Green Building Renovation Sq Ft. Cost
Hello,
I’m currently looking to have a renovation done on my house including a new roof, siding and adding some square footage. The house is located in Southern CT climate zone 5 and was built in 1953. House is about 2000 sq ft at the moment looking to add 700 sq ft. I received a quote of $400/sq ft to add the new space and $40 sf for new windows/siding. None of this would require digging a foundation or laying a slab. The company I contacted has a good reputation for Green Building.
Does $400 sq ft sound extreme for new sq footage?
How about $40 sq foot for exterior siding windows?
At that cost I can’t afford to do it but I was wondering if I should expect that from all Green Building contractors?
Thank you
Brad
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Dollars per square foot isn't really the best measure. Kitchens are a lot more expensive per square foot than utility rooms. In the same house you could spend fifty cents per square foot on flooring in one room, and fifty dollars in another. It's a measure that appraisers use to assess the entire house but it doesn't really apply to individual projects.
The addition is a bedroom, a den and adding more square footage to a kitchen. The kitchen is complete. Its just opening it up to be longer. No cabinets or anything other than lights and tile are needed.
CT resident here. The home remodeling industry in CT is absolutely booming right now. I have many friends in the skilled trade and construction industries. A friend that owns a construction business said you can throw out some ridiculously high numbers for stuff and their is no shortage of people willing to pay it.
Building supplies are in short supply as well. People are waiting weeks to months to get stuff like pressure treated decking. All the Home Depots and Lowes around here are cleared out of a lot of stuff.
So if I do the math you're looking at $280,000 for the addition and $80,000 for the siding and windows? I think that's a better way of looking at it instead of per square foot.
Still, it's really hard to tell if those prices are out of line without knowing the regional market and the scope of work. There are places in the US where you'd spend that on architectural drawings and permits.
My house is only worth about 475k. I thought that price seemed high for the minimal sq footage I'd be adding.
Brad,
Local conditions and supply and demand a huge factors. For "green" construction, these costs would be on the high side. But if I drive four hours northwest of here, $400 a square foot is typical. Also keep in mind that smaller projects are generally more expensive on a cost-per-square-foot basis than big projects.
I would get a couple of more quotes for comparison purposes. Just watch out for low-ball estimates.
There are so few "Green" builders near me its hard to get an accurate estimate against the first one but I'll try. Thanks
Sounds high to me, get a breakdown of material and labor for the project including builder margin. A reputable contractor should provide this.