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I recently refinanced my house and ended up with some extra money. I would like add an addition to my house, and then do some extensive remodeling and upgrading. Right now my plan is to do it in phases, so i don't get overwelmed, and also so i can still live in my house.
Phase 1 - Add 2½ Car Garage to the back of the building. Make it Craftsman style with a modern twist.
Phase 2 - Close in the Carport. Expand the living room.
Phase 3 - Remodel Kitchen
Phase 4 - change the outside of the house to match the style and architecture to match the garage (so they look like they belong together)
I'm not sure if all of this is in my budget, which brings me to my questions.
What are the first steps i should take? Should i get a contractor, or should i just buy some plans of the internet and look for a builder on my own. What does the architect provide to me? Does he only draw up the plans, print out blueprints, and thats the end of his job? Or do they stay with the project until the end of the job? Whats the best way for me to get a good/ honest cost estimation for these different projects?
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this, if not, can someone please point me in the right direction.
You are in the right forum, Thomas. I can't help you with your questions but someone will come along and help you. I would get my dad on here to help you cause he is a contractor/remodeler,etc but he hates computers and avoids them whenever possible. But I might be able to bribe him here in a few days. Good luck with your project and post pictures as you go along. Everyone loves to look at pics.
Right now i'm just in the planning and information gathering stage, so there are no pictures yet. Once the construction starts however, i'm going to be taking tons of pictures.
I just have to be careful not to take too many pictures, i don't want to give the construction crew any ideas about being famouns or such.
I don't have a lot of experience with most of the types of remodelling you're trying to do, but on the kitchen part (and probably the others as well), the cost can vary tremendously depending on what you want to do. Assuming your kitchen's not too huge, you could probably reface your cabinets and put in a nice countertop for under $10,000, or if you start ripping out walls, replacing cabinets, and putting in high end fixtures you could easily spend well over $50,000.
For all the phases, I would recommend thinking out very clearly what you want things to look like when you're done, otherwise you could very easily end up getting in over your head and spending more money than you really needed to. Then make sure to get a couple of estimates for anything you're having done. To find reliable contractors, you could check Angie's List if it's available in your area, or there may be other local programs that help people find reliable contractors (for example, there's one by me called Diamond Certified where companies go through a rigorous process to get approved, but then you know you can trust them)
I don't know what your budget is, but these are all potentially very expensive projects, so unless you got a really huge amount of money out of your refi, I would recommend getting estimates on all the projects first so you can decide which ones you really want to do if you end up not having money for all of them.
As far as what the architect does, he will come up with plans for you, blueprints, etc. I'm not sure what you mean by staying around to the end of the job--I'm sure he would make himself available if there was a need to change/update the plans if the contractor runs into snags, but it's not like he'd be there everyday supervising the work, that's the job for the general contractor. Unless you have a lot of experience with projects, once you have the plans for what you want, I would find a good general contractor who will then hire subcontractors to do plumbing, wiring, framing, whatever specific work needs to be done. Some people like to save money by being their own G.C. and hiring all the work out themselves, but on a major project unless you have experience I would recommend paying a bit more and having the general contractor.
Welcome to Dave's Garden! In my humble opinion, ecrane3 has provided an excellent answer. In our experience working on our houses, finding the right person to help us with the project has been one of the most difficult and most important parts of the whole project. Try to do all the research you can, talk to a lot of different people, and ask lots of questions.
gardenwife started some really helpful threads several years ago when she was doing some major remodelling work on her home. This one on checking out a contractor:
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
Her projects didn't fit yours exactly, but it might be helpful to get a feel for some of the little adventures that can go along with remodelling projects.
ecrane's covered most of it, but I'll just add - plan, plan, plan!
Now let me elaborate - don't plan a project at a time. Plan what the finished project will be. You can then break down the execution into smaller steps, but plan it as a single project. What you're trying to avoid is things like needing a wire run for project step #2 that has to go through the wall you just completed and have all nicely finished & painted from step #1.
Also, sit on your plans for at least a week or two - a month or two if you can swing it. Take them out every day, review them. Make sure you can still live with them. The fastest way to both run up costs and drive your contractor nuts is to change your mind in the middle of the project. Take accurate measurements, stake out your addition, measure what you want to put in there, stake that out too then make sure you can still walk around the couch, etc. Make sure your traffic flow is ok. The planning stage should take about as long as the actual construction ;-)
Thank you for all the help and information you guys are providing. I went through a service that connects your projects with several contractors and you pick the one you want. After some back and forward he came up with a number of $90,000 just for the 2½ garage. That seems way too high for me.
From reading your comments, i think i will sit down, draw up some plans with several different various. Make a detailed list of what concerns i have with the various changes. Then find a good and honest architect (i already contacted the AIA) and have him draw up plans for the entire project. This includes the garage, the carport, the kitchen and anything else i want to do.
From that point i figure i can take these plans and have various contractors give me quotes on the various parts of the project. I figure if i have real blueprints, and not just some pencil drawing, the contractor should be able to give me good solid numbers.
I'll just add 10% to what ever number he gives me.
Excellent choice Ronin.
An architect may just be able to set up your phases differently and combine two at once.
Or maybe do all your foundation work at once to save money in the long run.
Obviously the fewer workman hours you have, the lower the cost in the end.
The sooner you do it the lower the cost. Wages aren't going to go down.
Lumber is skyhigh now...another Hurricane and...
Can you do any of the work yourself? Paint? Call in friend favors?
Pick up trash lol? These all cost you.
Check w/ your insurance company. See what they require.
Ric
I just had another thought, once you get to that point, there's one step in a remodel where almost everyone can save money - the 'demolition'.
Once you have a definite 'go-ahead' and your contractor is lined up, YOU do the tear-down. It can cost a lot in man-hours to remove an existing wall or strip the siding off of the side of a house. But this is a step that anyone physically fit can do. Just get the plan approved through your contractor - first, so that he can quote you the lower cost and second, so that he can verify that the wall you're removing is not a load-bearing wall, etc. DO remember to kill any power that may be going through the wall and don't swing that sledgehammer too hard until you're sure there's no plumbing, etc in your way. Otherwise, have fun with it - it can be very therapeutic! :-)
$90,000 for a 2 car garage? WAY TO HIGH!! I'm glad you decided to get other quotes. Everything everyone has said is true so hope you are getting a better idea of what to do and all that. Don't hestiate to come back on here and bug us!! We LOVE giving advice!! LOL
$90,000 does sound way too high, but you mentioned it's a 2-1/2 car garage which is pretty good size so it's not going to be an overly cheap project. I would definitely get another couple quotes, but if they're all coming in higher than you think they should be, it could be driven by some of the details you're putting in to get the modern/Craftsman look you want vs the actual cost to build a more bare bones type of garage, so I would make sure the contractors give you breakdowns of what's costing what so you can decide what you could live without if you need to trim costs.
I have thought about how to save money. I know i could do the paint myself, especially on the inside of the house and the inside of the garage. The outside would be a type of spray on paint that has a lot of texture to it. My neighbor has it, and it looks really good, and he had his done 13 years ago, and has had no problems.
In regards to demolition, there is not that much too speak off, other then taking out all the kitchen cabinets and one small wall. I will look into seeing if i can save money, and it the contractor is ok with it if i take all the cabinets out, remove the old tile floor and take the wall out.
Most towns have some non-profit place that sells old usable cabinets, sinks, counters, etc.
If the they are OK see about donating them.
Many times they will do the pick-up.
You get a write off, they get to sell them to keep operating.
Win/Win
Ric
Hi Thomas,
I built my addition 2 yrs ago and did the plans myself with program called Punch Pro Professional Home Design. It has a 3D preview where you can actually take a walk through your project, add furniture, move things like windows and doors around and it worked out well. I gave that plan to the framer and had him fill in the lumber sizing for the code requirements. I had the foundation guy fill in the requirements for that part also. If there is something that doesn't make sense they will tell you. A good GC will most likely have several plan ideas which he can go over with you to make the project cost effective for both of you. I'm not sure I'd use an architect for an addition, garage or remodel, to most GC's it is a straight forward project. I did most of the work myself, only used contractors for the foundation, framing and drywall. That amounted to $11,000 in contractors, which included rough lumber, concrete and drywall materials. Materials for the rest cost me another $15,000. I was quoted $60,000 to have a GC do the complete job. Prices do vary, framing quotes ranged from $5,800 - $12,000. So shop around, there is lots of room to save dollars depending upon how handy and resourceful you are.
My addition was 25'x20' with a full walkout basement. We did the site work, then had a contractor pour the foundation footings and walls, we did the basement floor ourselves. The contractor did the rough framing, then I took it over. I took me a year to finish it, but I'm happy with it. I took a lot of photos, here's a link.
Hey Dave, great job! I can't even tell you did an addition. The only thing that might give it away would be the size but on some houses it would look like that too.
Dave, that addition is really nice! I'm so impressed that you managed to do such a beautiful job on a large project AND document it so beautifully with a nice website. (Anytime we have tackled and completed a major project, all we can do is collapse in a heap.) You have a lot to be proud of.
Thanks for the compliments :). I took most of the photos for future reference, they come in handy for remembering where things are in the walls :). My family was always asking to see pics, with the site they can check in and see what we are up too.
Dave
I am planning an a one-story addition to an existing structure. The new structure will be attached on the back corner using conventional construction, ie. perimeter footing/ foundation wall, stud walls and engineered trusses. I have a question on how the new footing/ foundation ties-in to the existing footing/ foundation. Do they need to attach or does the new concrete foundation butt into the existing?
fasten new concrete to old foundation by drilling 4 or 5 holes 2 feet apart vertically , the holes should be drilled at an angle say 30 degrees into old concrete approx. 8", then insert 1/2" rebar into hole , bend the rebar horizontal to a level position. a 5/8" masonary drill bit used in a hammer drill will work fine. Rebar should be approx. 18" long. This will keep the wall from moving in and out . It will also prevent the new wall from settling over time.
Edited to say that this was written by my dad who has been in construction his whole life and rebuilt his mom's house almost totally by himself starting in '04 and ending 2 weeks before Thanksgiving last year. Everything he has learned has been thru trial and error.
Wade,
The method pepper23 discribed was pretty much the way they attached my foundation walls and footings. I would also recommend using concrete wire mesh in your basement floor. I ended up with a few settling cracks in the concrete floor, but not too bad with the mesh in the floor.
Dave
Hello,
After going through trying to have a fence and patio built, and getting a dishonest
contractor, I'd recommend going online to your local Better Business Bureau and
check out a contractor. You can also do a request to have the registered contractor
contact you for bids. I didn't know about this when I hired Armadillo Masonry.
Now I have to tear down the fence and start over.
