Tominator Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 ok, my wife and i are going to bite the bullet soon and add a master bedroom and possibly a dining room to our house. my existing house is about 1600 sq ft right now. the additions will add another 800. we have 3 boys in one bedroom, and no place to entertain if someone comes over for dinner--thus the need. i know horst is into construction, but i thought i'd ask you guys for advice, pointers, horror stories, cost, etc, etc. on doing an addition to the house. thanks folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions Chris, Im in construction too. I actually do metal buildings but I have been doing house plans on the side for years. I actually went to school for Architectural drafting and design. My father-in-law is a contractor so I get a lot of exposure there too. Ive done the drawings for several of his houses. I work with a lot of different contractors so I have a lot of different views and ideas. Ill be glad to help if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palssonater Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions From my experience...any additions usually result in a space for mice to get into your house! Seal it up tight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntinsonovagun Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions Get it in writing that your life won't leave you during this period. I have been through an addition, and that wasn't enought, so we moved into a trailer and built a house. Puts a lot of pressure on you at the time, but trust me, you will look back and laugh, even when you think you will never be able to. We did all of the addition ourself, and quite a bit of the house....that made it worse. Saved a crap-load of money though. Do the clean-up part yourself, no sense in paying someone to do it for you. Or at least pay your boys to do it. I think I was in 7th grade when we added on. Oh yeah....did I mention to upgrade the doghouse?? You might spend a night or three in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted December 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions [ QUOTE ] Get it in writing that your life won't leave you during this period. [/ QUOTE ] "life" or "wife"--big difference there Ryan. oh what the heck--i can't control either one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions We were planning on expanding our house this past June but at the last minute the basturds at the bank decided they did not like the assessment of our house. With a lower assessment we had less equity for a home equity loan. $10,000 dollars LESS!! We had to cancel everything with one month to go. My advise would be sure that you have your finances in order and in writing before you get started. Good luck Ranger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkoholic Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions In my neck of the woods the costs range from $20.00 to $50.00 per square foot of addition, plus another $5,000.00 to $20,000.00 for furnishings per room. If you "know" someone in construction you can significantly reduce the costs. Still a good investment and it would make for much more enjoyable living quarters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntinsonovagun Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions [ QUOTE ] "life" or "wife"--big difference there Ryan. [/ QUOTE ] Oops...typo Well, heck....your wife might just kill you! But yes, I did mean "wife" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions Guys, guys, guys... we need priorities here. First thing to take into account is, is it big enough for a pool table? What would be the best place for the big screen and surround sound? What about the lazy boys? I mean come on! Sure a trophy room would be great but is it a necessity, no. Just make sure when you build the "Family Leisure" room you build it big enough for the trophies too..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYBUCK Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions Chris as you may have heard in some of my previous post I am re-doing my kitchen, one of the most expensive rooms in the house. I do all the work myself, have remodeled the whole house except the kitchen and our bedroom. I would never buy an old house again but that is another story. The cost of lumber and building supplies has gone through the roof. I figured on doing it all myself for around 4k but it will end up about 6k. But I dont think you will regret it, more space and better living conditions are always nice, plus it will increase the cost of your house. Do you plan on doing it yourself? If you are going to hire someone your cost will just about double. If there is anything I can do to help let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billkay Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Re: Room Additions We're in the process of building an addition on our home. It's 16x40 and has a new master bedroom and a family/trophy room with a cathedral ceiling. Done all the work to this point myself, from digging the foundation to framing, electric, etc. Learned a lot! Mostly good. ust remember to know exactly where that nail from the nailer will go if it misses the 2x6, that way you won't nail your finger to the floor. Only accident so far. Adding a stone fireplace as wel. I'll get some pix soon. Should be done in a month or two. At this point it's cost about $15,000 which is a lot more than anticipated but a whole lot cheaper than paying some one else. The inspections are probably the most worrisome. Check out the framing, mech. and electric coe books from a local library and ask lots of questions of the inspectors. I've found they can be your biggest asset or worst enemy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntinsonovagun Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Re: Room Additions [ QUOTE ] Bill, can we get a pic of your finger nailed to the floor? kidding, ouch. steve [/ QUOTE ] I am not kidding.....You're the photographer...you should have pics of this available!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdvantageTimberLou Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Re: Room Additions For the master bedroom think of Jack and Jill closets. My wife has hers and I have mine. Sure hers is bigger but its nice to have (2) separate closets. We put infloor heating under the tile in the bathroom which is nice but its electric so it cost some money to run, but man those toes sure feel nice on it at 4 in the morning. As for a jacuzzi type tub, think about the use of it. We got one but in the 2 years we have lived there, maybe, maybe 10 times we have been in it in those 2 years. Nice for resale but if the additions on a budget you may wish to skip it. For the master shower think of installing (2) yes (2) shower heads on opposite sides. You will understand why later, trust me. I should have done that!! Have fun and find a respectable contractor and see some of his work. Most builders like new construction and remodels sometimes cost more. I'm sure you'll find plenty to do it but make sure you see what they have done and get the completion date in writing plus the cost of the project. Hate to see you get hit with added expenses because someone hit the wrong digit on the calculater. Most of all enjoy the experience. I enjoyed mine until I got my tax bill, more sq. footage hits you in the pocket book. I came from a starter home of 900 sq. ft. to 2300 sq. ft. so it was a shock to see the big increase!! Lou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missed160 Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Re: Room Additions I did an addition about the same as your last year.. Here is what I learned: 1 There is NO WAY to expalin to someone how disrutive & what a pain in the butt it is to live in the middle of a remodel. You need to know now & explain to everyone that life will be VERY chaotic for a while! 2 Don't skimp! Add as much as you can. Find ways to stretch your money. Either do as much of the work as you can by yourself, of add the physical space & finish it later. If you are going to contract it out, talk with the builder up front about parts you are going to do. You & your wife can do the painting, staining, insulation is pretty easy.. Do that stuff yourself so you can save & spend that money on other parts of the project.. 3 Look at the plans over & over & have as many other people as you can give you input. It is easy to change things on paper. We hurried a little at the beginning & as soon as the foundation was done & framing started, I realized I missed a very cheap, easy addition that would have been awesome to have. 4- IF your addition is ground level, and you need to do fountation work, that is the most expensive part, get alot of quotes there! 5 Add the master bathroom, You & your wife will be glad you did & they pay back more then 100% when you ever sell. 6 PLAN up front on going over budget. No matter how well you plan, something will come up. Take out extra up front. 7 with all the negatives, know them up front, go into with a positive frame of mind, its all totally worth it at the end!!! Don't get bent out of shape about the issues that pop up during the building, expect the bumps in the road.. Good Luck.. Feel free to ask any specific questions if you want an opion from someone who has just done it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Re: Room Additions Guessing you would be adding on out the back behind the kitchen Chris and that it would be above the ground level? Would think it would be something you could do a lot of or all of yourself. If you do contract out any of the labor make sure you get several bids and check references. When I was getting bids for my garage I could not believe how much contractors bids vary, and some of those that charge more do really poor quality work. Glad I built my garage myself, saved quite a bit of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Re: Room Additions Lets see, these guys covered quite a bit, its a mess and its a pain in the butt for the duration of the project Theres lots of stuff you can do to save money on these by doing some of the work yourself.It can actually add up to quite a bit of money if your paying someone or several someones an hourly wage. Painting and insulating were mentioned.Youll be attaching it to the existing house and roof, that means the siding, shingles, and any doors or windows on that end of the house will need to come out, you can save a bundle doing the demolition youself and its actually kinda fun to destroy things Theres a ton {literally] of trash on these projects, just keeping it picked up as the workers go can save you from paying someone 20$ an hour to pick up garbage when they could be doing something else. A few things not to skimp on.Its tempting to put your studs, rafters and floor joists on 2 ft centers instead of 16 inches apart.Dont do it, it really only costs a few hundred bucks more to go 16 inch centers and it saves a lot on things like, drywall cracking, flooring starting to squeak, and your sheeting on the roof becoming wavy and looking like a roller coaster over time. Get estimates, and get references if you dont know the contractor whos bidding it.Dont give them any money up front if you dont who your dealing with.Sadly theres a lotta fly by night outfits out there and they will try to screw you over.If they need money up front for materials set up your own account at the lumber yard, let them charge the material to you but keep an eye on what you get billed for and as much as possible make sure its stuff you recieved.If you plan on doing some of the demolition yourself, or the insulation painting, whatever, tell your contractor up front.That way nobody gets a suprise later on and he should be able to tell you exactly what needs tore off, put in etc...I could go on but I gotta get to a treestand, run into any trouble send me a plane ticket, Ill be right out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billkay Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Re: Room Additions [ QUOTE ] Quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill, can we get a pic of your finger nailed to the floor? kidding, ouch. steve -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am not kidding.....You're the photographer...you should have pics of this available!! [/ QUOTE ] Sorry, I had other things on my mind at the time. None of them had ANYTHING to do with taking a photo! LOL I'm just glad it was a framing nail and not a ring shank... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted December 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Re: Room Additions [ QUOTE ] Yeah, I bet you did! god, I would've thought a framing nail would have went right through. Ouch again, steve [/ QUOTE ] no, framing nails are pretty smooth and come out pretty easy. my buddy shot me in the calf one day. left a nice hole, but came out pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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