I am looking for square foot costs for a 2 story addition on grade in western PA shell only
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Replies
Better hunker down for the incoming !
I'm going to get the popcorn, as Sphere would suggest.
You really don't expect to get any serious answers here I'm hoping.
These types of questions get asked here all the time and the usual answer is something like $199,999.99 and I'll be right over.
2x4 or 2x6 walls, dimensions, roof framing ,floor joist type, lots of window openings, no window openings, sky lights framed all over the roof?
Just to start.
come on eric, how do you epect me to bmake a livin' if you tell all our secrets!!!!
here, let me grab my calculator...2 floors times the axis, y plus doughnuts and material, subtracted by some other unknown, unpronounced number equals......$5,000 a square foot....paid in rupees at the jobs completion
All I ever wanted in life was an unfair advantage...
Dang thieves.
I'll do it for 4,599 per sq. ft. That's per view. Floorplan, front elevation, side elevations, rear, as well as ceiling. Add up all those squares and multiply and you got me.
Plus expenses. I'm from outta town, so you'll have to put me up. You got a cute wife?
In British Pounds.
Edited 3/8/2009 2:24 pm by peteshlagor
I'm looking for the cure for Cancer, and the meaning of life.
Bet 50 clams I get a straight answer before you, dude.
Bing
$60 / MH. Shop to shop.
Add materials.
Divide by sf.
Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
$165/SF - assuming that it is quality, but fairly routine, materials and construction. Living space, not kitchen or bath.
Jeff
Edited 3/8/2009 5:15 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke
I bet that is not even close if it is a 30 sq ft addition, Jeff. Got to watch out, those sq. ft prices will get you!!!
I know for a fact that at least ONE of those SF will be $165.
The rest???
Jeff
2.7 million and I will be right there!!!!
>2.7 million <
you guys with illegal labor and no insurance crack me up with your low ball pricing. I bet when things don't go exaclty right you'll hit him up all kinds of excuses for more money too. sheesh!
:)
Well, I tried to do it right, but the money wasn't right!>G<
Take the plans to your favorite shell only addition framer and he'll fill you right in.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
I do not know nor do i have a wiseguy reply even though its expected from me.;]
Give him your bid!
Bronco,
C'mon back and let us help you.
If you give us some details (ie; fill in the blanks) we can probably get close to a realistic answer for you.
Most of the funnin is over, I hope you have maintained a good thick skin throughout.
We're really a bunch of knowledgeable helpul characters who just like to mess with questions like the one you put up. It's got nothing to do with you personally.
Eric
I'll give him an accurate estimate for $250, after it's deposited in my bank in Romania!
I wuz gonna bid it but maybe its a 2 story outhouse for all i know!!!. Clues, On grade and western PA!!!>G<
shell only....2-story....addition.....
hmmmmm
scope of work is a little sketchy... oh yeah.... PA....
dig...foundation.....frame....
roofing
windows ...dooors
trim... ?
siding ?
everything is a prototype... so.... how about a range ?
$50 /sf -----$200/sf
Awful cheap Mr. smith!
not if you work it backwardsMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I'm confused, start with the roof!>G<
<<<<<square foot costs for a 2 story addition on grade in western PA shell only>>>>
well.... start with $200..... what can you build ?
say 14 x 24 ... 2-story ?
now start with $50
are you familiar w/ the concept of ESF?
Equivelent Square Foot
my theory is 2d floor are the equivelent of 50% of the cost of 1st floor
since you already have the foundation and the roof
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 3/8/2009 9:25 pm ET by MikeSmith
HUH?
don't gimme huh...'which part don't you understand ?Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
You are trying to really answer that?
no.... i'm trying to point out to him how fruitless his quest isMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
$50 per square foot.
Blue you are hired!
Bronco.. I'll try to honestly help you because I've been where you are.
There is no such thing.. every jobsite is differant and every customer is differant and those differances can make a major differance in real costs..
If you want a rough estimate of things to see if your budget can afford it, then start with $100.00 per sq.ft and assume that you will be at least 50% off on final..
The only real way is to get contractors there to appriase the site.. to get a feel for what you are like to work with (that makes a big differance) and the various regulations and unknowns I haven't even touched on.
In the end I wound up doing it myself because I didn't feel anybody could do what I wanted at a reasonable price..
Doing it myself saved me massively but that's not always possible either..
I'm sorry what you are asking for seems to generate so much mirth but once you'v hung around here for a while you'll really understand how vague your question is..
Seriuosly most of these guys are really decent people and some go way out of their way to help.. It's just that you are asking a common question in the common manner and there is no easy answer..
"If you want a rough estimate of things to see if your budget can afford it, then start with $100.00 per sq.ft and assume that you will be at least 50% off on final.. "
LOL - why not just tell him to plan on starting with the figure of $150?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin, for several reasons..
First I don't honestly believe it's in our industries best interest to make fun of people who obviously have no knowledge of what's involved to make fun of people with the most basic question.. Lousy sales technique! Besides I have no idea of what costs are in his location. (see the last item).
Second all he was asking for was the shell apparently not the finished addition.
Third I've seen additions like that added and the basic shell price was much lower than $100 per sq.ft.
Now on an Island with the added expenses your number might be valid especially on the east coast where things tend to be a bit more pricy..
Please Note: I tried to give him a sense of what was involved not a final bid number..
I tried as honestly as I could to encourage him to take the next step if it was within his mental budget.
You misunderstood what I was asking. I know why you wrote the post.But you told him to start with $100 and to figure that would be off by 50%.now I know you are normally 50% off anyways frenchy cause I know you. butr waht I was asking is why teel to to start 100 and then add 50? Why not just tellhim 150 from the start?The figure was coming from you, not me. Tis might run forty and might run 200 for this shell if I bulkd it, but I have not a clue what it will look like or what it adds onto.and I was not poking fun at strangers. I only do that with people who deserve it, like you. go back and read my first post in this thread and you will find to have been some of the most sound advice in this thread, as serious as death.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
$37 sq ft
Being off by 50% does not mean it will be $50 more per foot.. it might be $50. per foot which is off of the $100 number I used. It could also be $150 per foot or even more or less..
That might have been in your mind, but in reality, costs generally go higher, not lower. Remember i am the one who lives in the real world.;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Yeah, not on an island or anything ... ;o)
Jeff
at least it's a real island, not one in the mind's sky
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Not Fantasy Island - good! :o)
17 1/2 years of daily contact with contractors who did just this. With money the prime subject of conversation? I suspect Over my career I've spoken to over 20,000 contractors. Tell me are there even 20,000 people (let alone contractors) on your island? Not the real world huh?
While you were banging nails I was conducting business discussion with them.. I'm willing to bet you haven't even met 1/ 10th the number of contractors I have much less discussed pricing with them..
Talking to those who do and doing it tend to be 2 different things.
Yes if you are doing it you tend to focus on driving nails and other aspects of your craft.. only a small portion of your brain is involved with costs and budgets..
Whereas when you focus purely on the business aspects of things that is your focus..
IN addition there is the matter of perspective.. If you are familar with one way of doing things and you've made your living doing things that way. You tend to be a bit myopic about things...
The first nailguns seemed to have been used in southern Calfornia about 50+ years ago. It took untill the 80's for them to be widely accepted here in the midwest and up untill the 90's I still saw diehards hand nailing.
I follows that if you tend to be slow to absorb new technology your costs will reflect that older technology.. I'm not suggesting Piffin was slow to absorb new technology but he does have costs not in line with that of major metro areas. He may not have the degree of competition that some areas have and thus His profit margins are not squeezed to the degree other areas of the country may have been.
Many details were left out of the OP's intial queary.. for example degree of insurance or responsibility.. timeframe, speed, etc.. quality of work reputation and countless other factors..
Hire a couple of local carpenters who have been laid off compared to a fully insured crew with a well established reputation etc..
Many details were left out of the OP's intial queary..
That is feflected in our answers to him. If he would come back with more details we could point him in the direction to getting an answer.
This is the reason for the silly responses. He has to "man up" and fill us in, after all we really aren't that bad. Look at JLC, if you want to see some "bad" responses to questions like that!
He probably is sitting back with a bowl of popcorn - enjoying the show.
People trying to out do one another with helpful or other answers !!!
Right you are Walter!
Why aren't you working today?
Just getting going this Spring.
Cleaning out my truck from a Winters worth of build up of slate, scraps,gloves etc.. Got a load of sheet copper coming in the morning to start making up SS panels , drip edge , etc.
AHha!
How would he know what rules we have? What information to provide us with?
As I said this is not the time for derision. Now is the time to be as helpful as possible as positive as people can be..
To my knowledge no one who responds here is that pressed for time they cannot take a moment to be polite and helpful..
How would he know what rules we have? What information to provide us with?
It is not what rules we have, it is his responsibility to realise that his post has a serious lack of information. By the way, I will really build his addition for my posted bid. He will have no charge for change orders either>G<
You cannot tell from his question that he doesn't have a clue what's involved?
I'm a professional salesman and that question is an oppertunity not something to be made fun of..
Maybe some need to take lessons?
You cannot tell from his question that he doesn't have a clue what's involved?
Maybe he ought to call a contractor and find out what he doesn't know!
I'm a professional salesman and that question is an oppertunity not something to be made fun of..
I again was not making fun, I was pointing out the absorbity of his question.
OK let me explain the process to you whereby ideas are explored..
Gee Mary we could use more space and I like the neighborhoods so maybe we can simply add on.
Well How much will that cost us John?
I don't know.
Well what if some pushy contractor comes by and talks us into something we can't afford?
How will we know what's fair.
Let's ask the question from the web site in that magazine you bought....
Frammer, the question wasn't absurb. or foolish or even ignorant.. it was the opening shot in a potential dialog.. People here showed their lack of skill in marketing/selling with their answers..
How would as honest an answer as anyone could have given been wrong? Yes some would be more expensive due to various factors. So what? The explanation as to why would give the OP an idea of what is involved. PLUS IT MIGHT GIVE SOME WHO CONTRACT FOR A LIVING AN IDEA OF WHY THEIR PHONE HASN'T BEEN RINGING LATELY.
This site should and can be a win/win situation but requires a dialog to be so.. Not a put down..
Not to be rude, but I think we can tell he doesnt quite understand how the forum concept works. You gots to provide some info in order to get some useful input back. He could have got about the same reply if he had asked the lady that sold him coffee this morning. Maybe she's an ex-builder??
Nobody here is trying to sell him anything, so I dont think anyone needs to take any lessons. Ask a silly question, get a silly answer.
Brad
It's only silly because you understand all the complexities involved.. he obviously wasn't.
I was surprised that so many piled onto him without anybody taking pity and helping him out..
If you treat all of your customers like that I have no doubt that you are doing far less than you could be doing..
Polite manners help not hurt business.
True, maybe a bit harsh. The problem I find with this type of question/answer is some will get information such as this and do little else before starting such a project. A recipe for disaster. The responses are harsh for sure, but I think offering much advice without more info from the OP is probably doing more of a dis-service than offering a guess. Hopefully he will re-consider the project, formulate a basic plan and then ask some specific questions. This group is amazingly helpful when it comes to answering specific questions.
Brad
please go back and reread my answer to the OP.
It was helpful and yet established the difficulty of a good answer..
If those numbers would have been in his mental budget he could have asked further for refinement.. If not he loses interest..
Simple and easy..
When I said doin it I meant business not doing the carpenter work. Being as you've spent your life selling for someone else, not sure how you figure you know business as opposed to being in business.
"I'm not suggesting Piffin was slow to absorb new technology but he does have costs not in line with that of major metro areas. He may not have the degree of competition that some areas have and thus His profit margins are not squeezed to the degree other areas of the country may have been. "All of that is true. My costs are higher than national average, but I never offered a figure in this discussion so my costs are not the issue here. What you stated are what I asked you about.you have a history on this forum of wildly exaggerated claims regarding prices and costs so I wanted to know where you are coming from, to help qualify the validity of your numbers for the OP.'course, if he is going to base his budget on what an equipment salesman from the internet tells him instead of a local builder, as I suggested, he is already out of luck.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
What u talkin about Piffin.Around here most estimates come from people not in the trades. The postman the coffee shop the barber, the baker and the candlestick maker.
You get the idea.Shoot we don't know nothing we are only handy carpenter type guy's.
You forgot the fishermen and the butcher, and last but not least, the traveling salesman.Say did you hear the one about the farmer's Da....never mind
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Yeah, like contractors always tell salesmen the truth.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
>Yeah, like contractors always tell salesmen the truth.<
as well the inverse of that statement.
:)
why U mad? I'm just repeating what YOU said!
And asking why you weren't explicit and clear to begin with. if you want to do double talk, have fun. All I did was ask a simple question
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
You might count your blessings there in PA.....
In Texas, "Tuff Shed" at Home Depot will come build you a two story gambrel, 16'x32', with slab and a wood floor porch...inside bare studs, no plumbing, LP siding, 4-6 windows and a door... 1,000sq. ft shed for $32,000 about a year ago....unless it's out in the sticks, on a steep grade, or outside their delivery/building range...then it becomes more dollars... ;>(
View Image
don't forget the customization charge to fit it onto the existing house
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
So where's Bronco?
Runnerguy
The big meanies bucked him off:)
Brad