Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 03:16pm | #1

   *
   Ken,

   you already know what we're going to say: Depends on your area, depends on materials, depends on any engineering considerations, depends on design...blah, blah, blah.

   You really need to sit down with a contractor and get a price. But, to save some poor contractor a wasted trip for a ballpark, I'll throw out wild guess.

   Somewhere between $18 and $30K depending on all the stuff I already mentioned. Could actually be alot more if it includes a kitchen or bath.

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 03:59pm | #2

   *Ken,Like Ryan sez........it depends......Around here an addition on a pier and beam foundation would run you about $200.00 per square foot of floor. Call a builder in your area, and be up front with him about just needing a ball park idea. Don't waste his time and he will thank you for it.Ed. Williams

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 05:29pm | #3

   *man, i hate this question, and i get it all the time..Ryan and Ed get the prize, tHey answered corrctly..but what happens is i might say, $20-$30 K, and the guy down the street says $15- $25 K....all based on nothing..without detailed plans and specs you are at the mercy of whatever anone wants to say... there is NO COMMITMENT, so no responsibilitywe do a conceptual plan for a fee, if they like that we move on to construction drawings , for a fee, and if they like our price, we build it for an agreed price....

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 06:11pm | #4

   *Don't guess you need to hear this but, Ryan, Ed and Mike are correct. There is not enough info here to begin to make a guess. That said,you've asked to be placed in a ball park and Ryan and Ed have complied. Their numbers sound pretty good to me but I think you might agree- it's a pretty big ballpark.You could help by listing geographical area, types of finishes inside and out, one or two story addition, etc. The more you can tell us the more accurate the answer can be.We'll be happy to try and help but as Ryan says "... sit down with a contractor in your area..."

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 08:16pm | #5

   *If you get ball park figures in your area get a couple. I know of one guy in the area who ball parks things low using crap materials gets the person interested and then the change orders start and the job ends up high.Some builders might like that approach but it back fires on all of us. How many of us have heard that builders can be dishonest or hear a owner complain that a job cost so much more then they were told and on and on. I rarely ball park things over the phone, I arrange to meet and get details. It is also an oppurtunity for the homeowner to meet me and see if I am the type of person he /she want to work with and visa/versa

2. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 08:49pm | #6

   *Sing it, Josh! I quit a long time ago giving numbers over the phone, even when they insist they have given me all the details. I have their attention when I begin to relate all the factors involved in a "simple" remodel. It usually results in a face-to-face meeting.

3. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 10:18pm | #7

   *I ALWAYS ballpark over the phone even if they didn't ask. I don't have time to visit anybody that's just curious what such and such might cost.I ask alot of questions to see if they've really thought this through and are serious. Then I say that I can't give a firm price without coming out to see the project and sitting down at the table to work out alot of details (looking for commitment to the project) but that I would expect a project like this one to be somewhere between X and Y dollars. I then ask if that's the price range they had in mind. I'd rather scare away a customer that won't buy anyway than waste my afternoon with them.

4. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 10:31pm | #8

   *RyanAfter reading your prior posts about slow times, small town...blah blah blah. You might want to start going out and " waste an afternoon" rather than " scare away a customer" every opportunity you get! Good Luck.Dan

5. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 2000 10:51pm | #9

   *hey, i think i left the wrong impression..(wouldn't be the first time)..even though i hate this question, i always answer it courteously , to the best of my ability, and i try to determine if there is something we can do to help the caller.....i spent a lot of time and money trying to get that phone to ring, and now this is my opportunity.. i'm going to do the best i can to maximize the opportunities...after 25 years on my own, the one thing i have learned is there is a reason someone is calling me...if there is a pattern of the wrong people calling, then i obviously have to change the message we're getting out to the public.......i am CONSTANTLY surprised, almost to the point of no longer being surprised, about how ,( ' "you just never know" ')...... i go on some of these calls and they look like absolute dead ends... a little later tey turn into the best jobs of the year....so , keep 'em talking , until you find out what you can do to help them , and then they'll help you.....sorry for the misleading first post...Pogo

6. 
   Guest_ | Mar 26, 2000 03:54am | #10

   *Does anyone use the "estimator guides" I keep seeing ads for?I sympathize with the homeowner; even now that I build a few things, I can't even guess offhand how much they'll cost beforehand. It sounds like I'm being evasive, but I just don't know without working through the problem for while. Plus the homeowner often has no idea what they're willing to pay. Lots of variables -- and it is the details that run up the tab.

7. 
   Guest_ | Mar 26, 2000 04:15am | #11

   *yeh , i bot a couple over the years, but they just gather dust..same reason you just laid out...why would i bet the ranch based on someone else's idea of how much they thought , ......or they were told ,..... or their data base calculated that this is how much it's going to cost... ....i don't even like to say.. that garage i just built for so & so cost $33,000.. cause it looks just like the one across town that the guy built for $21,000..cept course, mine has a second floor loft, stairway, bettter siding , an elec. sub-panel, garage door operators, yada, yada, yada.....b it's ALWAYS apples & oranges, it's NEVER bananas & bananas......,Pogo

8. 
   Guest_ | Mar 26, 2000 11:50am | #12

   *Ken, just try looking around the neighborhood for an addition like the generic one you'd like to have, and chat with the owner or look up the real estate tax records -- ours are online. Your question is naïve, not stupid. What you describe, a small 2-story bump-out, here in Arlington, VA, could run anywhere from $10,000 to $75,000, depending on quality and sophistication. You may think now that the $10k sounds like what you want, but it isn't unless you're just desperate for a place to warehouse stuff and don't care if it falls off in 10 years. Also, if you're going to build at all, you'll probably find that it is more economical (per sf) to make a larger addition -- small projects are pretty expensive.Ballpark estimates are not impossible: when the new neighbor across the street who'd like an addition told me his real estate agent had mentioned knowing "someone" who'd added a shed dormer with bath for $10,000, I involuntarily started laughing. (Relying on a real estate agent for building advice?) Not polite, I know, but I had just spent $2,000 for framing lumber on mine. And $500 for permits. Granted, a budget builder would have saved some money using "found" lumber and skipping the annoying permits.Incidentally, I have suggested to him that an addition on pier foundation, insulated crawl space, in his relatively large backyard would provide a better deal than a shed for the money (sounds right?). Remodeling is such a pain compared to building something new.

2. 
   Kay_Jeffries | Mar 30, 2000 10:54pm | #13

   *
   Ken, think of asking this same question if you were buying a car. How much is a car? Well, that depends. Do you want a new car or a used car? SUV or sports car? Four or six cylinere? When we're asked the "ballpark" question, our answer is, "No, we can't give you a ballpark figure. But, let's talk about what kind of addition you want." For most first time remodelers, the ballpark question is a veiled way of asking a much more direct question, "Do I have enough money to consider doing this?" Any bid that can be arrived at on the back of an envelope over the hood of a truck is not one to be taken seriously.

   Contractors and design/build firms have to pull together a myriad of costs, including those for site-work, zoning variances, demolition, waste disposal, sub-contractors fees, labor costs, the list goes on. In reality, you're really asking the contractor to design and then specify the materials for the addition and that takes more than just the few hours that a bid or estimate should take. And that's two or three hours that may or may not turn into a job.

   Remodeling has been called the most imprecise and the most costly of all the building trades, due to all the variables and oddities that each job presents. Hard even for seasoned pros to presage all the possibilities. Someone in this discussion has suggested a freestanding building would be easier to bid and no doubt build. I agree. If you want to really start off on the right foot with a builder, take some measurements, make some sketches, even collect some magazine pictures, and write a description of what you purpose you want the new room to serve. Go to your local home improvement center and price some materials, just so you become aware of prevailing prices. Ask around for the name of a reputable outfit, and then respect their status as knowledgable professionals and ask them what their design fees are to help you finalize your design. Once you know what you want to build, figuring out how much it will cost is a lot easier.

3. 
   Guest_ | Mar 31, 2000 02:09am | #14

   *
   $14,600.00

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 31, 2000 04:08am | #15

   *Ken,I need to ask you a few questions first.Do you have plans yet? It sure sounds simple but would you want me to give you a price without a plan?If not then who will provide them, me or you?When would you like to have the project completed by? I hard schedule 6-8 weeks out, I might not be able to help you.Do you have a budget in mind? Saves me from offering ballpark prices site/design unseen. If you say 5k then I need to inform you on current costs. Bare bones new construction in my area runs about 65 to 70 dollars per s.f. But since you are adding on this would be unreasonable. A reasonable figure for an average room addition would be much higher. I think a baseline of 100/s.f. would be a reasonable budget number. If this is suitable to you I would be more than happy to take a look at your job.Hopefully you got my name on some referall basis but I would be interested in knowing how many bids you will be getting and from whom. If you are getting many more than three bids it may indicate to me that you are shopping on price only, and I would probably not be interested in meeting with you. I also like to make sure I am competing on a level playing field by finding out who else is bidding. Those are my basic four questions, if we can establish a rapport based on an honest discussion of them, we might be able to do business. Having said all this, I will be at about $24k because the quality of our materials and workmanship exceeds AJ's.Tom

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 31, 2000 07:31am | #16

   *Sales rule No. One...never talk price until the customer is settled on a specific product and is excited about the purchase. This can't be done over the phone. Gotta sell yourself first , and that can only be done in person, in front of both decision makers. Then gotta sell the product, and that can only be done in person thru word and picture. Jeff.

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 06:36am | #17

   *Plus tax?

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 06:37am | #18

   *In other words: How high is up?C'mon Ken, give it another shot.

2. 
   Guest_ | Apr 02, 2000 01:10am | #19

   *Tax included....

3. 
   Guest_ | Apr 02, 2000 01:10am | #20

   *?

4. 
   Ken_Miller | Apr 04, 2000 10:12pm | #21

   *
   Could anyone provide a ball park figure on what it would cost to put an addition onto a house? It's a vinyl sided two story colonial. I would want to extend the ground level out about 5-7 feet and 15 feet long. This would be in the rear corner of the house and the back of the house is straight up and down. Thanks in advance.

5. 
   Kay_J | Apr 04, 2000 10:12pm | #22

   *
   Tommy B,

   Great answer.

   KJ