Is there any way to add space to a house for $50K-ish or less?

[Anonymous]

Our house is on the smaller side and I've always thought we'd try to add on another room (ideally a four-season sunroom, maybe 10'x15"ish, but can be flexible on the details), but in my head I was thinking about it as costing in the $25K-$50K range. Getting spooked by all these mentions of it costing $100K+. Is there any way to do it cheaper? We are not picky about finishes, can wait and try to time it whenever's best, will probably remodel one or two bathrooms and replace our roof sometime in the next 5ish years so could combine it with one or both of those if it brings cost down, etc. How much would it save to make it a 3 season room or a screened porch? What about if we got one of those pre-fab sunroom things? Is there anything else we can do to bring the price down while still giving us some extra living space?

(Or alternatively, if the answer is that we are definitely going to have to resign ourselves to paying 6 figures, what's the maximum amount of space you can realistically get for under, say, $150K? We're in Montgomery County, if it matters.)

[Anonymous]

First question. What is a four season sunroom? I have a sunroom and it’s only comfortable for a couple of months out of the year, in the spring and fall. Less than a full season.

[Anonymous]

If they have to pour foundation it's not going to be cheap. Labor around here is expensive. It's going to require permits too. As to how much space you can get, it probably depends in part on the size of your yard and local zoning rules--how much clearance you need on the sides and back of the lot, total lot coverage and FAR, etc.

[Anonymous]

Is your basement finished?

[Anonymous]

We don't have a basement at all, unfortunately, or else we'd definitely be looking there for extra space, yeah.

We do have a cement patio currently in the spot where we'd like to put the sunroom/addition. But I don't know if that will be usable as a foundation, or if they'll have to tear it up and repour and that will just make things even more expensive...

[Anonymous]

Going out on a limb: not possible unless you have a relative willing to do the labor for free.

A couple years back we wanted to add a no frills porch (so, 3 seasons, not 4). Cost nased on 3 estimates was $60k (we were expecting $30-$40k). About 8 months later we decided to pull the trigger, and costs were $70k

[Anonymous]

Get some estimates, but I don't think so. You can add a tiny home type structure and use it as an office, gym, den, craft room, guest room, etc. , but it won't be attached to the house. Home improvement is just very expensive.

[Anonymous]

You’re better for moving

[Anonymous]

Better off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’re better for moving

Moving to a house that is bigger and otherwise comparable is likely to cost more than $50,000, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

No. Not even close. $100k is probably about right.

Sorry—it’s on my dream list too. I’ve put it on the list of must haves when we retire out of here in 20 years since that’s the only way we can afford it, lol.

[Anonymous]

We just had a screened in porch put in. We upgraded and put in EZ breeze windows and a fireplace. The quote for the porch itself (without electrical work, painting, the windows and the fireplace) was 45k. Our total was more around 90k with the upgrades we did. However, I think even with only the basic screened in porch and just hanging some string lights having or just having a little electrical work done the extra space would still be a game changer if you have a small space. Our contractor works in the Fairfax area and we were very happy with work, I can put his info if you want it.

[Anonymous]

PP here- the contractor we used was very clear on the costs of the basic screened porch and what the upgrades would be. So you wouldn’t have any surprises that would bring you over your budget. But yes, sorta impossible to have a whole sunroom for less than 50k. If you upgrade your budget a bit you may be able to afford the EZ breeze windows, or add them later. If I remember correctly for our porch it was a 11k charge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just had a screened in porch put in. We upgraded and put in EZ breeze windows and a fireplace. The quote for the porch itself (without electrical work, painting, the windows and the fireplace) was 45k. Our total was more around 90k with the upgrades we did. However, I think even with only the basic screened in porch and just hanging some string lights having or just having a little electrical work done the extra space would still be a game changer if you have a small space. Our contractor works in the Fairfax area and we were very happy with work, I can put his info if you want it.

Np. I live in ffx. Would appreciate his info.

[Anonymous]

We had a 1200 sq ft house with a 200 sq ft screened in porch. We loved it.