Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did this in DC going 1000sf to 1500sf (added 250sf/flr), adding a new master bath and powder room, replacing GFA with four mini splits, and installing hardwood flooring throughout. Construction costs + raw materials is running ~$160k.

What year?

2022

Would you recommend who you used?

OK since we are playing this game - cost for a major renovation like this?

- add fourth bedroom and bath to second floor, doubling square footage on that floor

- renovating first floor completely, mostly new kitchen and potentially bumping side of house out a few feet

House is small, 1600 square feet now not counting existing basement

If you go to one of the big design build firms it will undoubtedly run 200-300k but they’re adding 10-20% on top of all bills plus a (often) 5 figure monthly management fee.

I’ve done numerous projects and got bids from them sometimes. They’re definitely the preference for the well compensated DCUM set.

But the way I’ve found that has the most value for me is to find a small shop led by 1 person who has their own crew for most of the general work and subs out to trades only when absolutely necessary. They work on a time and material basis when not subbing out and the top guy isn’t expecting to take a cut for just existing.

When you go to a big D/B firm what amounts to a project management fee adds up to 1/2 of the project sometimes.

The method I laid out is somewhere between GC’ing it yourself and going to a 1-stop shop.

You may need to get in the weeds on order doors and windows - but you order what you want directly from distributors and they don’t get marked up. If you get a good contractor, he’ll let you order under his name and you get the trade discount too.

I’ve done around 1M in renovations this way spread across 5-6 major projects. I’ve helped friends do this for another 3-4 projects and we’ve all had very good results at a much lower price point.

You have to get away from the profit expectations of the bigger guys… they have (at least) 4-5 execs internally to pay and all of them are multi-millionaires. Plus a health sg&a spend for biz development and marketing.

our neighbors did something similar in 2021/2022:
- bumping out the back by similar amount
- downstairs it mean extension of kitchen and kitchen remodel, addition of a small mudroom space and half bath on one side and mini covered porch on the other
- upstairs the master bedroom got bigger and got a new full bath.

Total 400k. It is pretty and well done but i was shocked at the cost given that the extension was not big at all in terms of square footage. I guess the kitchen and bathroom additions ate a lot of the budget

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did this in DC going 1000sf to 1500sf (added 250sf/flr), adding a new master bath and powder room, replacing GFA with four mini splits, and installing hardwood flooring throughout. Construction costs + raw materials is running ~$160k.

What year?

2022

Anonymous wrote:I did this in DC going 1000sf to 1500sf (added 250sf/flr), adding a new master bath and powder room, replacing GFA with four mini splits, and installing hardwood flooring throughout. Construction costs + raw materials is running ~$160k.

What year?

Anonymous wrote:Are you the same person who was talking about finding the “perfect” house that needed. a 5 foot addition? This is bonkers.

No, not me.

I did this in DC going 1000sf to 1500sf (added 250sf/flr), adding a new master bath and powder room, replacing GFA with four mini splits, and installing hardwood flooring throughout. Construction costs + raw materials is running ~$160k.

Anonymous wrote:Are you the same person who was talking about finding the “perfect” house that needed. a 5 foot addition? This is bonkers.

+1 Most certainly the same person.

OP, you will save yourself a lot of time and energy if you simply hire an interior decorator to show you how to arrange your fixtures to make the space you want. You do not need the addition.

Are you the same person who was talking about finding the “perfect” house that needed. a 5 foot addition? This is bonkers.

~$200k and it's going to take at least a year of planning and permits before work even starts. You'll need to find an architect to draw the plans, submit them for permits (which cost several hundred $$) and then find a general contractor who can bring in subcontractors to do the concrete foundation, electrical, plumbing, etc. Your local municipality will need to inspect the work at various points. Once the addition is done, you can get your kitchen remodeled (another $50k-$100k) as well as the upstairs which will probably need new flooring, etc. The house will eventually be reassessed with the new square footage which will make your tax bill go up. The house will be worth more but the difference will never be as much as you put into that addition.

2-story addition is going to run you $150k-$200k. You might as well go out 12 feet and get more square footage out of it. It's not worth it for 5 feet.

$300,000.

A brick exterior is going to cost a lot of $ in labor to remove and open up. If you live in the DC area I’d say this will be no less than $80k not including any kitchen remodeling that might be needed in the existing space.

Five foot deep by 13 foot wide addition to exterior wall. Ground floor is kitchen bump out to make space for a fridge that currently just into the room, that would be next to a new back entrance/mudroom. Above it would be a five foot deep by 11 foot wide addition to a small bedroom that is currently 11 feet X 10 feet, making that room 15 x 11. That bedroom would acquire a corner window (or just a regular window if corner is prohibitive). Outside, adding this would require relocation of the compressor. Roof is flat. Could extend or make new roof a notch lower than the existing one. However interior ceilings are already under 8 feet. Exterior walls are solid brick and uninsulated.