Building second floor

amother

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 4:29 pm

If you have done this how much did it cost and how much sq ft did you do? How did you finance it? Are you happy with the end result?

amother

Honeydew

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 4:43 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If you have done this how much did it cost and how much sq ft did you do? How did you finance it? Are you happy with the end result?

I did it. I am in love with the end result. Paid cash. We added a significant amount of sq ft. Costs wouldn't be relevant because DH is hands on.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. It's a fun stage customizing your home.

Are you leaving or living through construction?

mha3484

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 4:44 pm

I was told its minimum $100 per sq.

amother

Beige

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 4:55 pm

Are you also gutting the first floor or just adding a second floor?

amother

Honeydew

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 4:59 pm

mha3484 wrote:

I was told its minimum $100 per sq.

Jewish homes $200 a sq ft

amother

Gold

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 5:31 pm

we did it. paid cash. don't remember total cost but ended up selling the house for a profit.

amother

Fri, Aug 02 2019, 8:28 pm

We would gut first floor. It would be total of about 1500 sq f. Anyone have hard numbers? Anyone here used a construction loan? Why 200 sq f for a Jewish home? What's diff about a Jewish home?

normal1

Sat, Aug 03 2019, 9:58 pm

I don’t know what it costs but make sure you have 50% more for the average quoted price. (Some contractor will quote you low and then tell you nothing unwritten is included, some will quote you higher and include some surprises) There will always be surprises and if you don’t have the money for it you will have issues at the end.

amother

Ruby

Sat, Aug 03 2019, 10:05 pm

We did a complete gut of second floor when we turned a two family house into one family. It costed us 100k. Ths included hardwood floors througout, new windows bathrooms etc..but we did not put in a kitchen which is very costly. We kept all plumbing just did everything new..hope this helps..if you are putng in a kitchen that itself is about 60k.

Rubber Ducky

Sat, Aug 03 2019, 10:19 pm

One thing that can make prices much more than you expect besides "surprises' like unexpected pipes or termite damage:

Allowances! Allowances are when your contractor says (for example) that you get $4,000 for flooring but the only flooring available for that price is low quality, and to get anything decent you like costs twice that. Apply allowances to light fixtures, cabinets, faucets... well, you get the idea.

Kitchens are a huge expense because kosher kitchens on average are much larger than regular kitchens and have 2 (or 3) sinks, more appliances, more cabinets, more counter square footage, etc.

amother

Pearl

Sat, Aug 03 2019, 10:25 pm

We were quoted 150 sq ft. Plus like 5-15k for a roof. (Depending on size)

imasoftov

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 6:49 am

amother [ Honeydew ] wrote:

Jewish homes $200 a sq ft

Amarante

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 8:59 am

The best way to proceed is to have very specific plans drawn up - the kind of plans that one takes to the City for a permit. These plans include every specification in detail so that the entire scope of the work is known.

These plans are then sent out to reputable General Contractors - at least three - to get a bid. These bids will be firm for a specified period of time. This is the ONLY way to know how much this kind of project will cost. For you to ask a GC how much an "addition" will cost is meaningless because without plans and specifications the number is being pulled out of his tush. At some point you are going to need these kinds of plans because otherwise how can you sign a contract. I just finished a gut remodel and my plans were attached to the contract I signed with the GC and the contract referenced these plans.

Whatever the estimate is, plan to include at least 10% if not more as a contingency in the budget because there will be at least 10% in overages. If you are absolutely maxing out your financial resources, then figure more. I had several expensive surprises like needing a new electric panel.

Also it is not uncommon for the budget e.g. cost to increase during the project because things will come up and you make a decision to have something done during construction. For me, this included some aesthetic decisions - e.g. I decided to replace the cheap hollow doors with beautiful wood solid doors that were also more soundproof and some were functional - I did extensive waterproofing around windows and also put film on my windows to block UVA rays.

As Rubber Ducky wrote, the budget will generally include allowances - e.g. up to a certain amount for certain discretionary items like finishes. It is because these come in a range of styles and price points and the home owner can control costs by selecting the finishes. However, this is a BIG pitfall if allowances aren't reasonable so before agreeing to an allowance you should know approximately how much stuff costs - especially the stuff you want and then calculate whether each allowance is reasonable.

Last edited by Amarante on Sun, Aug 04 2019, 9:05 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Mint

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 9:04 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

We would gut first floor. It would be total of about 1500 sq f. Anyone have hard numbers? Anyone here used a construction loan? Why 200 sq f for a Jewish home? What's diff about a Jewish home?

That will be much more expensive than just adding a second floor. And total of 1500 sq feet? Is it an apartment?

Amarante

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 9:27 am

In general saying it will cost $X per square foot is meaningless because it depends on what is IN that square foot.

Kitchens and bathrooms are the most expensive square feet to build and so a 200 square feet of kitchen will cost more than 200 square feet of a room that just has minimal finishes like a bedroom.

In general it is much more expensive to remodel than to build equivalent square footage and so often it doesn't make economic sense unless the neighborhood is such that the land value is more than the current house can support. This is often the case in Frum neighborhoods because people need to live in very specific areas. It is also true in certain other parts of cities - I.e. some older suburbs even in non-from areas were built with relatively modest homes but have become hugely desirable and so even tear downs are common. My friend's mother lived in Studio City in Los Angeles and her cute little three bedroom home built in the 1950's was just sold for $1,500,000 to a developer who is tearing it down and building a large home that will sell for several million dollars.

amother

Mustard

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 10:15 am

amother [ Mint ] wrote:

That will be much more expensive than just adding a second floor. And total of 1500 sq feet? Is it an apartment?

I'm not Op, but my house is 1500 square feet. The entire world does not live in Toms River.

amother

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 10:28 am

We would be adding on an additional 1500 sq f. And mostly gutting main floor. Houses have gone up in our area so I was wondering if it would be cheaper to add another floor instead of buying a larger home. Seems prob not. I had thought we would need about 200k but looks like we'll need more.

Ruchel

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 2:03 pm

amother [ Honeydew ] wrote:

Jewish homes $200 a sq ft

wow I would just not accept double price for being jewish

amother

Beige

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 3:28 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

We did that very recently in Brooklyn. Gutted second floor added a third total of around 2100 sq f. It cost us around $400k-450k. Don't regret it a second. The sz my house is I would pay alot more that what I bought it for including the renovations.

Amarante

Sun, Aug 04 2019, 3:35 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

As an economic decision, you should price the larger home you would be buying and get an experienced realtor to give you a price for the home you would be selling.

Also a factor is the cost and aggravation of living through a major construction project.

Amother Beige is living in a neighborhood where it makes economic sense to spend money to add space or even tear down because the existing housing stock often was built as relatively small cheap housing and the land value is such that there is no other way to get a large modern home. BP or most Frum neighborhoods in NYC support this kind of renovation.