Family Room Addition

No way any of us can even ballpark it, too many variables. Call a few contractors and ask them to ballpark it.

We just went through getting estimates last year for a two story addition. The biggest cost is the foundation, so whether it's one or two stories doesn't matter as much - it's not automatically double. We started by consulting a realtor to decide whether our house would benefit from the increased space and cost. Then, we got estimates for a two story, one room per story addition that ranged from $70,000 to 200,000. After researching all the builders, we went with the low bid guy and asked him to do a more detailed proposal - adding in a bathroom and a lot of bells and whistles (built ins and a ventless fireplace). His bid went from $70,000 to $170,000. His bid also didn't include things like having to remove and replace our back yard fence to get the equipment in, removing a very large tree that would be too close to the addition (at least a $5000 job), landscaping, etc. We decided to move instead of add on. I would highly recommend getting multiple bids.

Your best bet is to call several area contractors for estimates. Most will do them for free. Costs vary so much geographically, any ideas you get from here could be way off what local costs run.

I have no clue how to help you estimate the $$ for an addition...but wanted to let you know to at LEAST double the TIME they tell you it will take.

That is a factor many often overlook!!

best!

Costs vary widely based on where you live. I did a quick search on ask.com and it says to figure about $100 per square foot. So you're probably looking at $20,000 or more. And it's always more than you think and more than you budget, so make sure you have a good cushion if things run over.

Loew's or Home Depot may be able to help you. The cost will vary depending on your geographic area and the materials you use.

The foundation costs the most !

Also, check w/ a real estate agent ! S/he might be able to give u a ballpark figure, how to design it for resale value and other tips.

When we added on a room---we did not allow the builder to use the crappy wood they have been using to build houses with the past decade. Our framer bought the high quailty wood--no pressed wood. It is cheaper to use pressed wood though.

Also, the room has be decorated. After I bought curtains, a desk, cabinets and pictures for the wall...It cost me almost another few thousand...

Please talk to a Realtor that is very knowledgeable about your area first. Some friends of mine added a room on the back of their house and it devalued their home.

Her husband worked his way through BYU working home construction so the addition was done very well. He used good quality materials too. It was a great addition for their family.

When he got a new job and they had to put their home on the market the price per square foot was less. I don't know exactly how to say it......

If the house was worth $50 per square foot with 2000 sq feet and they added a room that added 500 sq feet they now had a home with 2500 square feet but the prices of the homes in the area were not high enough for that house to have that much of a higher price. Does that make sense? I'm not doing a good job of explaining what happened to them. But they ended up selling their house for about what they bought if for 4 years before if not a bit less. I just can't remember but I know my friend was pretty surprised and it really upset her. They didn't get enough out of the sale to pay it off so when they moved they had to rent for a while until they got all the home here in Oklahoma straightened out.

So please talk to a Realtor so they can advise you how much of an addition is a good investment and how much would be too much so you don't end up making your house not sell-able at what you might need it to sell for in the future.

One thing I would count as a plus in any way was to have a poured in basement under any addition if at all possible with the water table. With the recent weather and tornadoes I'd think a poured in basement that would double as a storm safe area would bring the selling price up in every way.

Up is always more expensive than out.
There is a website that ballparks home projects like this. Google it--it's good, but I forget the name--sorry.