Non Gut Renovation Costs?

After a lot of searching, I can only seem to find gut renovation estimates. The location I am considering would not need any kitchen or bathrooms to be moved, only upgraded. Would want to replace floors and pretty much strip and repaint everything to make it look nice. There might be some odds and ends such as redoing 2 existing working fireplaces but I was budgeting about $150psf. There is no change to C of O and the building is not wide so there are no structural concerns. Am I way off base in my budget? Again, I see alot of $300-$400psf but those tend to be “guts” which this is not.   Any help is appreciated, thanks!

fitzhume

in Brownstoner Renovation 12 years and 4 months ago

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crownrenovation | 12 years and 4 months ago

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I wouldn’t price per square foot either which is why you are having trouble finding numbers. Price each job separately.

crownrenovation | 12 years and 4 months ago

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Why do you need an architect and filing if you are not moving anything? You are replacing cabinets and appliances, sanding and painting. What am I missing? Why would you even consider DOB and filing. These are not filing jobs. People saying 250k isn’t enough is crazy.

jcarch | 12 years and 4 months ago

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15% should also be in the right ballpark, as long as there’s no structural or mechanical engineering required (I’m assuming no central AC given the budget?).  We’d love to hear from you when the time comes. jcarch ———————— James Cleary Architecture

http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/jamescleary

needmtg | 12 years and 4 months ago

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fitzhume, you’ll notice that there’s almost a 5-to-1 cost differential between 2 people who have done similar renos on kitchen and jcarch. In fact he says ‘quick sanding’ and laminate would meet the 250k budget. I wonder what it’d be if you had a true ‘gut’ reno. However, you seem committed to overspending, or your ‘mid range’ is really ‘very high end’. You don’t even need an architect if there’s no major work. But, good luck.

deano | 12 years and 4 months ago

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I did something similar – a ‘partial gut’ of 3 units of a 4-unit townhouse, putting in 3 all-new kitchens, 3 all-new baths, new plumbing and new electric.  I kept existing walls where they made sense, and kept existing floors where they didnt need replacing.  Down to joists where i had to repair damage or reconfigure or accept new mechanicals, but on average, about 40% of each unit was technically gutted.  Several joists/headers needed replacing, the rear patio dug up and rebuilt in concrete for better drainage, and a new steel deck & door at parlor level.  Ikea kitchens & nice (but not fancy) tiling & fixtures in baths, nothing more than paint & patching in the common areas.    Total budget including all fees, appliances, etc came in below 150/foot, so yes, with the right guidance and enough practical flexibility to adapt to your existing house, it can be done.  A good architect who knows how to make this work is imperative if you havent done this before.

jcarch | 12 years and 4 months ago

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fitzhume – your number is low, but could be doable depending on how expensive your taste is.  Are the kitchen cabinets custom or Ikea?  Is the countertop plastic laminate, caesarstone, or imported stone?  Does “painting” mean a quick sanding, primer and 2 coats?  Or do the painted walls need to look like new throughout. If your answers were Ikea, laminate (or maybe caesarstone), and a quick sanding, then you have a good chance to meet your budget. And does your number include architect/expediter/asbestos investigator/filing fees?  Don’t forget to budget for those too. jcarch ———————— James Cleary Architecture

http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/jamescleary

orrsuz | 12 years and 4 months ago

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We did similar work on our home [excluding the kitchen so far] – bathrooms/kitchens tend to be the big ticket items. I would say $250k could cover it but it all depends on the quality of fixtures you’re looking at.

slopegirl | 12 years and 4 months ago

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you don’t really explain what you need done here…painting and re-doing floors isn’t much. Are you looking for a price for a house reno? how many floors? how many kitchens and baths are you planning to update? we got an estimate from ikea installer for kitchen that was about $10,000 for cabinets, appliances and sink including DW… that was for one of our rentals, kitchen is all along one wall. I’d think you could do a larger kitchen on that level for about $15,000… floors and painting would all be extra. Important to figure out which systems need to be re-done, plumbing, heating, electrical, roof, windows, all those are expensive. If all of those are fine then you’ll spend a lot less for basically decor updates.

needmtg | 12 years and 4 months ago

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Well, no structural, no plumbing changes, and that much? I did a perfectly good kitchen (15x 8) for < 15k, including rewiring, and two baths (no plumbing changes) for much less each. I have good taste, but I have to be careful with money. I've used bamboo floors, IKEA cabinets (much preferable to medium-range custom) and stainless steel appliances  not named Subzero and Wolff. I bought  plumbing fixtures on the web to reduce markup costs. Lots of ways to reduce costs.

fitzhume | 12 years and 4 months ago

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I would add, kitchen is 13 x 15, 2 full baths 5 x 9 and 2 half baths about 5 x 5.