estimate on cost of home extension in brooklyn

Hey everyone, I know it is somewhat difficult to give a random estimation on cost, but I have been speaking to a local architect about cost of a job, and I felt that the cost of the job he gave me seemed so out of this world that I had to check elsewhere and see if he was in the ballpark (in which case i will have to scrap the plan) or if he was way off. I own a relatively small attached one family house in brooklyn. The house has two floors, an unfinished basement and a third floor finished attic. Behind all of that is a kitchen on the first floor which has no second or third floor above it. I believe the kitchen itself was an extension/addition which does not have any support below it, as the basement/foundation is not underneath the kitchen. The kitchen also does not go back to the FAR line, all other houses around us have built further back, by about 5 to 7 feet. What I would like to do is knock down the kitchen, shore it up so i can support additional floors and basically build a new kitchen, adding the 5 to 7 feet back, and also build an extension above the kitchen to add size to the second floor (one small room in the back the size of the kitchen) and third floor (to make a large master bedroom in the “attic” the length of the house). the house is only about 13 wide, and the kitchen is probably currently about 10 feet wide. The architect i spoke to told me this would run me about 300K. This is more than double what i intended to spend, and i felt that the at that price, it wasn’t worth doing because i expect that that is about the max increase in value of the house based upon the work itself. Is this guy completely off his rocker or am I being unrealistic to think i can do this for $100-150?

bklynattorney

in Construction 10 years and 4 months ago

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brucef | 10 years and 4 months ago

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I didn’t quite grasp the layout you have but bear in mind these rules for new extension. Extension must either be full width, or leave a very wide 6′?? clearance. I agree that 300K is a minimum. DOB and other soft costs has to exceed 50K. There will be many hands in your pocket.

resident2 | 10 years and 4 months ago

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And after you have built your lovely extension, the City will in a couple of years hit you with a huge Real Estate tax increase. It is probably cheaper to sell it and buy a bigger house.

carmenf | 10 years and 4 months ago

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We are doing similar construction and a 300k estimate sounds spot on. We are demoing an existing garden floor 8×21 ft extension on concrete slab and extending it 5 feet, and then up two floors (so 13×21 on two floors.) 300k would be light for us. Engineers, surveys, asbestos abatement, expeditor and dob alone is over 50k.

no-permits | 10 years and 4 months ago

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you’re basically constructing a new building and the rough work alone would cost $200k.

bliz | 10 years and 4 months ago

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Maybe it’s worth it if you make the project bigger.

c_w | 10 years and 4 months ago

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Your architect’s figure is quite realistic. It’s not a small sum but costs will add up quickly for this even though total square feet may be little. You’ll have excavation, a new foundation, structural framing, and new building envelope. Extend electrical and plumbing into the new area as well as a new kitchen. All of these are expensive items compared to basic interior remodeling.

curated | 10 years and 4 months ago

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Your architect is right. There is no way to do this for anywhere close to 150k. http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/curated

majorhints | 10 years and 4 months ago

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As Morpheus once said in the Matrix… “Welcome to the real world “

jcarch | 10 years and 4 months ago

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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your architect is right. In case you do find a way to do this, be careful that on the 2nd floor, were you say you’re creating a new room at the back of the building, that you don’t cut off the code required light/air for the room that’s currently at the back of the building. And there’s no such thing as an FAR “line”…you likely mean rear yard line. Do check the FAR carefully though before proceeding with any design work. jcarch ———————— James Cleary Architecture brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/jamescleary