If you can get all that done for 150K, you must have found Aladdin's lamp.

Depending on the kitchen remodel, may not need Aladdin's lamp. We are 3 weeks into a 2nd story addition on a brick ranch. (Roof was replaced last week and shingles go on tomorrow...Yay!)
For aesthetic and neighborhood fit reasons, we decided on a large addition above the center of the house, rather than taking the addition another 10 feet to the end. Cost for the 37x25 foot second story is 120k in Pennsylvania. The second story includes MBR suite with walk-in closet, 2 additional bedrooms and additional full bath. The first floor renovations include remodel of a full bath, addition of powder room, bringing laundry from basement to 1st floor, and wall renovations to section off the remaining two bedrooms and full bath into a suite of rooms. We're not touching the kitchen, dining room or living room, except to add the oak staircase. And this work is being done by a reputable remodeler who annually receives awards from the local builder's association. So, fatt96, it can be done!

fatt96:

We're GCíng our own remodel of a brick ranch, BUT we recently came across a very impressive contractor/design/build firm. They came over for an estimate to do the tile in our master bath. We were very impressed with them and DH is in the business.

We're in NOVA, they are in Silver Spring, MD. But they might work in Baltimore. Anyway, Vogan Associates. We actually found them tangentially through Bill Vincent (the tile guy) who knew someone who knew them. Very impressive. Check it out!

Good luck!
Ivette

Here is a link that might be useful: Vogan Associates

Are neighboring homes as large as yours will be? Are there teardowns in your area? Can you avoid the hassle by moving into a $450K house?

What will you have when you're done? Will you have the same small bathrooms and public spaces on the first floor? Will you have 8-foot ceilings? Where will you put the stairs? Will you have all new mechanicals? Will you get back what you put into this or would you have a more valuable property if you moved or tore down and built new?

Talk to a realtor before you talk to a contractor.

We're doing something very similar in Chicago at a significantly higher price, unfortunately. The total will be way more than we ever thought we'd put into a house. But still less than we could buy a similar new construction home in the same neighborhood, and we'll have exactly what we want - well more or less.

I would recommend talking seriously to both an architect and builder/GC before getting started. Our architect tried hard to preserve whatever walls, window locations, ceiling sections, etc. he could, theoretically to save us money. However, the builders ended up finding it easier to just tear everything down to the studs. Had we truly known the extent to which we'd be taking the house apart, we'd have torn it down completely and made better use of the small city lot.

It's a long story, but we ended up even replacing all the brick. We're on a corner lot and with the re-configuration of the first floor, there were just too many changes in window locations that would have looked like cr*p if we tried to patch them, match the 2nd floor, etc. We really wanted it to look like a new two-story house. Not an old box with a new one slapped on top like many ranch additions we've seen.

So just for kicks, have a builder give you ballparks for (1) the addition, taking into account how much plumbing/electric can be preserved, whether you can really keep the first floor brick intact, etc. and (2) cost to tear down and build new. If we had done this, I think we would have started from scratch and would REALLY have everything we want.

Good luck!

this message it to Kathi06. I too am in PA and we are thinking of doing the same thing. I live in the Harrisburg area. I wonder if you might share some insight with me regarding builder etc. We did a major renovation in Arlington, VA about 8 years ago. That was a Cape Cod.....and we did a lot ourselves. We're not in that position now and would like an architect build firm. Anyone with suggestions?

We adore our design/bild firm, S & D Renovations, based in Emmaus. They don't do much advertising...mostly word of mouth recommendations, and are quite busy. They win local and regional awards each year (we only found this out after we contracted with them.) Great customer service, and solid workmanship, in our opinion.
We're in the Allentown area, so it's a bit far, but not horribly so. I have no idea if the company would consider a job in the Harrisburg area, but I can't say enough good things about the integrity of the owners and all the employees and subs we've worked with. We're now about a month away from completion.

Hi, just wondering how it went with your renovation. We are about to renovate in Arlington and are looking for contractors with experience converting ranchers. Am concerned that our architect recommended NOT popping the top and just building onto the back of the house, perhaps to save money but also making odd proportions to the rooms inside the house. Bedrooms would still be small, and living room would become something like a bowling alley! Unfortunately rebuilding would cost about $500,000, we're trying to keep it down to $200-250,000.