Estimating Home Addition Costs

A lot of home owners often arrive at miscalculated estimates of home addition costs just because they only consider the furniture or appliances and the building materials and supplies. They exclude the labor and miscellaneous costs like shipment, contractor fees, and building permit fees. A good estimate should cover all the possible expenses that will be incurred in a home addition attempt.

Home owners tend to turn to online home addition cost calculators when estimating the costs of their home addition plans. These web calculators can only provide general estimates, which are good in determining if a home owner has the financial capability for a home addition project.

Home Addition Calculators

Remodel Estimates helps estimate costs of projects covering an entire house, a room, or a minor home addition. All that is required is the type of project, the project’s name, and the zip code where the project is to be carried out.

Simply Additions has remodeling estimator calculators for specific areas or projects like home additions, garages, decks and patios, kitchens, and bathrooms.

Remodel or Move offers two options: push through with the home addition/remodel plan, or move out. They give the costs of each and recommend which option is better. They also have features that help lower the costs of remodeling and help home owners locate a desired contractor.

In shelling out the costs of a home addition plan, the first step to take is to get in touch with the local building commission. They will provide the most up-to-date fees associated with building permits. Afterwards, the home owner should check out prices of needed home addition products and furniture from the nearest and most reliable home addition centers and furniture stores. If the above costs can be met, the home owner may now meet with a general contractor of their choice to determine the total costs for building the project. It is imperative to accurately determine the area to be worked on to help the contractor measure the project size and the materials, supplies, and laborers to be employed.

A contractor’s cost estimate should be discussed and explained. A breakdown of the costs should be requested, which includes the laborer’s hourly rates, the providers of materials and supplies with their prices, the cost of shipment, and the percentage of the contractor’s profit margin. Moreover, a definite project timetable should be set and agreed upon, along with additional costs to be incurred should the project take longer than the set completion period.

A home construction worker’s hourly wage would depend per state and on the worker’s specialization. Usually, the hourly rate for home construction workers is from $20-$40. A contractor’s hourly rate is usually $65. Hourly rates should also be obtained from electricians, plumbers, and installers, depending on the needs of the room addition.

Contractors have a selection of construction material providers with their pricelists. Other times, they have affiliations with a specific provider and order materials only from them. A home owner may request that construction materials be obtained from the nearest possible provider which cuts costs in shipment.

A general contractor’s home addition cost estimate is usually divided into labor and materials. However, there is always a hidden cost added to these two—the contractor’s profit percentage. A contractor usually calculates a 20-30% profit from the labor and materials.