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Massachusetts - Addition/Bump out costs

8 years ago

Hi folks,

Finally got contractor to tell us a figure for the 9x10 double storey addition to the side that we'd like to get done aka bump out.

On the first floor it'd be a half bath, laundry, and space for a large 5ft wide coat and boot closet. Second floor we're getting him to do a shell - finished to weatherization with plumbing and electricals bought to the second floor as per agreed layout. No drywall, no tiles, no fixtures.

Costs given so far:

Building cost for 1st floor: 20K

Fixtures (which include the actual fixtures and then the plumbing etc to fit them): 10K

Shell on 2nd floor: 7.5K

For a total of 37.5K

He had asked for a budget and we gave him a number of 38K

This would include permit, removal of current siding, and whatever else needs to be done to facilitate the structure.

I'll just reiterate this is the cost for an addition in Massachusetts - about 40 Miles NW of Boston.

Any comments on this quote? I do hope he said 7.5 for the shell and not 9.5 (I could have misread his writing)

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Comments (6)

User
8 years ago
Way way way too cheap. Is this guy really even licensed? Insured? What does his insurance company state that his general liability policy amount is? Did you call and confirm that he didn't hand you a Photoshopped document? Did he even give you copies of his license and insurance to verify?

180 sf containing a bath was double that price 25 years ago. He's either a con artist counting on change orders that the city "forces" you into at inspection, or he's just a BSer. To come in $500 less than someone's unrealistic budget is a sure sign that you aren't dealing with anyone legit.
millworkman
8 years ago
What struck me a coincidental is you told him you had a 38K budget and low and behold he comes in at 37.5K. Major red flag in my opinion........
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2 entire roof sections would need to be redesigned, reframed, and reroofed. Then the roof wouldn't match the rest of the house. Add in the siding issue as well. And dust control, plus permitting and all the extra dollars of a high cost of living area. And that is if your unverified supposition was accurate and half he house didn't need to be reframed. I'd be surprised if you could do the job correctly for under 30K.
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rwiegand
8 years ago
Low by a factor of two to three compared to the western suburbs of Boston (outside 95, inside 495). I'd get another couple of estimates.
mfb237
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
We just completed an addition in Metrowest Boston. Two car attached garage with master bath/dressing room on the second floor. Naively hoped to bring it in at $100/sf and quickly learned from the 5 quotes to boost it to $200/sf. And this did not include our tile/fixtures
transnationalq
Original Author
8 years ago
He quoted us 200/sqft too. That's for shell only though.
User
8 years ago
40 miles NW of Boston would be beyond I-495 in a pretty rural area near the NH border. I would expect labor rates to be lower than in the MetroWest area especially if the company is based in NH.

Don't try to break down spaces by s.f. cost, that will only confuse the issue. The total project cost/s.f. appears to be about $208 which contradicts the $200/s.f. estimate for shell only. Without knowing more about the design I don't see anything wrong with those rough prices since a lot of plumbing is involved but the cost of the upper shell is difficult to estimate and a lot depends on the builder's experience, reputation, location and overhead.

Make sure the building department will be OK with leaving the upper level unfinished with rough-in plumbing. Finishing the project now would be a good investment.

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