I’m thinking of buying a 3 bedroom cape and adding an attached 2 car garage 24’x32′ with a master bedroom above it. I’ll be doing all the framing, roofing, siding and interior finish myself. I’ll need to sub out excavation, plumbing, heating, electrical, painting, insulation, sheetrock and carpeting, garage doors and garage floor. I’ve never done a project like this so I have no idea what it’d cost.
I’ll have about 100 grand to spend but I want to have some left over for other remodeling in the house. Any ideas?
Replies
A buck-tree-eighty.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Dang, you undercut me, I was gonna bid a buck tree eighty fie... that fie could probably get a lot of nice, extra stuff<G> Winterlude, Winterlude, my little daisy,
Winterlude by the telephone wire,
Winterlude, it's makin' me lazy,
Come on, sit by the logs in the fire.
The moonlight reflects from the window
Where the snowflakes, they cover the sand.
Come out tonight, ev'rything will be tight,
Winterlude, this dude thinks you're grand.
Oh...waitaminute....he just wants to be within 20 large....I'm uppin' to a buck-tree-eighty-nine.
; )
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
Now JD, you know as well as I do that once you eliminate all that huge profit that the gc makes, the material costs are almost nothing.As for labor, how hard is it to knock some nails into some boards ? And you can cut almost anything with a harbor freight sawzall.I think he should be able to knock it out in a couple weekends by hisself, for less den a buck-too-tirtee.
A man, convinced against his will... Is of his own opinion, still. ~Anne McCaffrey
Yer givin' away industry secrets here man.
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
Call a local contractor (preferably one recommended by friends or family) and tell him what you want to do. There are just too many variables for someone to give you a realistic quote over the wire.
You also could go to amazon.com (and elsewhere) and purchase the 2008 National Construction Estimator. It's a book and also comes with the computer software included. It gives a good detailed estimate based on your project's zip code location. The book itself is hard to use but the software is a breeze.
I'll bid $999,999.99. Plus materials. And expenses. And lunch every other day. And some cute gurls to clean up after us every day.
Did I mention we'll need a place to stay? With satelitte tv. And Cinemax.
Well, you did not give any location information.
In town, existing construction sells for about $60-67/sf--your $100K would buy 1400-1500sf on a city lot in the 1/4-1/3 acre range, and leave you enough for maybe applicances and closing costs.
New construction is enough more expensive that your $100K might only be 900-1000sf, and that assuming you could find a $8-10K lot to put it on (think 1/8-1/6 acre out on the edges of town).
But, that's here, in the middle of Texas, in a middling stable economy, too.
So, location is as important as the scope.
I know of a Texas Victorian that's in the next county east (Madison) that's going for a song. Really, it's selling for the land cost. It probably needs a new septic system, but, it could probably be "brought in" for $100K. "Gotcha" there is that it'd still be a long drive from anywhere, including to where the bus stops to collect kids for school.
You don't give any clue where the house is located. And the level of finish will be a big factor: hardwood floors vs carpet, ceramic tile in the bath vs sheet vinyl, etc. The foundation design cost could vary by a factor of 3 or 4. Economy shingles vs metal roof.
Someone mentioned an estimating guide ... that's a dangerous source because of the variables, but it might get you in the ballpark.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Yeah there's too many variables but I just want a ballpark figure within $20,000 or so. I have an idea in my head what it'll cost but I thought some of the GC's here could get me somewhere within range. It's hard to come up with a price without a set of plans to look at.
It's hard to come up with a price without a set of plans to look at.
You've pretty much answered your own question there Steele. Not to bust your balls any more than they've already been busted, but it's kinda like saying, "I want a car. One about 14' long and 6' wide. With tires and an engine. Whatddya think that'll cost me?"View Image
I'm going out on a limb...
but I say junkhound could have you moved in for well under 15k... and he'd feel bad about spending that much
with the labor you'll pitch in... at zero cost... I'm say'n i could build that use'n standard building materials... good roof materials... if it was mine i could get it to the finished drywall stage... for 25k... that no bath fixtures.. no light fixtures... assume'n new hvac for just the new part... and assume'n you have enough of an elect panel to suppost it... and flat level gound.. ect...
yep i could do that
p
I'll need to sub out
STEELE; welcome to BT, as see you have just 4 posts.
the kicker.... why need to sub out .. unless you are disabled or hobbled by local laws, YOU CAN BUY THE TOOLS you need to do those jobs for less than it will cost out of pocket. Then you will have the tools and skills for the rest of your life.
The $15K number Ponytl mentioned is preposterous. <big Grin>
If I could raid Ponytl's warehouses and my and rez's sheds for parts and materials (at our actual $$ cost only!) I'd think you could get in for under $2K!!!! - most of that would be cost for concrete or cement*.
Planning, sweat,planning, sweat, planning. Go yourself to a lot of auctions and garage and surplus sales for 5 years prior and you could likely get in for under $1K. Hours don't count, treat those as recreation!
Steele: click on your name, then add info to the profile, location, est. age, etc. That helps a lot for estimates if you really do not want to learn how to do it all.
If you make over $150 hr in your day job, all the above is irrelevant, but then you would not have to ask how much it would cost?
* OK, I'm lazy, have not considered building my own cement kiln, although did buty some property to have my own quarry.
So Art, what's in your quarry? Some friends have some land abutting an old soapstone quarry... you got any mining equipment? Winterlude, Winterlude, my little daisy,
Winterlude by the telephone wire,
Winterlude, it's makin' me lazy,
Come on, sit by the logs in the fire.
The moonlight reflects from the window
Where the snowflakes, they cover the sand.
Come out tonight, ev'rything will be tight,
Winterlude, this dude thinks you're grand.
My quarry is brown basalt, 15 miles from Mt St. Helens. Mostly good for road cover. Nothing like a New England type granite quarry, just a gravel pit really with some 2-3 cu ft stones.
All I have on hand there is a small dozer (440IC) and 4Wd '78 Dodge PU.
I'm so lazy now I drive 5 miles to the local yard an pay about $20 yard for sand/gravel mix for concrete.
They mix the gravel in with the sand? You're taking advantage of them<G>So, do you have any DIY quarry links? Some soapstone slabs would be pretty nice... what are you gonna do with basalt, fill Jeff's driveway?<G> Winterlude, Winterlude, my little daisy,
Winterlude by the telephone wire,
Winterlude, it's makin' me lazy,
Come on, sit by the logs in the fire.
The moonlight reflects from the window
Where the snowflakes, they cover the sand.
Come out tonight, ev'rything will be tight,
Winterlude, this dude thinks you're grand.
I'm jealous. I want a quarry!
BTW, last year, I did price out building a 1200 sq ft 2nd dwelling on son's property, kitchen, one bath, 2 BR.
My $$ price came to about $3K for out of pocket $$ with the materials out of my strategic reserves counted as 'free',
but permits, school impact, city fees, etc. come to $15K!!!!!
Now that SUCKS.
Ya in Hawaii or Hooterville?
$45k to $1,000,000.
I design that sort of project all the time.
In our area (NJ) a decent quality GC job would cost you between $287,000 and $307,000. I don't know what the 'deduct' would be for what you can do yourself but my guess is that your budget is too low unless you are in a very rural area.
You'll need a 1-hour fire rating between floors. Cost depends on things like your taste in style and size of garage doors ... think $750-$4,500 each, depending on that ... probably $1,500 if you like something decent and believe in torsion bars.
Jeff
Edited 1/8/2008 10:48 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke
I'll put my bid in at 85,000.00
......am I close?
Dave
I'll put my bid in at 85,000.00
......am I close?
Could be, if he can buy house and land for $15K, $85K probably come out about even.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I'm thinking it's not including the cost of the house. So 85 gets the job and leaves 15 for misc. course don't forget overruns Ha.
"I'll have about 100 grand to spend but I want to have some left over for other remodeling in the house. Any ideas?"
Yeah the house is being sold for 300k but I'll have another 100k to spend on stuff like the garage I want/need. I'll have to get some preliminary plans drawn, get some estimates and just add them up to get me within range.
Sorry, I was assuming he already had the land and house.
Here in California the minimum on a good GC job would be $200 sf and most OB do it yourselfers can get it down to $130 to $150sf. You would have to pay about $35K just in fees to get started. If you can do it all for $100K then I'm jealous.
Pat