Home renovations - small addition

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Forum -> Household Management -> Finances

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amother

Mon, May 23 2022, 12:44 am

We live in a three bedroom house, where the ground floor has a den that has nothing above it. (the current three bedrooms and bathroom upstairs are above the living room, dining room, Hallway, and kitchen). We are hoping to add a master suite on the second floor, above the den and some of the kitchen, which would be about 300/350 square feet. In this space my hope is to build a modest size bedroom, walk in closet, and bathroom. While I don’t need highest end finishes, I would love to do a vaulted ceiling in the bedroom if possible, a shower with spray jets (my husbands dream!), and for the bathroom to have a sleek clean look, aka not with cheapy Formica countertops.
Wondering if anyone else has experience with this particular type of addition? Particularly someone who did this in the past year or 2 when costs are higher and supplies are hard to come by, so the rough estimate can be more realistic than someone who did it awhile ago (although I wouldlove to hear from people who did additions a long time ago also! )
My main questions are :
How long did the renovations take ?
Did you need to move out of your house ?
Ballpark cost?
Did going from not having a master bathroom and sharing with several children, to having your own bathroom and more privacy make a huge difference? (Aka happier with your living situation?)
I know I need to bring in contractors and get estimates but before I do I wanted to hear from other people who did similar work to their house.
Thanks in advance

amother

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:08 pm

Bump since I posted really late last night

amother

Whitesmoke

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:17 pm

Maybe give location.

amother

Marigold

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:27 pm

I can't help you with the addition, but I can help you with the renovation. We did it 6 years ago and we got it done cheaply for about 5k. Average price is 10k. We had moved from an apartment without a master into a house with a master and the difference was enormous!!! We had privacy to take showers and baths when we want without being dependent on the kids' schedule. I can come out of the bathroom not fully dressed without worrying who's gonna see me. I can use the bathroom in middle of the night, heck in middle of sx, without needing to don a robe and snood. I wake up and use the bathroom, wash my face, and get dressed before leaving my room. I feel like a mentch when I greet my kids in the morning instead of how I used to be groggy when I took out my negel vasser and they came to show me all the things they made that morning but I hadn't wiped the sleep from my face yet. I hope you will enjoy your new master suite!

amother

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:33 pm

amother [ Marigold ] wrote:

Thanks for sharing! I am excited and hoping this can happen, soon imyh. Sounds heaven. When you say you spent 5k- what work was included in that? Did you pit in a bathroom from scratch?

amother

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:33 pm

amother [ Whitesmoke ] wrote:

Maybe give location.

Chicago.

mha3484

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:35 pm

Lots of people have done this specific renovation in Chicago. You should ask in local groups for what people have spent.

amother

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:38 pm

mha3484 wrote:

Lots of people have done this specific renovation in Chicago. You should ask in local groups for what people have spent.

I actually don't know anyone personally who did this- and since it involves finances, I don't feel comfortable to ask a stranger what they spent on their addition. I'm hoping someone here lives in my area and would share the juicy details anonymously Smile

amother

Daisy

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:38 pm

I would think way more than 5k now.

amother

Snowflake

Mon, May 23 2022, 1:52 pm

I can't imagine doing a renovation described by OP for $5000.

You can't even renovate a bathroom with the cheapest fixtures for that amount.

What you are describing is significant structural work because you have to deal with the roof line and possibly the foundation since it wasn't built originally to accommodate the additional weight of a second story.

You have to deal with permits which in itself can cost about $5000 because plans have to be drawn up and submitted and everything needs to be inspected throughout construction.

I would imagine it would cost a minimum of $100,000 at this point in time.

Frankly you should consult a real estate agent because sometimes it doesn't make economic sense to do an addition and it is better to buy what you want. Of course sometimes it does make sense because the location is so desirable that people literally tear down existing homes and build new ones.

At any rate no one can possibly tell you what it would cost. Ask someone in your area if the know of a GC and ask him. However whatever his "estimate" is will be much more in the end because he will give you a rough estimate and when it is actually built things will be more money. I would estimate most projects at this point are 25% above initial unless people are extremely lucky and very frugal in terms of selecting finishes.

Anyone who has a nice master suite with an en suite beautiful bath will tell you that it is a wonderful thing to have but it isn't critical for happiness if you can't afford it.

mha3484

Mon, May 23 2022, 2:03 pm

My neighbor wants to make her ranch a second floor she was quoted a few years ago $100 per sq ft. You are looking at 30-60k to do 300sq feet. This is not a small reno. Based on the type of Chicago house its very common. Unless your going to build a new house a Georgian that you extend will give you the most space.

amother

Smokey

Mon, May 23 2022, 2:05 pm

It would maybe cost 5k to add a powder room to your existing space. Probably more. To renovate a full bathroom would probably be minimum 12k using cheap material. To make an addition to your home is going to cost waaaay more. Labor and supplies are super expensive right now.

Rubber Ducky

Mon, May 23 2022, 2:06 pm

I'm about to plan out something similar to what you describe for a client in Baltimore (space planning, not engineering or contracting). The good news is that you already have a foundation. A structural engineer can tell you whether the existing first story and basement can support a second story without additional support. My client was given the go-ahead on that.

But you have to tie into the existing 2nd story (think about the roofline) and you have to be able to get to the proposed addition from the top of the stairs, which may mean cutting through one of the existing bedrooms.

Besides the construction costs you are going to need permits and permit drawings. This type of addition tends to get expensive fast. Here is an article from a year ago with some basic estimates: https://www.homelight.com/blog.....tory/

amother

Mon, May 23 2022, 2:10 pm

mha3484 wrote:

30k is what I was hoping to spend, if I am quoted 60 I wont be able to do this. That's a huge range. A contractor I am friends with gave me a rough starting estimate of about 25k, but this was 2 years ago and I know materials and everything are so much higher...

mha3484

Mon, May 23 2022, 2:18 pm

I think material and labor costs have gone up a lot since she got estimates. I would ask myself if I could do 45k which is somewhere between the two extremes.

Tova

Mon, May 23 2022, 2:52 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

The beginning part of your post was word-for-word our situation. Like eerily so (down to the exact set up and square footage). To the point where I checked the double-checked the date this was posted. I don't live in Chicago but you are welcome to PM me. Rubber Ducky actually did our space planning. We finished our constructions a couple of months before covid hit.

amother

Mon, May 23 2022, 3:47 pm

Tova wrote:

Thanks! I will be PMing you Smile

snailmail

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 4:57 pm

Hi, just seen this now as was looking to do exact same thing in NY. I was given rough estimates of 80 -100k, also for 300SF. I know different location, but interested to know if/how it worked out.

amother

Hydrangea

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 5:28 pm

I just put in an extra bathroom (not an extension)and it cost me 20k and it was pretty basic. Just the bathroom.

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