Frustrated with Remodeling/Addition costs

8 years ago

We live in a high living cost area in Southern California and are looking to add about 250 sq ft to our house. We want do the addition by converting the back porch into the kitchen and bathroom (IKEA is fine!). Then shuffle the layout of the existing space (old kitchen into more living space). Then, we hope to put new continuous flooring in and re-paint.

I get that we need to basically tear down and build the whole addition from ground up. The old back porch was on a different roof line. A couple contractors have told us that changing the roof line on the existing roof will eat up most of the budget. We are open to a separate roof line on the addition to reduce the cost.

However, the estimates that we have received is still over $150K. WHY??? I don't understand this at all! If I drive two hours inland, $150K is the more than half the cost of a brand new house. What am I doing wrong?

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

klem1

8 years ago

"We live in a high living cost area in Southern California"

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
Whatever you do, don't blame the contractors. They didn't pass the building codes with the seismic requirements. They've got to earn enough to live in this high cost area too, or charge you for the drive to get there.
Related Discussions
cost of home addition (site or modular addition)
Q
Comments (2)
Thanks a lot! jon1270 Your pointed out the right problems; I don't know the answers for most of your questions. For size, I want about 500 square feet (unless additional will not cost proportionally). Exterior would be wood siding, to match the original. Shape? I would see a rectangle is most possible. Windows need to be good in order to save heating in winters. Interior material and wall surfaces would be just so-so; no need to be great. Floor is wood. Fireplace is not needed in the addition. I have no idea of foundation, basements things unless I ask a constructor to review it on-site to find out what is the best, Yes, it is on and on... I am thinking of paying a GC to be onsite to provide some estimates. Is this a good idea? Again thanks for the reply. Donald.
...See More
Remodel and Addition- Loan info help?
Q
Comments (4)
The housing market in my area is difficult. Decent standard brick/hardee side homes are priced at $350,000 and up. Older style Jim Walter homes and trailers are from the 40's to the 90's here. It is a retirement/lake community and so any newly constructed homes are built from the 300's to the the 900's while the older homes are being handed down. We are seeing property taxes raise to reflect the new development. The reason I don't consider simply moving to another house in the area is because I have one of the few larger tracts (4.5 acres) of land that is located in a neighborhood but that is grandfathered in to have no deed restrictions, POA fees, etc. I also own the adjacent 4.5 acres and have my grandparents living there in a small home. Moving is not really an option. Perhaps if the bank lender won't approve everything I can scale back to only the most important structural repairs for now. Thanks for your opinions!
...See More
Back after a little absence - need advice on $ for remodel/addition
Q
Comments (21)
Here's a simple empty floorplan that I did a while ago (I should double some of these measurements). A few notes about it -- porch is on the far left (east) side of the house. The top half (north) is the uninsulated portion that we'd try to "square up" that we currently have some storage shelves in and a bunch of shoes :) The bottom half of the porch (south) with the window is where the current 3/4 bath is. When the previous owners "finished" the bathroom, they put all the plumbing on the exterior east wall, with the shower, sink, and toilet all in a row on the east wall, top to bottom so to speak. The kitchen is the large room right off the porch. There are stairs directly to the west of the kitchen that can't be moved. So basically, we are constrained to the west of the kitchen by the stairs, and to the north is our driveway which we also can't move. We can tear out some of the south wall of the kitchen to open to the dining room, but we would not be willing to steal space for any kitchen components, just open up. We need at least a 1/2 bath somewhere in there, and no, we're not willing to put it in the foyer (it's been asked many times already). So realistically, the only option for improving the layout and growing the kitchen a bit is annexing some of the porch and slightly expanding the porch. Below, I'm going to post a draft of a layout inspired by a fellow Houzz user that made these suggestions. A few things aren't precise, but it's an idea (there's a bit of extra space added on to the east that could be skipped if we want). I'd definitely be interested in other ideas though, and may post again on the kitchen boards.
...See More
Addition and remodel
Q
Comments (50)
We just put on 600 sq. ft. onto the back side of our contemporary cape. Builder started the beginning of February. Project has moved along nicely and we are currently waiting on the countertops to be installed and then everything will be finished up from there. Basically the new space is a kitchen, dining nook (bump out) and living area. The old kitchen was turned into mudroom/laundry room (it was very small). My advice would be stay on top of costs and make sure your builder communicates with you. Ours is rather laid back and though I like that, he has also left out some details. For example he would never give me an exact amount of time that I would be out of a kitchen. We are almost at the 2 month mark and it's been hard with two kids. He also moved the washer upstairs while we were on vacation but now it can't be hooked up until all the kitchen plumbing is finished which hinges on the countertop install that we are currently waiting for. So it's things like this that come up that I wasn't expecting. Our biggest cost increases with were with the electrician and with foam insulation. Also, we installed Coretec Plus Ivory Coast Oak with a contemporary looking kitchen. I think it looks great and it's less worrisome than wood. Plus price was right. Good luck!! It's a leap of faith but it will all work out.
...See More
guco45
Original Author
8 years ago
Joseph, we do live in a high cost living area but the funny thing is the contractors live only 20 mins or so away.
klem1
8 years ago
LOL,perhaps if all those pesky trees were gone we could see the forest.
weedyacres
8 years ago
Can you post a some photos showing what you've got to work with?
PRO
Taylor's Cabinets & Interiors
8 years ago
If you've only got one estimate, get some more. If you've already gotten multiple estimates, then you're see what it's going to cost.

Why does it cost that much. Well, because that's what the market will bear.
kirkhall
8 years ago
You are talking: foundation, roof, kitchen, bathroom and new flooring throughout... That is 1/2 of a new house.
Fori
8 years ago
It seems cheap to me. Get more quotes. :)

(Yeah, it's a lot cheaper in the valley, but then you have to live in the valley...)
rockybird
8 years ago
Does that include the cost of materials? (Cabinets, flooring?)
Christa G.
8 years ago
We are in San Jose, doing a 70 sq ft bump out with gut of existing kitchen, new plumbing, and electrical. Total estimate (including appliances and Dynasty cabinets) is $145k. The permits alone are going to be around $5k according to contractor. We don't need any changes to the roofline. So the quote you have doesn't surprise me. Sadly...
guco45
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks Everyone. The $150K figure was provided by several contractors. Some were even higher than that! My post was simply "OMG I didn't realize how much construction costs!". I will post the floor plans in a separate thread and would appreciate your guidance/suggestions!
jakkom
8 years ago
This is why commercial builders prefer to tear down and build new rather than renovate. Renovation is ALWAYS more expensive than a new build, in costs per sq. ft.

Yes, welcome to the "OMG!" group of homeowners. We had a $450 sewage clog and are spending around $30K just to remodel a bedroom with better lighting and nicer flooring, no structural changes at all - all mid-range items, too; not luxury stuff.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
I charged almost $1,500.00 to replace a man door on a garage today. All fiberglas and wind rated.

Frustrated with Remodeling/Addition costs

klem1

Comments (13)

Joseph Corlett, LLC

Related Discussions

guco45
Original Author

klem1

weedyacres

Taylor's Cabinets & Interiors

kirkhall

Fori

rockybird

Christa G.

guco45
Original Author

jakkom

Joseph Corlett, LLC

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Frustrated with Remodeling/Addition costs

Comments (13)

Related Discussions

guco45Original Author

guco45Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

guco45
Original Author

guco45
Original Author