Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-26-2011, 12:42 PM
 
9,617 posts, read 6,063,396 times
Reputation: 3884

Advertisements

Hey all,
Help me out here. We are looking at houses in a neighborhood chock full of homes built in the 50s and 60s. Most all are brick veneer, anywhere from 1200 sf to 1900 sf. I believe most are on crawl space or slab, with amybe a few basements. In many cases, original owner with no, nada, none updates, cosmetic, not too mention the important stuff, like plumbing, wiring and so forth. Original windows, plumbing, wiring, floor plan, etc. Located in a 50,000 pop town in South Georgia.

Here's the question. Is there some kind of ball park figure, or rule of thumb like a per square foot cost I could use that would cover a contractor gutting the house to the studs and updating the plumbing, wiring and spray foam insulation? If this is still too little information, then tell what I should consider.

Thanks for the help.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-26-2011, 01:05 PM
 
1,063 posts, read 1,777,163 times
Reputation: 632
Expensive!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2011, 05:20 PM
 
Location: sowf jawja
1,941 posts, read 9,240,227 times
Reputation: 1069
If you tore it back to the studs, a total rewire wouldn't be that expensive. Basic code job would run less than $6500, plus whatever labor is needed to remove the existing wiring; maybe another $800?
most resi electricians are charging less than $3 per sq ft; I've heard as low as $2.25.


Are you looking in valdosta?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2011, 05:36 PM
 
6 posts, read 20,130 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by earthlyfather View Post
Hey all,
Help me out here. We are looking at houses in a neighborhood chock full of homes built in the 50s and 60s. Most all are brick veneer, anywhere from 1200 sf to 1900 sf. I believe most are on crawl space or slab, with amybe a few basements. In many cases, original owner with no, nada, none updates, cosmetic, not too mention the important stuff, like plumbing, wiring and so forth. Original windows, plumbing, wiring, floor plan, etc. Located in a 50,000 pop town in South Georgia.

Here's the question. Is there some kind of ball park figure, or rule of thumb like a per square foot cost I could use that would cover a contractor gutting the house to the studs and updating the plumbing, wiring and spray foam insulation? If this is still too little information, then tell what I should consider.

Thanks for the help.
Maybe you could find some local contractors that will visit a property with you.Then you can get a feel for how they estimate.
Electrical work can be by the workbox and service panel up to a point.
Workboxes are all the electric boxes for lights,switches and recepticles.
Drywall would be by the square foot.
Plumbing is dictated by location in the structure of kitchen and bathrooms.
And sprayfoam is by the boardfoot.12"x12"x1"=1 board foot.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2011, 09:15 PM
 
Location: Knoxville
4,705 posts, read 25,299,067 times
Reputation: 6131
Just based on your question, I have to say you are probably in over your head.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-26-2011, 10:40 PM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,958 posts, read 75,183,468 times
Reputation: 66918
Are you sure these houses need all that work?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-27-2011, 07:49 AM
 
9,617 posts, read 6,063,396 times
Reputation: 3884
ModernLuther & SouthGeorgia: This is terrific guidance. It gets me pointed in a direction. I have no idea where this will lead, but I appreciate the helping hand.

Ohio girl. Actually, I have no idea if the house will need all of this stuff at this point. Kind of a worse case scenario starting point. Just looking at the possibility, gathering information that might come in handy. Or not. The 50 year old houses I have been in are, A) poorly insulated, B) has no ground in the wiring, and may or may not need the plumbing upgraded, but for sure the bathrooms will be in need of updating in some.

If you look at what the steady rise (not just recently) water/sewer rates, and energy rates, electric, gas, what have you , this would be an investment in a more comfortable less energy use home.

Thanks to you three for the positive input.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-27-2011, 07:52 AM
 
9,617 posts, read 6,063,396 times
Reputation: 3884
Oh, yes, Valdosta. And Thomasville. Those seem to be the two, Valdosta ahead at this point based size, VSU's influence, convenience, cost of living.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southgeorgia View Post
If you tore it back to the studs, a total rewire wouldn't be that expensive. Basic code job would run less than $6500, plus whatever labor is needed to remove the existing wiring; maybe another $800?
most resi electricians are charging less than $3 per sq ft; I've heard as low as $2.25.


Are you looking in valdosta?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-27-2011, 08:00 AM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,958 posts, read 75,183,468 times
Reputation: 66918
Quote:
Originally Posted by earthlyfather View Post
Actually, I have no idea if the house will need all of this stuff at this point. Kind of a worse case scenario starting point. Just looking at the possibility, gathering information that might come in handy. Or not. The 50 year old houses I have been in are, A) poorly insulated, B) has no ground in the wiring, and may or may not need the plumbing upgraded, but for sure the bathrooms will be in need of updating in some.
All the houses I've lived in as an adult were built in the 1920s or earlier; some had updated systems, others did not. My current house, for instance, has updated wiring and electrical service, but has piecemeal water supply pipes, where most pipes are copper, but the pipes leading to the laundry and to the outside hose bib are the original galvanized metal. While copper isn't getting any cheaper, I don't have to make those repairs now, because the older pipes are still running clear.

So don't panic when you're looking at houses that are 50 years old. Even if the systems are original, they may still be functional and you won't necessarily have to make all the repairs you want at once.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-27-2011, 04:26 PM
 
Location: sowf jawja
1,941 posts, read 9,240,227 times
Reputation: 1069
for what its worth, we renovated a house from the 50's for about $35k to flip.

Approx 1500 sq ft, and this included new shingles, new windows and doors, new tile floors in bathroom and kitchen, new cabinets, new appliances, refinished original hardwood floors, new electrical devices (plugs, switches, smoke detectors), some new wiring (including TV and phone), new recessed lighting, new lighting fixtures, new electrical service (riser, meter, panel), new kitchen plumbing and fixtures, new toilets (saved original bath tub and sink, replaced faucets), new water heater, completely repainted interior, some drywall repair, new siding, new foundation finish, new hvac (including ductwork, home originally had none), new landscaping.

i think that about covers it. i did the electrical, all other work by sub contractors.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top