closing off 2 story FR (sales, how much, new house)

[eesmom]

How much would it cost to close off a 2 story family room? we wanted to make a play room/rec room up there if possible. The size is 18x21.

Thanks,
S

[MikeJaquish]

$25,000--$30,000?

[BoBromhal]

if you're under contract, ask your inspector.

if you've already closed, ask your agent to give you some contractor recommendations for your specific location.

it could be $15K, and it could $100K, and no one online can tell you based on any information you can give us.

[Sherifftruman]

18x21 is pretty big. You couldn't automatically assume the walls nearby and the foundation below would carry the load of the floor structure so you would need some design and engineering help for sure. Having the original plans or knowledge of the structure would be of great help in figuring the cost.

[eesmom]

Thanks everyone. We are currently building and will be closing in a few weeks. I'll ask the home inspector when we have our inspection about what he thinks it will entail. I guess I hadn't thought about the weight bearing stuff and maybe even things like HVAC and etc. . .

[Sherifftruman]

I assume this is a large builder and this was not an option they provided? Otherwise, in spite of mark ups, it will never be cheaper than now, unless you are wanting to wait a while anyway for budget reasons. The HVAC might not be too much of an issue. The volume was there already, though closing it off will change things some.

If the framing is still exposed, take lots and lots of pictures of the beams and walls around the area as well as any electrical, ducts, etc. If there is a chance, see if they will run you an electrical circuit up to the area at least, even behind a junction box, unless the panel is really close to the room and its no issue to run it later. Ask if you can get a structural plan of the house for your records. Tell them you will happy to pay a small fee of a couple hundred bucks and sign a license agreement. This is a good idea anyway. Of course, there are always plans laying around on jobsites. You could always take a couple of photos of them.

[BoBromhal]

if they're closing in a couple of weeks, I sure hope there's no exposed framing within the living areas of the home.

I am also guessing it must be a tract builder. You could still ask your on-site superintendent, or your sales rep. And again, your Realtor.

[danielbmartin]

Originally Posted by eesmom

How much would it cost to close off a 2 story family room? we wanted to make a play room/rec room up there if possible. The size is 18x21.

Some tract builders have the same floor plan with variations: (a) two-story family room; (b) one-story family room with play room above. If this is your situation it may be better to renegotiate your deal such that the option (a) house you bought is sold to someone else and an option (b) house is built for you in the same subdivision. This path could result in a major saving for you. The builder and realtor aren't really hurt, they still make a sale.

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[Sherifftruman]

Originally Posted by BoBromhal

if they're closing in a couple of weeks, I sure hope there's no exposed framing within the living areas of the home.

True. But She? said a few weeks so I was giving the benefit of the doubt. Could just be getting ready to cover drywall or almost done depending on one's definition of few and how fast the builder is.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by danielbmartin

Some tract builders have the same floor plan with variations: (a) two-story family room; (b) one-story family room with play room above. If this is your situation it may be better to renegotiate your deal such that the option (a) house you bought is sold to someone else and an option (b) house is built for you in the same subdivision. This path could result in a major saving for you. The builder and realtor aren't really hurt, they still make a sale.

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Disagree. The builder ends up being stuck with a spec home, with most (all?) of the finishes already selected and installed. Thst could be sitting on the market for months.

The builder wants THIS house sold, and has a signed contract for closing in two weeks. I just don't see any advantage to the builder to agree to this. Plus, I would assume that the buyer hasn't anyplace to live while they build them a new house.

I'd be curious to hear from the OP about their reasons for not doing this in the first place.