Adding on to a house

[Anonymous]

We're looking at buying but the house we could live in now is much smaller than the house we would want when the kids are teenagers. So, should we consider buying a smaller 2-3 bedroom and then adding on a story or bumping out the back in 10 years? How does one even begin to estimate the cost of such changes to a home? I see a lot of this happening in my neighborhood, but it seems odd to walk up to the neighbors and ask "what is that costing you?" It also seems really specific to what is being added, but I am floored when I see homes remodeled to the extent that only the foundation and first story walls remain the same. How is this financially reasonable? Or is it not. Also, I live in South Arlington, if it matters.

[Anonymous]

Crazy expensive. More than just buying the size you want up front. You get the contractors Northern Virginia "tax" and get it up the ass.

We had your grand idea, only to discover it was cheaper and less hassle to move. SO we did.

[Anonymous]

One more thing, unless you do a really high end job, rarely does it flow well. Being in the Arlington market, it amazes me how many homes are butchered. Chopped up messes.

[Anonymous]

We did it and it flows well, but like PP said it wasn't cheap. We chose to do it because we live in a location we adore on a 1 acre lot and wanted to add some space to our home. We looked at moving, but all the new stuff around us are those cookie cutter craftsman homes shoehorned on to small lots. In order to make it flow we upgraded the doors/windows in the rooms adjacent to the new room so they would all match, added matching ceiling fans in the new and old spaces, repainted everything and redid all the hardieplank so the exterior on the old and new spaces is identical. We just added living/dining space and didn't add any expensive complex spaces with plumbing (kitchens, bathrooms, etc.). It was still up in the six figures, but we feel it was worth it to make our house what we wanted and retain our location and lot rather than move into something newer that we didn't want.

[Anonymous]

I'd only do it if you bought a while ago or got a
screaming deal. Otherwise not worth it. We got a good deal
on our house at the bottom of the market and I'm
still not sure it makes financial sense.

[Anonymous]

You can check Angie's list to get an idea of some of the costs. Some of the reviewers post what they had done and the cost so if you look at builders in the area that do a lot of additions you may be able to get a rough idea there. We're kicking around the idea of doing something rather than move after watching a few of the new homes go up in our neighborhood. The speed at which these things go up and the shoddy work and lack of craftsmanship by even some of the "high end" builders in this area is pretty bad if you take the time to look closely. They have figured out how to do everything on the cheap and throw it up as fast as possible so they can move on to the next project. I'd be willing to bet your existing home is higher quality than anything built in the last five years.

[Anonymous]

We did a two story addition to a DC row house that added about 450 sq feet, new bedroom, new family room and new bathroom. Cost was about $120k.

Typically you can budget by looking at about $250-300 per sq foot.

However, some people here (try the real estate board for example) have paid through the nose for their additions. There is no "NOVA tax" - that's nuts. All it means is that you have been ripped off.

[Anonymous]

150-200k. Would be cheaper to stretch and buy a bigger house now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a two story addition to a DC row house that added about 450 sq feet, new bedroom, new family room and new bathroom. Cost was about $120k.

Typically you can budget by looking at about $250-300 per sq foot.

However, some people here (try the real estate board for example) have paid through the nose for their additions. There is no "NOVA tax" - that's nuts. All it means is that you have been ripped off.

Yea, that's what it means. I can tell you I have family who are in the business and they know this area is the richest, so the bids reflect that. I will also say labor is so expensive so that drives the cost up. Unskilled illegal day labor is $15/hr.

[Anonymous]

Long time ago I looked at doing this, by blowing out the back of thr house (included a modest kitchen) it was 250k approx.

[Anonymous]

$250-$300 per square foot is a good guide. We blew the back off a rambler and did a kitchen and great room for $130K. Approx 500 sq ft. New windows and siding to make it look good added to the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$250-$300 per square foot is a good guide. We blew the back off a rambler and did a kitchen and great room for $130K. Approx 500 sq ft. New windows and siding to make it look good added to the cost.

I did a kitchen a great room for 125k and it didn't include an addition. All depends on your finishes.

[Anonymous]

You might look at the building permits posted on the Arlington County website. They are supposed to include a description of the job and the costs. You can check out the addresses to see the finished product and identify potential builders and architects that way as well. We did exactly what you described, bought an OK, but small house, in a location that we loved, lived in it for 10 years and renovated. We took our time in making our decision and ultimately decided it was the one that made the most sense for us financially. Not saying its for everyone, but for us it was the right answer. No regrets and extremely happy with the outcome.

[Anonymous]

We are in the process of planning a 3 level addition (basement, family room, master bedroom), reconfiguring most of the main floor including a new (moved) kitchen, two new and one remodeled bath. At the end of the day, I expect we will be looking at $400-425K (this is above our initial quote but we are adding some things along the way). We are doing good quality but not extremely high end finishes.

This is in upper NW DC.

We bought over a decade ago and now our kids will be teens soon. It makes financial sense to us because we love our neighborhood and cannot otherwise have what we want here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of planning a 3 level addition (basement, family room, master bedroom), reconfiguring most of the main floor including a new (moved) kitchen, two new and one remodeled bath. At the end of the day, I expect we will be looking at $400-425K (this is above our initial quote but we are adding some things along the way). We are doing good quality but not extremely high end finishes.

This is in upper NW DC.

We bought over a decade ago and now our kids will be teens soon. It makes financial sense to us because we love our neighborhood and cannot otherwise have what we want here.

NW DC here too, did a 2 story addition last year, gutting of first floor, whole new (all high end) kitchen, new master bed and bath (also high end), remodeled existing baths on other floors, new windows (like 30 of them, cost was $25K I think) and two entirely new AC units, tankless water heater, insulation, paint, large slate patio, new fence, regrading, exterior lighting, all new electrical, etc. Cost was about $400K plus architect fees. We essentially gut remodled about 1,200 sq ft and added roughly 1,000.

Your number smells right.

The thing people don't realize is the $250 a sq foot number is basically to get your drywall. A high end kitchen will easily add $60K to that - appliances alone are going to be $20. Counter $10. Cabinets easily $20, and if you go high high end, $40. Bathrooms similar: the vanity, faucets etc in a master bath can easily hit $5K, excluding tile. That will also add on.