Family Room Addition Quote - $292/sq ft???

3 years ago

We are looking to do a 400 sq ft square basic family room addition: basement foundation, vaulted ceiling, one large window, carpet, connect to exist house by cutting through existing picture window and cutting through basement. No plumbing. No fireplace. No fancy crown molding. Extending existing duct work. Vinyl siding. Standard shingles. Pretty simple job. Most complicated part is the basement foundation. The quote came in at $292/sq ft or $118,000. I was floored. I was expecting $150/square foot tops. We live in northeast Ohio, where new home construction is going for about $125/square foot. Am I missing something? Does this really sound realistic? The room does butt up to a basement foundation along one side and a slab foundation along the other. If that is what is raising the quote, I could bump the basement foundation to start four feet away from the slab foundation for most of it. Not sure where to go from here. Thinking of consulting with an architect on how to ensure the plan is simple enough to accomplish what we want yet keep costs down and get a ballpark estimate of what it should cost before I put out for bid again. Do architects do this? Thanks for any help/advice/insight anyone can provide.

Featured Answer

PRO

Charles Ross Homes

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

"Am I missing something?"

In a word, yes. You're missing the knowledge that inferring the cost of a remodeling project based on the cost of new construction is an approach that can and often does lead to large errors. Even estimating the cost of new construction based on the cost/SF of a very similar home can lead to errors if the building site is different or market conditions have changed or the owner changes what they consider to be insignificant things that have a higher than insignificant cost.

One cost benchmark is cost data for remodeling projects in the "Cost Vs. Value" Report published each year by Remodeling Magazine. They provide national, regional, and local costs for a variety of remodeling projects along with an estimate of how much the project adds to a home's resale value.

The most recent year their report included the cost of a Family Room Addition was 2017. The cost they reported for a 16' x 25' mid-range quality addition with vinyl siding over a crawl space in the north/east Ohio market was $92,075. Here's a link:

https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2017/east-north-central/cleveland-oh/

Add three years of construction cost inflation at say, 5% and you're at $106,600 +/- then add $8K to $10K +/- for a full basement with slab vs. crawl space foundation and the effort of cutting through the existing foundation and you're at $114,600 to $116,600--not too far removed from the $118,000 estimate you received from your remodeler.

I don't think you're lacking for bids. I think you're lacking calibration with respect to real world remodeling costs in your market area.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
3 years ago
Yes, architects can do that. If you are asking about prices, ask locally. Construction costs vary geographically and from builder to builder.
dan1888
3 years ago
You're missing at least 2 additional quotes. And if you want to go further you're missing the individual quotes for materials and labor. And if you want the price down with no plumbing you're missing the quote for foundation footings, block and slab. With 6 mil plastic under the slab and insulation.
Related Discussions
HVAC solutions for 1300 sq ft addition
Q
Comments (9)
The original house is one story, with HVAC ceiling vents. Has an all electric split system, the inside portion is in the attic. The rooflines of the new and old sections match. The attics of both are separated by a wall. The attic of the original home will not be any sort of conditioned space. The entire addition at this point is unfinished and we definitely want to get a good idea of what needs to be done in general before we hang the drywall. The attic room is also unfinished. The side walls will be approx. 4 ft. with the ceiling matching the roof slope. Shape is long and thin, roughly 12x30 the stairway included in that. The attic room currently has a green spray foam insulation between the rafters. All finishing work from this point on is up for discussionÃ¯Â¿Â½ So what would constitute "good insulation"? good duct design? There seems to be a consensus that at least the new and old sections should be separate. I do think that I agree. But for the record what would be the reasoning behind that recommendation?
...See More
Family Life in less than 1000 sq.ft.
Q
Comments (6)
The part about keeping everything picked up or it becomes claustrophobic is one I can relate to. With me and DD (she's 3 and drags her toys out everywhere) in our 970ish sf space, there comes a point where I have to stop everything and clear the room of toys to prevent a mental meltdown. Sometimes I get frustrated at this...don't get me wrong, I LOVE my little house...but at the same time I love the fact my DD is out in the living area playing, and we are playing together. She's not holed up in her room, out of sight, or in a place where I have to miss out on the interaction and cuteness of child play because I'm doing some necessary household chore. In my last McMansion home when I was married (just 2 adults in 2700sf), I am CONVINCED one factor (among many) of our marital problems was attributed to having too much space, and too many separate spaces where we could go to do our own things. Funny how we had 2 living/family rooms and neither of us did anything separately or together in either. Also, I was recently watching an old "Little House on the Prairie" episode, and Caroline (the mom) scolded the kids for not doing their chores in the house...not putting their things away. Caroline said something to the effect that the house is very small and nobody could get around each other or be comfortable unless everyone did their part by taking care of their things and putting them back in their places.
...See More
1100 Sq Ft Addition
Q
Comments (23)
Our friends in the Bay Area loved their smallish house built in the fifties..as the kids became older they wanted to add a two-story addition..were told will take a year (with them to moving somewhere else during the construction time) and -I forgot a ballpark price-but a lot? They rented their place and bought a new house, three times as bigger(I won't bore you with the prices 'cause they're mind-boggling). Bottom line-forget 3-6 months, it's going to be minimum twice as long..and multiply your budget by 2 or 3. It's not going to be 200 K..and don't forget materials, plans, inspections, etc. We're currently adding 200 (two hundred) sq f (also California, but Orange County), but we had to update the whole house(found asbestos-decided on abatement=gut job)..we already blew our budget a long time ago, and it's been a year since we bought the house, 10 months since we chose contractor, 6 months since the plans were approved and construction started-and we're only past 3 inspections, 2 or 3 more to come..if we only knew we'd just tear the place down and build a new house, or, and would be wiser, buy (much) more expensive house, because in the end that's what we'll pay, and nothing and nobody will bring this year from our lives back. But if you look at it as an experience-then yes, you'll definitely experience a lot)))
...See More
Down-sizing our sq footage by 200 sq ft
Q
Comments (12)
Personally, I would never build a new house with 10' wide bedrooms. My current house has 2 bedrooms that are 10' x 11' 4" they feel they feel tiny to me with a full sized beds. But this is a 1179 sqft 1983 tract home so it is expected. If I were looking at a resale house in the 1800-1900 sqft. range that had bedrooms that small I would keep looking. Were it my house, I would keep the bedrooms at the original size. It is only 46 sqft. larger for both bedrooms but it will make an enormous difference in their feel. But that's just me. It is your house so build what you are comfortable with. Funny thing, I did exactly the opposite with the house that I am currently building. The original plans came out at 1850 sqft. but after several months of bumping this wall out and stretching that room I ended up at 2109. And the garage got even bigger. I didn't really want to go that big but to get everything to feel right to me that's where it ended up. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.
...See More
chispa
3 years ago
"Pretty simple job"

It looks simple when you don't have to assume the risk of your foundation failing when they dig a big hole next to it!

The price looks too good to be true, for my Los Angeles market!
shead
3 years ago
Are you sure you want more basement square footage? If so, what purpose will it serve?

I ask this because you might come out better not doing the basement but doing a larger on slab/on crawl space addition in the main level
weedyacres
3 years ago
Get additional quotes.

Ask the bidder what's driving the cost higher, and what you can do to value engineer it.
chicagoans
3 years ago
Are they redoing the whole house roof or will the addition have a separate roof? Either way, the roof has to be considered in relation to the rest of the house too. I'm not a pro, but I learned from my own addition that they can be more complex and with a higher cost/sq ft than new construction.

Also please have a contingency fund for overages. "Little" things like discovering a boulder underground, or the excavator breaking the sewer line. (Ask me how I know.)

And I just learned today: paint costs have gone up recently (by 25-30% around here) because the tints (or something) come from China.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
3 years ago
" Pretty simple job."

Terrifying words to hear from a potential client.
Travy Green
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks all for the replies and suggestions. We are going to take a step back and meet with an architect to better understand options that might bring the cost down while providing the functionality we are looking for. Hoping this will allow us to get a ballpark estimate of what it might cost to know it's in the range of our budget and to have a set design and specs that we can share with contractors to ensure apples to apples quotes. I really don't want to waste contractors' time on coming out for quotes until we know what is most feasible. Not fair to do that when they are running a business!
PRO
Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
3 years ago
The person who knows the extraordinary costs is the builder. Ask how to save.

I'm guessing the basement extension is significant.

Family Room Addition Quote - $292/sq ft???

Charles Ross Homes

Comments (11)

Mark Bischak, Architect

dan1888

Related Discussions

chispa

shead

weedyacres

chicagoans

Joseph Corlett, LLC

Travy Green
Original Author

Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Family Room Addition Quote - $292/sq ft???

Comments (11)

Related Discussions

Travy GreenOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Travy Green
Original Author