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Contractor 4 is the one that I have been working with all along. They say and do all of the right things, they are overly thorough and seem to know exactly what they are doing. Their bid was not the highest or the lowest but "my gut" tells me this one is at least the most trustworthy and thorough and these traits alone were the biggest drivers for the selection. Hopefully 4-8 months from now I still have nothing but praise for these guys. If it all works out I will ask their permission to share their name in case someone is interested in an actual real life experience reference. (They said they plan to put my home's before and after pictures on their website) so all will be able to see it. I expect them to start in the spring.
Thank you all so far for your contributions, opinions, and experiences, please keep them coming.
Key1
What is the grand total? I am also in similar situation and would like their name if you end up liking their work - Thanks!
My contract was written without allowances so that I could not be "nickeled and dimed to death" during the process. That is another thing I like about this contractor by the way. The cost is what it is. Of course if I want to change something then that will cost me.
Keeping it apples to apples my cost is ~$107/ square foot all averaged out. Or if you prefer you can look at it as if the garage is "free" and my cost for the addition/remodel would then be $140/sq foot.
Searching this site I have seen people estimate $80-$120 per sq foot for their remodel...and I have seen the opposite extreme where people estimate over $200/sq ft. I guess it depends on where you live, the time of year, how busy the contractors are, etc. I feel I am paying good money and I will see what I get for it in the end.
By the way the Architect and his structural engineer decided to build additional footings in my crawl space and cement grout my existing foundation block at point loads, and to add 4x4 posts on my first floor (inside walls) along with a beam all designed to support the new 2nd story. So it is not a.... just sit the new on top of the old like I had originally thought. Foundation and 1st floor structural reinforcement is required.
So your cost per sq foot for the addition is $140.00 I think that is a good price
So let me ask that is just for the shell correct?
So then you will have to pay extra to get everything finished correct?
You say the contract is without allowances I am not sure exactly what that means could you please advise
Thank you in advance
There seems to be some confusion so I will try and explain the "relative" cost per square foot differently
Original house plus back bump out, plus 2nd story = 2300 sq ft
garage = 600 sq ft
porch =100 sq ft
Total ~3000 sq ft
The contractor will be doing work in all 3000 sq feet so the costs that I provided from each contractor are simply the totals divided by the 3000 sq feet.
However all square feet are not created equal. Some areas are cheaper than others.
For example, lets just say I was adding a 600 sq ft garage with multple garage doors and garage openers and electric outlets throughout. And I was adding a porch made of premium decking material with columns and lighting. Lets assume the porch and the garage need footing/foundation support 3 feet deep to prevent frost heave. Lets assume the garage is attached to the main home and thus will require at least one wall of drywall and stairs for entry, and siding on the exterior. Both the porch and the garage will need a roof tied into the main home. In my neck of the woods I estimate the porch would cost in the neighborhood of 10K and the garage in the neighborhood of 35k. The total would be 45K.
So $45000/700 = $64/sq ft for the porch and garage. If we assume I bought the porch and garage seperately then....
That means if I take 45k out of my total bill and divide my new cost by my square feet minus garage and minus porch the remodel/addition total cost is $120/square foot.
So if you need a cost per square foot for full addition and remodel then the walking around number is $120/sq ft.
Since the contractors are not breaking the numbers out per job (for reasons previously mentioned) then this is the best possible estimate.
My contract was written without allowances so that I could not be "nickeled and dimed to death" during the process. That is another thing I like about this contractor by the way. The cost is what it is. Of course if I want to change something then that will cost me.
Keeping it apples to apples my cost is ~$107/ square foot all averaged out. Or if you prefer you can look at it as if the garage is "free" and my cost for the addition/remodel would then be $140/sq foot.
Searching this site I have seen people estimate $80-$120 per sq foot for their remodel...and I have seen the opposite extreme where people estimate over $200/sq ft. I guess it depends on where you live, the time of year, how busy the contractors are, etc. I feel I am paying good money and I will see what I get for it in the end.
By the way the Architect and his structural engineer decided to build additional footings in my crawl space and cement grout my existing foundation block at point loads, and to add 4x4 posts on my first floor (inside walls) along with a beam all designed to support the new 2nd story. So it is not a.... just sit the new on top of the old like I had originally thought. Foundation and 1st floor structural reinforcement is required.
Key1
When you say written without allowances, do you mean if the footing excavation uncovers a solid granite bolder the contractor will have to remove it at his expense? But if that bolder is made of solid gold the contractor gets to keep it?
Never heard of a building contract that did not have a provision for unforeseen circumstances.
Seems like you picked the right contractor but with a home project that size something always comes up, just be prepared.
There are provisions for unforeseen circumstances in my contract.
My understanding of what they meant when we discussed no allowances is that they will not come back and change the price because the lumber suddenly went up in price, or the electrician hit the lotto so they have to use a new one who is more expensive, or labor charges suddenly went up , etc. I have no more details or understanding of what is meant by allowances other than that.
All I can say at this point is that the permitting process is unbelievable. I will provide an update once I am through it (If approved or not) .....beyond that, nothing else to report.
Key1
Sounds so over complicated. When i added on i hired an architect to draw up plans. Then i called 3 Bbb general contractors. Went with the higher of the 3 i had narrowed down because i liked him the best.
House was expanded. Job was done well. Minimal effort on my part.
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