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Calculate Room Addition Cost

The costs associated with adding a new room onto your home can be broken down into labor and materials. “Materials” refers to any of the construction materials, from plywood to lighting fixtures, which you intend on installing in the finished room. Labor costs will be incurred if you hire a contractor, or you may decide to pay friends to help. Whatever the case may be, understanding your costs prior to beginning a room addition can help to stay within budget.

1

Decide on the square footage of the room you will be adding to your home. Room additions can cost up to 50 percent higher, between $80 and $130 per square foot before considering wiring and plumbing, than that same room had been constructed with the rest of the house, according to the Home Addition Plus website. The services of a professional architect, who would draw up the plans for the room, may be between 5 percent and 15 percent of the room’s construction costs, according to Costhelper.com.

2

Figure out what fixtures you plan to add to the room. Plumbing work and the installation of a bath and sink will increase the cost of a bathroom over a similarly sized family room that which may just have furniture. Identify which appliances and fixtures you want to buy and tally their costs as part of your total price tag for the room addition. Also consider the plumbing or wiring you need to purchase for running water or electrical appliances.

3

Decide on the other construction needs you’ll need to purchase to build the room addition. This will include lumber, paint, flooring and any other structural elements of the room. Determine how much of each material you will definitely need to complete the project, and add those costs to your appliance costs to get a rough estimate for your total materials costs.

4

Talk to a contractor if you require professional help to complete the room addition. Before hiring the contractor, make sure you understand the labor charges per hour or day and ask for references. You should also ask for a written quote on materials; if it’s far more than the cost that you identified, you may save money by to provide the building materials yourself.

5

Make sure to address other costs associated with the addition of the new room when calculating its overall cost. You’ll generally have to pay a disposal service for cleanup and removal of old or excess materials. Understand that an addition to your home will very likely also cause your home insurance, utility bills and property taxes to increase, as well.

Source: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/calculate-room-addition-cost-8771.html

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    November 6, 2012 at 8:28 am

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