Contractor recommendations for large addition & thoughts on cost

[Anonymous]

We are looking to add on to our house in Bethesda. We want to do a pretty large 2 story addition--it includes adding 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, & a powder room; renovating an existing bathroom & bumping out/renovation a kitchen.

Any recommendations for contractors or design/build companies?

Anyone else do a similar project? I'm curious about what I should expect to pay.

[Anonymous]

We're doing something similar. My guess is that you'll get estimates ranging from 250K to 450k.

[Anonymous]

For that large of an addition in Bethesda, more like 400K+.
Depending on the house size you want to end up with, and the degree of wear in your old house, it's almost worthwhile to tear down and build new. Almost. Get a lot of quotes, chuck out the cheapest one (there's always a contractor to lie and underprice the work to get the bid) and compare.

[Anonymous]

PP again - I say this because the most expensive things to redo are kitchen, bath and structural prep when 2 storeys are involved.

[Anonymous]

You're definitely not going to get that done by a reputable contractor for under $400K. We did a similar addition, got 6 bids from different contractors and design/build firms, and none were under $400K.

[Anonymous]

Also, be prepared to spend more on allowances. We outspent just about every allowance we had on our big addition. It really adds an extra 20%, maybe mmore than that

[Anonymous]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to knock the f*cker down? Seriously?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be cheaper to knock the f*cker down? Seriously?

Probably cheaper per square foot but this addition sounds like it could cost $450,000 while a nice teardown will probably cost at least $800,000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be cheaper to knock the f*cker down? Seriously?

Probably cheaper per square foot but this addition sounds like it could cost $450,000 while a nice teardown will probably cost at least $800,000.

[Anonymous]

We are in the midst of a 450 2-story sq foot addition. Total cost is close to $130k. We could have got it done cheaper. Posters who are claiming 400k are nuts. And the fact that you live in Bethesda is irrelevant. The costs are the same in NE DC as they are in Bethesda. The only reason you might pay a premium in Bethesda is because the contractor thinks you are rich and wants to fleece you. Of course it depends on how big you are talking about (sq ft) and how fancy your finishes are but $400k+ sounds crazy. Plan on $250-300 per sq foot (high end).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in the midst of a 450 2-story sq foot addition. Total cost is close to $130k. We could have got it done cheaper. Posters who are claiming 400k are nuts. And the fact that you live in Bethesda is irrelevant. The costs are the same in NE DC as they are in Bethesda. The only reason you might pay a premium in Bethesda is because the contractor thinks you are rich and wants to fleece you. Of course it depends on how big you are talking about (sq ft) and how fancy your finishes are but $400k+ sounds crazy. Plan on $250-300 per sq foot (high end).

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Should have read 450 sq foot, 2 story addition.

[Anonymous]

We just did a renovation using Potomac Valley Builder and we were very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the midst of a 450 2-story sq foot addition. Total cost is close to $130k. We could have got it done cheaper. Posters who are claiming 400k are nuts. And the fact that you live in Bethesda is irrelevant. The costs are the same in NE DC as they are in Bethesda. The only reason you might pay a premium in Bethesda is because the contractor thinks you are rich and wants to fleece you. Of course it depends on how big you are talking about (sq ft) and how fancy your finishes are but $400k+ sounds crazy. Plan on $250-300 per sq foot (high end).

\

Should have read 450 sq foot, 2 story addition.

The problem is that you're right in both of these statements. The costs should be the same in both places, but based on our experience I can practically guarantee that OP won't find a contractor who won't jack up the price because of his or her location. It seems unavoidable these days and it's very frustrating to those of us in good neighborhoods but who aren't rolling in dough.

[Anonymous]

To the pp in NE DC doing the addition - who are you using? Are you happy so far with the work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the pp in NE DC doing the addition - who are you using? Are you happy so far with the work?

We're actually in NW, I was using NE as an example. But we live in 20001 for context so not somewhere known for being affluent even though houses now sell for $600-$1.2m). I am not happy enough with the work to recommend my contractor. They are competent but would be better for a straight forward GC job rather than design build. If I had to do it again we'd have an architect throughout the process and may or may not have gone with a different contractor. We've also had a lot of delays. That said we didn't go with the cheap option and contractor was very well recommended and previous clients appeared very happy.

For the PPs who can't get lower quotes, you are calling the wrong contractors. If you call the contractors that all your neighbors have used they will try and fleece you. Get quotes from contractors who do work all over the city.