Let’s Talk About Money And Remodels/Additions (Here’s The Total Estimated Cost Of Our Original Plan)

People keep asking me if the cost of our new plans for our house are actually going to come out being any less than the original plan with the big addition. It seemed like a reasonable conclusion to me that the new plan would be cheaper in the end, but I got curious, so I sat down to do a little figuring.

First, let me remind you what the original plan was, after we did some tweaking to the floor plan. This is what the final plan for the big addition looked like. Behind the master bathroom there was a hallway of sorts that allowed for a walk-in closet on each side, with the walk-in closet on the right being the main closet. And behind that was a large bedroom. This plan also had two decent-sized storage closets, one that was accessible from the bedroom for Matt’s equipment, and one accessible to the new family room where I could have a coat closet and also store things like the ten chairs I have for our Wednesday gatherings. This plan also had a new laundry room and a really big family room.

The plan with that addition was to hire a contractor to oversee the whole project. The original estimate that I got from the contractor was for a smaller 970-square-foot addition that didn’t include the two closets in the master bedroom (I was planning on lining one wall with IKEA Pax wardrobes instead of having a walk-in closet, but I changed my mind on that), and it didn’t have the storage closet in the family room, and it had a smaller family room.

Here’s the line item estimate I got from the contractor for that smaller 970-square-foot addition without the closets. (This is for those of you who like the nitty gritty details. 😀 ):

  • Permit fee for City of Waco — $650.00
  • Permit fee plan review fee — $500.00
  • Engineer cost for engineered foundation — $3,200.00
  • Demolition of existing enclosed patio, side room and patio slab — $9,000.00
  • Framing allowance for lumber and siding — $22,310.00 ($23 x 970)
  • Framing labor allowance — $17,460.00 ($18 x 970)
  • Open cell spray foam insulation — $4,365.00 ($4.50 x 970)
  • Roofing material allowance, shingles and flashings — $3,600.00
  • Roofing labor allowance — $2,700.00
  • Gutters, labor and materials — $1,500.00
  • Labor and material allowance for new windows — $3,040.00
  • Labor and material allowance for interior and exterior doors — $8,000.00
  • Drywall labor and material allowance — $4,850.00 ($5 x 970)
  • Material allowance for trim, backer board, fasteners, primer, paint, etc. — $23,280.00 ($24 x 970)
  • Labor allowance for trim, doors, prep, caulk, and paint — $17,460.00 ($18 x 970)
  • Flooring material allowance, 8% waste factor — $6,300.00 ($6 x 1050)
  • Flooring labor allowance — $4,200.00 ($4 x 1050)
  • Allowance for electrical circuit (breaker box) rework and relocate – $3,500.00
  • Allowance for electrical rough in and trim out — $8,972.50 ($9.25 x 970)
  • Allowance for gas to new tankless water heater, HVAC unit, and fireplace — $3,800.00
  • Allowance to Rough in, set out, trim out plumbing — $4,750.00
  • Plumbing allowance to install pump station for sewer line, includes trench work and tie in — $3,800.00
  • Install new ducted HVAC system for addition — $9,800.00
  • Allowance to install exhaust fan and duct — $450.00
  • Fireplace allowance for gas fireplace insert and install — $3,200.00
  • Trash/debris allowance by load to remove job related trash and debris per load, includes city dump charges — $4,500.00
  • Project manager allowance for duration of the project — $5,760.00
  • Waste station allowance for port-a-jon — $1,600.00 ($200 x 8 months)
  • Overhead 12% — $21,905.70
  • Profit 12% — $21,905.70
  • TOTAL $226,358.90

So again, that was for the smaller 970-square-foot addition, but we had decided to add walk-in closets and storage closets. I took all of the charges that are based on square footage (including things like the roofing, which weren’t specifically listed as a square foot charge), and did a little figuring to come up with a square foot charge of just under $120 per square foot. Multiply that by the new larger square footage, add back in the charges that aren’t based on square footage, and refigure the overhead and profit based on the new subtotal, and that gave me a new total of $275,081.60.

Of course, that’s not even the grand total, because on the estimate, I find this note at the bottom:

The homeowner acknowledges that they are responsible to provide all finish fixtures/appliances that are not specifically included above and are responsible to make sure they are on the project site when needed to avoid schedule delays or additional trip charges. These items are outside of the materials scope of this estimate. Finish fixtures include: door locks and hardware, cabinet hardware, toilets, sinks, lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, plumbing fixtures, bathroom accessory bars, mirrors, coat or organizing hardware, blinds, etc.

You’ll notice that there was a laundry room on the plan, but no laundry room cabinets listed on the estimate. No countertop listed. So those things would be in addition. I would estimate that cabinets and countertops for a laundry room that size would be around $8000 minimum.

Also not listed:

  • Any type of closet organization system (I’d want PAX wardrobes)
  • Any and all furniture and decorative items.

I haven’t priced out specific furniture and decorative items, but for the plan shown above, I’d need a headboard or bed, two bedside tables, an area rug, draperies, window shades, lamps, ceiling fan, and other decorative items for the bedroom. For the family room, I’d need two sofas, two chairs, a coffee table or ottoman, end tables, an area rug, lamps, draperies, bookcases or other “filler” furniture, decorative items, lighting, etc.

Estimating those things without having a definite design/decorating plan is very challenging, but I would imagine that I could do the bedroom for about $5000 (if I DIY some things, obviously), and I could do the living room for about $8000 (with more DIYing).

In addition to the addition 😀 , it was also the plan to redo the kitchen once we finished the addition. It’s something I’ve talked about for a while now because our current kitchen is small, inefficient, and was done on a very tight budget 10 years ago. So the plan was (1) build and finish the addition, and then (2) remodel the kitchen.

I’ve been pricing out IKEA cabinets for various future plans (as you know because I’ve shared them with you), and even keeping the kitchen where it is, which was the plan with the big addition, new cabinets would have been about $15,000. New countertops would have been about $3000 minimum. New appliances are about $8000 minimum (but probably more, because I want the matte white Cafe appliances).

So the grand (estimated) total for the original plan with the big furnished and decorated addition plus a remodeled kitchen comes to:

$322,081.60

That just seems insane to me. And that doesn’t even include a back patio or deck. That number is strictly for the inside of the house and doesn’t include any outdoor areas.

So will the new plan save us any money over the original plan? It has to. Spending that much money on our house is not even an option. The new plan has to be cheaper, or it won’t happen. But I will share every cost with you along the way, and I’ll keep very good notes, so that we can compare the two plans in the end.

The first big money-saving thing I will have to cut out of the original cost is the contractor. Seeing how much of the expense goes to the contractor and project manager is a huge motivation for being my own contractor. I’ll start there with chipping away at that cost, and I’ll do everything else in my power to bring those numbers down. And I can’t imagine how going from a 1300 square foot addition to a 720 square foot addition wouldn’t save us a big amount of money, even with the changes we’re making in other rooms. But again, we’ll wait and compare. So…CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! 😀

 

 

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22 Comments

  1. I’m not sure I understand whether or not you are going to figure out the cost of the smaller addition before you begin working on it. Remodeling and adding onto a house is very expensive. Whatever way you go, I hope you end up with your dream home!

  2. Wow! That’s a lot of money to me. I would try to make do with what I have unless absolutely necessary or win the lottery! I do understand it’s all between you and Matt though. It’s your house and will be beautiful what ever you decide.
    How’s the new bedroom coming along?

  3. When we decided to remodel our kitchen, we had decided to use Ikea cabinets. Then I was perusing Craigslist and saw an entire used kitchen for 3K. It was well made oak. Not exactly my style, but I couldn’t resist the price. All base cabinets had pullouts. With the used cabinets, we did the entire kitchen, with a 6 foot island. We had 10 feet of uppers left over to put in my sewing room. Of course it had to be painted, but they are exceptional quality. We only had to purchase one extra 12″ upper cabinet. I wanted a sink with a drainboard, which cost $750 new. I found the exact one on Craigslist for $50. It need cleaning, it was ugly but with a little Barkeepers Friend, it polished up nicely. Just saying that because you already know what you will need, you can keep an eye out for bargains. You have infinite skills and determination to get this done at a significantly lower cost.

    1. We dis the same thing on a remodel several years ago. The light I wanted for the dining room was about $350 at Pottery Barn and I found a nearly identical one on Craigslist for $50. Same with the sink I chose (white porcelain), about $450 at the big box stores and $35 on FBMP or Craigslist. We ended up having a wee bit left over from the budget, even with a contractor.

  4. Thank you for sharing this with us. I was hoping you had broken down the cost of doing a different add-on. I would want a breakdown of all the cost as close to the real thing as possible. I know that is what you want too.

    I had an exciting thought. This winter your equipment won’t be in your carport. That stuff will have a nice, dry place in the workshop!

    You won’t be hearing from me for a while because Monday I go in the hospital for back surgery. So get lots done while I am down and out.

  5. Side note, we have cafe appliances and are not very impressed with them. I wanted them because of the hot water dispenser in the door. But it takes as long as any other method of heating water (face palm) and we had several issues with leaks in the first few weeks. Also our oven racks are not great, and has options that aren’t actually included. But in case this is helpful, not necessarily for cabinets but for other purposes, https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-cabinet-paint-colors-to-go-with-ge-cafe-white-appliances/

  6. Just be aware of not overpricing your home for the neighborhood. I am sure you are. I don’t know what range they are in your area, but if they are in the 300 range and yours is in the 700 range, ouch. It would be interesting to see the price difference. Whenever we have remodeled, no matter what price I came up with, it seemed to double by the end of it. I hate those surprises.

    1. I feel it’s dependent on the neighborhood. We made many improvements to our starter home over the 27 years we lived there, some were repeats due to wear. New kitchen (x2), flooring (x3) remodeled two bathrooms (x2) finished basement, new HVAC, family room with fireplace, main floor laundry additions, covered porch with tongue and groove ceiling and maintenance free 12×24 deck. Landscaping upgraded several times also. It was the best house in the neighborhood in a prime location, and we sold it in2007 for well above the neighborhood average. There are always going to be extraordinary exceptions, so you just need to do research before any work starts to make sure you are aware of your risks. We had planned to die in that house, but after becoming empty nesters, we built a new home close to our youngest daughter so we could be there for our grandkids. Sold that one for a great price when the kids got too busy for us and built our forever home on a lake! Now they all come to visit and play on the water.😁

  7. OMG…even hiring out the things you don’t want to do, you will be much better than that! Ouch. If you know anyone nearby…or watched a home being built nearby, go talk to the new people. My husband has found some wonderful subs that way…with great reviews from the homeowner/builder. He saw some of the work as it was going up, and these guys have been great! They are smaller so they are more available, and yet still have access to everything equipment wise and supplies. More reasonable too. We just require licensed and insured…and we are careful about any deposits, etc. Never get too far behind on them. So far, we have done very few deposits…they ask for a payment after certain things are done…the last payment after the inspection has passed. PERFECT!

  8. This is sticker shock! How about stepping back and looking at what you have. If you…move the kitchen to the breakfast room, open the pantry to the kitchen (losing that extraordinary pantry brings tears, but), widen the opening between the new dining and the music room which would give you space to expand on church night, put a door into the hall bath through the music room and close the bath off from the hall so you would have bathroom access from within the main rooms and you could store Matt’s equipment along that newly acquired wall. No guest room necessary if you have a foldout sofa in the living room. I actually use my guest room for folding laundry. You will have closet and laundry off the bedroom. So what you are missing is a workout room which could be in the old bathroom area off the master bath if it’s still there, or in the pantry. Or you could build that workout room when you build the deck. I love the idea of having access to the bath after a workout. You will still have the crowded living room on church night but is that really a big enough problem to warrant spending tons of dollars? I’ll bet nobody but you actually minds that setup. I’ve been so impressed with the way you work that the large add-on surprised me. I believe you can do more within the current footprint than you think. Especially with your level of creativity…and think of all the money you won’t spend!

    1. I totally agree with you and your ideas of how to make what Kristi has work are excellent. Even if the cost for the smaller addition is half of the larger one that’s still well over $100k. It seems crazy to me, but it isn’t my house.

  9. I am not going to judge you on wanting this addition, because we did more or less the same thing with our starter home. (I commented exactly what we did in reply to another poster here) We were going to live forever in that home, so we finally decided to go for it and enjoy the house we had dreamed of as newlyweds! Not too many years after FINALLY having almost everything improved, we decided not to add on anything else, but to sell and start fresh elsewhere. We didn’t regret the improvements we made because they were enhancing the property itself, and not out of reach on what the neighboring homes could be if they chose to improve their own home. We were lucky that the market was in an upswing and houses for sale were scarce when we sold. So I say go for that dream if you want and can afford it! Just know your homes worth, and the area it is in. Don’t invest in a neighborhood if it doesn’t show a good enough future for exiting if you need it in the future!

  10. Good grief Kirsty that final price made my eyes water , you are more than capable of being your own Contractor, you have proved time and again over and over that you are more than capable of taking it on , and you are more than capable of building any units you need , plus there are plenty of secondhand units out there as somebody else has suggested where you can adapt them for your own space, plus you have your new workshop now will it be usable to do any work in it when it`s bad weather , I have every faith in you that you can achieve this ,,

  11. Is the portion at the back of your house / sun room usable with renovation at all? You are so talented and have functioned as your general contractor before so if that space is usable for your expansion that would be awesome!

    1. It’s really not. It’s built right on the ground, and every time we get a heavy rain, water comes in under the door. It should have been built up off the ground level with the rest of the house. There really nothing salvageable about that room.

      1. Sorry, i had hoped it was salvageable! You are so talented that i know you can be the general contractor for what you want and can do it much more reasonably in cost!

  12. I am surprised but not shocked. My Dtr & Spouse in Athens GA have a small 1,000 square foot home built in 1955. They priced adding a 2-story addition w/800square foot (400square foot on each level) before Covid lockdowns. It was approximately $175,000.
    But we all know how estimates go and I prayed she would NOT go forward with it.
    They didn’t and granted it included 2 baths, tying into a roof; redoing a roof line.
    But the house probably isn’t worth anything…just the value of overpriced lots.
    They ended up redoing baseboards, wall trims, adding a small 3/4 bath, DID NOT change the footprint of the structure. Check this out: https://homeguide.com/costs/home-addition-cost