So how much is a renovation really going to cost? (flooring, granite)

[SeaNile31]

Starting a new thread in this section because I am curious about prices to renovate a home. Here is a quck history. I am considering downsizing from my 4yr old 5700sq/ft on 1/4 acer lot McMansion to a 3100sq/ft 1976 home on over an acer lot. The possibilities are endless but the budget is not. Of course I'm thinking pool, etc., but want to focus on the other stuff first.

So, here is what I am thinking for renovations. And yes I know there is builders grade renovations and open check book ones too.

Master bath-total renovation. It's all original from 1976. Master bedroom closet is in the bathroom. Plan is to expand bathroom including closet and put the closet in the area above the garage via the master bedroom. Our bathroom now is awesome....granite, 2 headed shower with 6 water tiles, huge tub with jacuzzi jets and really is beautiful. Not that I need to duplicate it, but the 1976 bathroom now has got to go!

Bedroom bathrooms-total renovation. These also are circa 1976 and gotta go! Nothing fancy needed but it's all gotta be redone.

Down stairs will be interesting. Thinking of redoing the kitchen and expanding it into the adjacent family room. So knock down a wall, and build a huge beautiful kitchen. My current kitchen is all GE monogram, 3 ovens, convection microwave, huge SS refrigerator, 6 burner stove with tumbled marble and granite. The kitchen is the heart of our home so this is very important to us.

Family room. Well, we've got to build one. So an addition would be added from the current kitchen area out and take the place of the current deck. Nothing fancy because it's really in the decorating, colors, furniture and such. So really 4 walls with a few windows.

I know things can get insanely expensive but give me an idea. Probably would do this in stages and do the upstairs first while we live in the house and get a feel for the down stairs.

Thanks! BTW, I am in the Philadelphia suburbs.

JK

[chet everett]

Given that you are in an area with relatively high labor costs, have high end preferences for finishes and have a long list of specifics I would budget at least $300/sq ft for the renovated spaces.

While you are saying "nothing fancy" I know from experience that is very hard to not just "downsize" but to "down GRADE" things like kitchen appliances and bathroom fixtures. It frankly probably DOES NOT MAKE SENSE to put generic builder grade fixtures / appliances / counters and other such finish items into a LARGE higher end house unless you are just trying to repair damage and quickly sell the place...

I also have to tell you that it rarely IF EVER makes sense to add NEW CONSTRUCTIOn to home that is already over 3000 sq ft -- the "need to expand family" sound be the BIG CLUE this is NOT the home for you to buy! I can just about guarantee that if you shop for a more appropriate you will be MONEY AHEAD vs the projects are proposing! I have worked with folks from places like Radnor and I know that areas near Philly can be very pricey, but the overall kinds of things you want will often result in a home that is flat out OVER IMPROVED for many areas...

[SeaNile31]

There is nothing in this area that exactly fits our needs/wants. There is another development with slightly larger homes that are significantly more expensive and need the updating too. I'd rather start at 500K and do a renovations than start with a 650K home and still need to do the updating.

[MrRational]

I suggest that a 1500SF 3 BR 2BA rancher and a YMCA membership will meet your needs.

[chet everett]

What if you end up sinking $900K into a house where the priciest home in the neighborhood $650K...

I have known dozens of folks that realized too late that "improving / updating" is often worse just living with "too much space". Downsizing to save on taxes / utilities and then overspending to upgrade the house to the standards you've come to expect is any easy trap to fall into.

Maybe you need to a find house in WORSE shape, where the terrible condition actually gives you more of a bargain, and your "champagne tastes" have more of a cushion because you get such a discount...

[SeaNile31]

There is a definite budget so 900k is not happening but I se your point. This particular house is a good deal for the right price and is more or less a fixer upper. It's a fantastic lot with one of the lowest taxes in the school district. What alters things a bit is our current home. It's stunningly beautiful with numerous upgrades. Downsizing is in our best interest but I also want to make sure this 1976 home can be renovated to our liking. Not over the top, just updated.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

How long would you live in the 1976 house? Those are a LOT of upgrades if you would just be moving again in a few years and as others have pointed out you may be over-building for the neighborhood.

At my last house I re-did the kitchen and both bathrooms (both with double vanities) plus added built-ins to the hall (to replace a not-very-functional closet) and to two bedrooms (one whole wall of cabinets/closet/more cabinets in one bedroom, added built-ins to an odd alcove in another bedroom). I used medium-end cabinets, not high-end, and had a colleague do the installations. A regular contractor doing everything would have been probably $70-$80k which was out of my budget (and not worth it for that particular house). But I am in the boonies of New Hampshire, where labor costs are cheaper than where you are.

(I'm having a hard time getting past the 5,700-square-foot house on a 1/4-acre lot ... that is a huge house on a tiny lot ... could you reach out and touch the neighbors' house on either side? My last house was on a 1/4-acre lot but was 1,520 square feet. Even if I'd added a story it would have been just over 3,000 square feet. Yours was almost twice that on the same size lot?!! Never understood the appeal of that!! My current house is just over 2,400 square feet on a 1.29-acre lot and it feels close to just right ... I MAY add a family room addition if I can't reconfigure my kitchen the way I want, but I will be in this house for probably another 20 years so even if I over-build a bit compared to the neighborhood, I would get my money's worth from being here so long.)

[chet everett]

A quarter acre is just under 11,000 sq ft. Assuming the 5700 is distributed on at least two floors (and I'm guessing there is more than that even..) the footprint of house might be 2800 sq ft. Assume the lot is about 100 ft wide & 110 deep the house might be about 50ft wide X 55ft deep. Side yards of 25 ft on either side, plus the neighbor's 25 ft leave way too much space for anyone other than "elastic man" to touch the houses...

I will also caution that even over VERY long period if you really overbuild you will still have a tough time selling -- I have had to try to help folks sell that were in their homes for 40 or more years and in some ways a house that is out of character with it neighbors, whether that includes room size / count, finishes / fixtures, or style/ functional aspects (including multistory vs single level, modern vs traditional, family oriented vs single/childless couple) it will remain hard to sell over time. In fact, one could argue that as a percentage of initial investment the highly upgraded home is likely harder to sell down the road as the tastes and trends change making things grow more obsolete...

Now even if the changes you make are done "for my own enjoyment regardless of resale" I will still argue that starting with a home that is at LEAST sufficient in size so that you do not need to add on a family room or similar construction effort is quicker and more likely to remain in character with the neighborhood -- additions will cut down on the yard relative to other homes and very likely will make even a "stunning" lot feel a little less well integrated. I would even argue against expanding the master bath in a 3100 sq ft home -- unless it was freakishly small for 1976 my gut says the end result of expanding bath over a garage is going to be out of scale with rest of house, quite costly and likely run into issues with temperature unless outsize spending on weatherization / insulation / HVAC upgrades are included...

Updating kitchens (even total rip out and reconfiguration) that does not steal room from adjacent areas is almost always smartest path to pursue unless house is very very very old -- some preWWII had tiny kitchen that you could not accommodate more than one person working and no room for "eat-in".

Bathroom "update" can be very costly on a sq ft basis -- if you want a stylish natural stone tub that could about $1000/sq ft all by itself -- 72" Nubian Sandstone Tub with Overflow | Signature Hardware

I would either stay put, focus on a house that is closer to what you want or dial back some of the grandeur.

Downsizing only makes sense if it leaves you better off than you are!

[Oreo's Mom]

We bought a 1975 house in Plano. We totally gutted the guest bathroom because it was in the worst condition of all the rooms. Being my first experience working with a contractor, I went with statewide remodeling. Luckily I subcontracted them through Home Depot and I even though I paid more, I felt like I had more leverage in terms of negotiating fixing/upgrading of items we were not satisfied with and got them to throw in some extras like energy efficient toilet, custom made cabinets,a d new flooring due to their slowness in getting the project completed Ina timely fashion . I estimate that it cost me 20K for the bathroom. Granted I could have had it done for less money but lesson learned. We are planning on staying here for at least ten years, (hopefully), so my thinking is, do the major upgrades now and enjoy them,while we are living in the house as opposed to doing them when we are getting ready to sell. The landscaping I did myself and probably save 16K in labor but that took one year's worth of weekend work but it was also a way for me to relax and get to know the neighbors. We found out we had two slow leaks in our one story ranch so we chose to have all the old cast iron pipes replaced and new clean outs installers since they had already tunneled underneath the house. That was costly but gave us peace of mind. The best investment we made was going through the smart energy program and updating the windows, adding insulation, changing the airflow returns and making the house more energy efficient. Our electricity and gas bills have reduced dramatically. We will probably do the kitchen in 5-6 years down the line.

[Ted Bear]

All the other comments aside....and folks, she did say she was trying to unload the "McMansion", so she knows what she is dealing with.....it seems to me that you can ballpark your costs around the $300/sq ft figure. As you know, the cost can go anywhere, but just to put things in perspective, that seems a place to start. Kitchen/Bath slightly higher....family room, maybe a little less.