone give me some ball park estimates on the following:

1. installing granite or modern counter tops in a kitchen with an island

2. replacing carpeting with hard wood floors on the bottom floor (living area)
of a 2200 sq ft house (assume all bedrooms are upstairs and won't have hard wood
floors)

3. installing hard wood floors in a 2200 sq ft one story house through out (includes bedrooms, but not bathrooms or kitchen, which will have tile)

I'm just looking for ball park estimates to give me an idea of how much things like this will cost. Please, nothing super expensive, just average grade (but not laminate flooring or other cheaper replacements).

thanks!

To be honest, there's not even remotely enough information to even get in the same city, let alone ballpark.

For counters, how many square feet? Or even, how big is the kitchen?

For your second and third questions, there's just no way of knowing - without having a rough idea of how many bathrooms there are, how big is the kitchen - how much of the two story house is upstairs?

Also, prices will vary between Austin and San Carlos.

[teasipmom]

I'm not installing myself. It would be installed by a contractor prior to us moving in. We're moving to Austin and I'm trying to get an idea of what it would cost to upgrade an older home. I have no idea the square footage in any of the scenarios. I'm just trying to get an idea. If it costs more than 20-30K, then I'll look for a newer house and forget the updates.

[teasipmom]

Also, the homes I've been looking at are built around 1997, so they aren't super old. But they need some updates.

[sezzam]

Try this calculator to estimate how much flooring material you might need: Lowe's Laminate Flooring Calculator

Most flooring material includes padding and everything so you won't need much else. However, add labor and haul away (of existing material) to the material cost.

I understand you are trying to figure out if it is even worth looking at slightly older homes and fix it up. That is, you don't have a particular home in mind. Still, I highly recommend just visiting your local Home Depot and Lowe's to get an idea of their costs. Their costs will definitely be in the ball park you are looking for.

[mesmer]

Small sized kitchen - counters: $1200-1500
Medium sized kitchen - counters: $2000-2500

That doesn't include a new backsplash, just counter installation. I'm totally making these numbers up, too, btw, based on our research. There's a lot of variation in granite/silestone that affects the price, as does the options you choose.

[CarnivalGal]

My house is the same age. We put in hardwoods a few years ago and spent about $10/sq foot, installed. You can spend less, but the wood will not be as high a quality.

Granite counters are about $8 a sq/ft. Again, you can spend less or a lot more depending on the granite you choose, thickness, etc. You may also need to factor in extra money to replace the sink(s) and fixtures as well.