House Reno Costs

[EddieWalker]

It seems extremly high to me. Even half that amount seems excessive.

I can't imagine there's $20,000 in materials for what you want done. Lets say it's twice that at $40,000. Labor is probably $20,000 a month for a crew, so if they are slow, your' looking at $80,000. That's still sounds crazy to me.

One of the biggest mistakes people do is not talk to a large number of contractors and get multiple bids. I get hired all the time from somebody because of a job that I did for a friend of theirs. It's good for me, but they don't know if I'm good, bad, expensive or cheap. The other thing that I see is that when I talk to a client, they hire me on my personality. No refrences, no checking around, it's always that I made them feel comfortable and did a good job of explaining everything to them.

Get multiple bids. For that type of money, spend a few months looking around for the best price.

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

 

[rox]

I believe it. Although it's hard to tell if your specific bid is out of balance without knowing the particulars. Just a total kitchen redo using high-end appliances and finishes can reach 100k.

I bought a 2700 sq. ft home on 5 ac. last year. The house was built in '68. We gutted 70% of it and will spend waaaay past 100k before it is done. That is with me being in the construction business and not having to pay anyone profit for all my framing, siding, trim, sheetrock and painting work(used my own guys).

Get at least two more bids. I would really recommend working with an architect and have plans drawn for said project. The benifits of this are many, from planning to being able to easily get competitive bids.

My .02. Make it your hobby, the whole process. Be informed.

Good luck with you project!

I second your suggestion of working with an architect, that is the way to go. Although initially it may seem like an expense you could do without I think it would be the wase way to go. Once you have an architect to work with you he/she will probably be working with a designer adn between their 2 creative and skilled minds you would have a complete set of plans including specs on the cabinets etc. Actually I am more inclined to approach the remodle job on a time and materials basis. Number 1 if they are taking to long you can jsut fire them, pay them their hours and move on to a better contractor, and number 2 when you get bids by the job the contractor always has to have in his bid a bit of a fudge factor to cover his butt. With time and materials you should see the bills right away and not be surprised with one big bill at the end. If you stay on top of it, and get a weekly billing i think your chances of coming in at the lower end is better.

The quote may seem like a lot but in your area no doubt they need to dig a basement and in such a way as to not disturb the existing basement, probably have to rearrange all the utility lines, so a good part of the quotation is probably just for dirt work and concrete for a basement. My guess anyway.

 

[cmuncy]

Eddie,

I noticed the price on lumber too!

I finished my house 6 months before the hurricanes hit. If I would have built one year later, I bet I would have to add about 30% more on the price of lumber that increased.

Now, with the price falling, I can finally build out my office in my shop!
I just have to get the bizniz plan together and submit it to the CFO

 

[asylum575]

Building costs are through the roof. Problem is, contractors use materials cost and multiply off of that for labor. It's kinda like the state charging tax on fuel. When gas was $1.50 and say they got 10% or 15 cents a gallon they were OK. Now that gas is $3.00 a gallon, they're collecting double the tax and still providing the same services.
I bought a 2300SF home 18 months ago. So far have done 2 1/2 baths, kitchen, refinished floors, lots of sheetrock, windows and siding. All together I'm into it for about $35K. That's with me doing ALL the work. Having a fulltime job hasn't helped. Most of the interior stuff was done before we moved in. Now finishing siding. Had I contracted the work out, easily
$100K+.
My original plan was to knock down the house and rebuild a 3500sf house. Real estate values took a hit and I didn't sell my old house for anywhere near I had hoped. Point I'm making is really think about what you want and what you need. $200K for that addition is not worth it. If you're careful and willing to do some of the work yourself, you can build for $70-100 SF. So on the low end of $70SF, you can build close to 3000SF for that $$200k. If you're considering that price, I'd build a second house on the property then knock down the old one later. This way you can build the whole house the way YOU want it and not just try to add to and existing plan and hope it will satisfy you.
Just do ALOT of research and seek out help from friends who may know. Nothing like building your house. I'm still hoping I can build mine in a few years.

 

[saltman]

Unless you work in the Industry like Eddie does then you don't really know so it's important to get at least three bids and get referals/ recommendations. The cheapest contractor is probably the worst. Lumber is very reasonable right now and labor may be at a premium there but here in Southern California most builders are out of work. I am actually waiting another year to build thinking that things will get worse for our building economy here before they get better. If I had a warehouse I would buy my lumber now.

 

[firefighter9208]

Unless you work in the Industry like Eddie does then you don't really know so it's important to get at least three bids and get referals/ recommendations. The cheapest contractor is probably the worst. Lumber is very reasonable right now and labor may be at a premium there but here in Southern California most builders are out of work. I am actually waiting another year to build thinking that things will get worse for our building economy here before they get better. If I had a warehouse I would buy my lumber now.

Saltman,

In 2000 lumber prices were very low. I already had a 30x40 shop on sight where we were going to build our house. I bought all my OSB and studs and had them delivered with a fork lift. I went and got some used pallets. The driver would set the bundle of OSB inside the door of my shop on a pallet. I then used a pallet jack to move the OSB and studs to the back wall. I got my entire house package in my shop. The next summer when it came time to build I used the pallet jack to move the lumber to the door and then used my tractor with forks to move to the job site a few hundred feet away. We paid $4.00 a sheet for 7/16 OSB and about $1.40 for 9' precut studs. Saved a lot of money this way. We also had all of our toilets, sinks, etc... that we bought on sale at various stores in the building.

 

[saltman]

Firefighter, **** 1.40 for a 9' stud is a great deal. They are just less than 2.00 here now and that seems good to me.

My site is so dry that the lumber dries out so much that it will split when you nail it if it's stored for too long. Of course if I had a shop out there then that wouldn't be a problem.

It sounds like you built very economically. I guess I could buy one of those 40' metal storage containers..

 

[firefighter9208]

At the time we constructed our house we built 3200 sq. ft. heated and cooled w/800 square feet of wrap around porch. Hardwood, crown, 9' ceilings, full brick, diminisional shingles, the whole 9 yards for $41.00 a square foot. It helps that my father-in-law is a contractor and we subbed it ourselves. Wish we could build one for that now.

Chris

 

[asylum575]

$41 a square foot is great. Here in NY, I'm hoping to build for $70-80 a Sq ft. Contractors are getting $200 SF on remodels. I plan to GC the job and do alot of the work myself. I just figure at say $75 sf I should be able to build 3500 sq ft for $262,500. My neighbor just paid close to that for a 1,500 sf addition on a bi-level. In the end you still have a bi-level, just nicer. I would rather pick out a totally new floor plan to my liking and build it from scratch.

 

[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.