It does seem high, but that's why you need to get 3 bids so you can see if it's reasonable or way over.

Our price is very similar and we're not removing the back wall so there are no structural issues. Shocking, isn't it???

am i missing something? i'm building a custom home for way less than that! it doesn't include cabinets? what DOES it include?

definitely get MORE bids. good luck!

This is a difficult question to answer....pricing depends on a lot of things...

• What part of the country do you live in?

• What are the "structural issues"? (they can be expensive)

• What materials are you using?

As Lukkiirish said, you need to get several bids (at least 3). That's the only way to really determine what's the going rate in your area and in your particular circumstances. Get a detailed breakdown from each contractor so you know what you're comparing against (different contractors may bid different grades of materials, or someone may catch something that needs to be done that others might have missed, etc.)

Good luck!

Buehl: I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. The structural issue is that we have a second story over the adjacent family room so a beam needs to be extended. They also have to reinforce an exterior wall and a garage wall. The materials are standard materials...the bid DOES NOT include any of the cabinets, counters, flooring or appliances. Also, the gas lines/water are only being moved slightly and we have complete access via the crawl space.

I will get an additional or two. I think some of this has to do with California's need to be very mindful of seismic issues.

Wow. Over $200K? Definitely get more estimates.

What a difference 7 years and being in the Midwest makes.
7 years ago I knocked out a load-bearing wall between kitchen and family room (c. 1910 house). Added a master suite above existing fam.rm addition. New windows, siding, two new hvac units, kitchen, laundry, refinish all wood floors...basically an entire overhaul of the house.
$120K. GC was a friend and that helped a LOT...plus I got a great deal on my kitchen. Even in our area, people don't believe that's all we spent. It seemed like a fortune to us at the time...but looking back now, I realize how little we spent, for how much we did. Three houses over, they did about the same amount of work as we did last summer...they spent over $200K and had a family member as GC.

Yes...200+K before floors, appliances, cabinets and the new roof we will need.

This contractor was a design/build firm. Maybe that is why it is so high. Even so...I have a feeling the scope of the work will cause me to rethink my original plan. What a shame...my KD has a GORGEOUS layout for me--my dream kitchen. Oh well....

Get more bids. We are also in the SF area. We are remodeling kitchen, family room, dinning room and office. All new windows, floors, cabinets and appliances. Removing some walls, new ceilings, new sheer walls for those earthquake issues and adding an new entryway. Got bids from $425,000 to $245,000. You just need to shop around and understand every detail of the bid. Some GC's leave room for mind changes etc, but if you are firm on your plans, you should be able to get a firm quote(of course there will always be probelms along the way.)

Also, try non-Design/Build firms as they are usually the most expensive.

"i'm building a custom home for way less than that!"

Additions cost more than new builds because of the expense of structural issues like getting the floors to line up to the existing floors, etc.

That said, 200K for 150 sq ft seems high. My 300 sq ft addition (in the DC area) that involved lots of plumbing, HVAC, and electrial work was a little more than half that (not including cabinets, counter, etc). I did not use a design-build firm, however.

Adding on is more expensive, and the kitchen is the highest price per square foot of any part of the house, plus you are in a more expensive area -- but that still seems high to me. Keep in mind that it can cost nearly as much to move something a little as to move it a lot. Same thing with adding a little -- The labor is nearly the same, the permits and the problems are nearly thesame, and only some of the materials increase.

if you do rethink your approach, it pays to take the time to really study your space and options -- think outside the box and conventional approaches. We bought out house planning only on replacing counters and appliances, but 4 years later, we ripped it all out. We moved a cooktop out of the island and across that island from the sink -- made possible because we were able to install a prep sink. We also took out a corner pantry and a huge overhead light box. The kitchen feels about 50% larger and functions so much better, but we didn't change the footprint. We couldn't -- there was really nowhere we could go, so we improved the same space and got a lot more out of it. If you want to post what you have with what you need and want, I'm sure you'll get a lot of great pointers on working within the available space. Something to think about....

I also live in the Bay Area - the Pennisula. Our remodel will be about about 200K all inclusive but it's for a kitchen and three full baths. We're using mostly high end products - Sub Zero, Gaggenau, Grohe, granite, marble (baths), Andersen windows and doors, etc.. And this is from a design and build firm. I got other bids that ranged up to 400K for the same project so you definetly should shop around.

dkframes: Thanks for that information...I am definitely going to shop around --plus the contractor is now actively trying to "save" me some $$$. We are also using all high end appliances and finishes but the estimate he gave us was for all of the work excluding those things....

Did you get the Gaggenau combi-steam oven?

Yes I did with a single oven below it. It's not installed yet as we're at the sheetrock point in our remodel. I purchased it back in June (we started construction in Oct.) of last year to take advantage of a rebate promo they were having - glad I did since prices are about 40% more now.

madster, put "design build" in as a search term at this site (not just this forum) and see what folks have to say, especially in this economy.

Meantime, run, don't walk, from this firm. It wasn't your intial post that makes me say that because we don't know enough about the seismic issues possibly presented by your site.

No, it was these words: "the contractor is now actively trying to "save" me some $$$"

This guy is afraid to lose the job in a lousy economy and he overbid. He will screw your quality to maintain his mortgage. Dump him.

I have four siblings in the Bay Area, homeowners in the priciest areas there and all sibs and spouses with advanced degrees from the top 20 schools in the US. Two spouses are laid off; one owner business is down to 4 employees. Get 5 bids after you dump this DB firm.