House Reno Costs

[Lgim]

My recommendation would be get another contractor to look at it (or more). You might have to wait a year or so until prices stabilize but 200 g is ridiculous. SK is booming right now and a lot of the contractors are kind of going with the theory "lets bid a lot, if I get it good, if not so what? My guess is that people will give their head a shake and building prices will stabilize soon.

I build my house 6 years ago 2400 sq ft, I had bids of 250 to 500 g, I built it myself for 250 ish, when you looked at the quotes piece by piece you soon find the contractors that don't really care if they do the job or not.

I have always done a rough quess as to what something sould cost, if I can't find someone who will do what I want, I can always change what I want.

[firefighter9208]

Originally Posted by saltman

****, what a deal you got. I do realize I am living in the rip off capital of the world, labors cheap here but licensed contrators aren't even when they are slow. I have 100sf budgeted for my new house. I am going to sub it all out and play general contractor. I can do simple carpentry and help frame but since this is my dream house the I'll let the the experts do the majority. I have a few contractors lined up and can get deals on heating, roofing and a few other things through people I know so 100.00 may be high but I have a little in reserve for the unexpected. My house will only be 1,700 sq feet one story with a 700 foot deck and a attic space about 650 ft that can be turned into another room.

Saltman,

That's a nice floorplan. Yeah, my FIL is a licensed GC so I used all his subs. We also did a great deal of the work ourselves: footings, wiring, plumbing, finish trim, porches, decks, landscaping. I'm a school administrator and at the time I was a teacher. We planned our build so the framing was done just before I got out of school for the summer. I had 10 full weeks to work on the house. 7 am until midnight some days. It payed off in the end though.

Chris

[RobJ]

Originally Posted by Red55

It is always cheaper to build new than to renovate. You may want to consider that as well. You will get a better value and most likely a better house too. -Ed

Can't really make a blanket statement like this. If you build new you still have demo cost, and a lot more demo costs. If you build new then the "new" building codes come into effect. More costs. Like maybe you have a septic tank, build new and those aren't allowed anymore. If you build new where are you going to live for 3-4 months? Apartment, eating out? Time out of the home is a cost factor many forget. Paint your kitchen with enamel?? BTW, have to move out for a day or 2.

Add-on, reno, new, every case is a little different.

Someone asked how long will you live there, also how much is the current house worth? Might be better to just buy a bigger/different house.

Unless this is a million dollar home you'll never get your money out of it IMO. I just finished a kitchen for my neighbor, I think he put 15k in it, 5k of that was granite alone!! 5k was painters (also painted cabinets and 4 other rooms), the last 5k was tile and materials and an oven. He and I did the rest of the work. In his case it easliy added 30k to the value of the home. Probably would have cost him 40k to have it done all contractor. Only 1 night out of the house because of the paint.

Good Luck,
Rob

[RobJ]

Originally Posted by EddieWalker

Materials are way down right now. It's an awesome time to be building. I'm seeing numbers for lumber that I haven't seen in a decade!!!

Eddie

I built some furniture lately and cabinet grade ply and solid wood was still up there, but I did stop and do a double take on 4x8x 1/2" OSB for about $5.25 at hd. Maybe the other building sticks are cheaper no. I know that chinese ply is crap at best.

Rob

[asylum575]

I've noticed material prices are down. Sheetrock is down under $7 a sheet for 1/2 8 foot pieces. I remember a about 3-4 years ago I was finishing my basement in my old house. I paid $12 a sheet, not to mention $35 for 3/4 plywood. Wish I was ready to build now. Let's see what happens in a couple of years.