Cost to build an addition. Prices for home addition.

How much does it cost to build an addition?

Cost to build a home addition vary from $130 per square foot on the cheapest end to $650 / sq. ft. or even more for custom top notch work. Accurate estimated can be provided only after analyzing architectural drawings with all technical details, calculating number of man-hours for completing the project and determining the total expenses for materials, fixtures and finishing products. Adding one story 700 ft² addition can be priced from $91,000 to $455,000, but any averages doesn’t make much of a value before defining scope of a work to complete and estimating which materials have to be purchased.

Note: actual cost to build a home addition per square foot is a result of what was done not a factor from which to start panning the budget.

Cost to add a second floor

Adding a living space up is cheaper in comparison with building aside if no foundation reinforcement work will be involved. Normally prices start from $100 per square foot and might go up to $600 / ft². Cost of man power and materials expenses combined might bring the total expenditures for building a second or upper floor up to $550,000 for 1,000 square feet living area.

Cost to add a bathroom while building an addition

Incorporation of a full size 6’ x 8’ bathroom with a separate 36” x 36” shower, 5’ long acrylic bathtub and 60” wide double sink vanity will cost $19,000 - $28,000 for basic work complexity and standard, available in stock fixtures.

How much does it cost to add a kitchen?

Simple 10’ x 10’ kitchen with standard cabinets, laminate countertop and low cost kitchen appliances will be priced at $21,000 - $35,000 for labor and materials. Customization and purchasing expensive fixtures can easily double or even triple total expenses.

What is cheaper to build: a house or home addition?

Because of interference with an old house structure building an addition to existing house typically will be estimated at 10% - 20% higher rate per square foot compare to building a new house. But factor of already purchased land makes additions a popular choice to expand the house living area. Adding 900 ft² to existing 1,200 ft² house will be significantly cheaper than building a new 2,100 square feet house.

Contractors estimate vs. homeowner expenditures

Building an addition is a complex task. Along with considerations about savings, a right person should be hired to perform such work. Homeowners might consider the option of acting like a general contractor hiring subcontractors for every specific part of a project in order to keep the contractor’s profit. But before running into conclusion consideration of realistic ability to organize the work should be given a priority. Typically a general contractor will add approximately 20% to the overall cost for managing the project and saving of about $20,000 on building an 800 ft² addition might be very tempting for many homeowners, but in practice it is not that easy. Lack of construction experience and poor organized work might turn initial planning on saving into actual losses.

How to save on building a home addition?

Customization is an initial factor which affects the cost to build an addition to existing house. Creating big open living room area doesn’t require a lot of investment. Incorporation of an office space or a bedroom will increase the price insignificantly. Adding a bathroom or kitchen are the most money consuming options. On the scale of a whole addition actual size of the bathroom or kitchen will play secondary role in cost determination, but the fact of including it into design initially will reflect the significant increase in the overall cost.

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