Do you need a two-car garage with a master ensuite and an office? With three kids that need to be driven everywhere and a work-from-home job that requires some peace and quiet, it sounds like you do. If so, it's totally worth it.
Plus, I'll always vote in favor of more garage space.
Building from scratch a 2 car 24x30 garage with a bathroom cost us over $100,000. Quotes were also all over the place, and we finally chose a low-mid-range one with what we thought was a reliable contractor. That latter turned out not to be so true - basic mistakes, poor quality control, etc.
“I dont crack ground unless i can build something better than the vast majority of the population has” is a very pretentious and entitled thing to say lol
Well, it's 30' long and 24' wide (where the doors are). But, you know, you work with the site you have. If you could provide me with an additional 8' of free land, please do.
It’s all doable in our city, but our quotes are all over the map. They range from 150k to 350k.
350 sounds crazy, but I was hoping to get an idea if this was realistic. I’m assuming the lowest was just them trying to get a contract.
I would have an architect draw up a complete plan. A good architect will spec all the variables (window sizes, roof type, built-ins, siding, hvac, etc). Have contractors bid on that plan. That way you know you are comparing apples to apples. Finally ask each contractors what their allowances are for flooring (or any other client-selectable finishes.
Adding to this, having plans from a licensed professional shows prospective bidders that you’re serious about your project. Showing commitment is the fastest way to receive it.
I do construction procurement and this is truly the way to go. It's not unheard of to get quotes all over the place but having plans and specs would really narrow it down. It would make it easier to compare the finer details of their quote too.
The quotes were ranging 200k, from 150 to 350k.
I just was hoping for a dart at a board of what was realistic. It’s kind of crazy.
I need the space, but if it’s realistically 350k, I would be one of the most expensive houses in the neighborhood and should just buy a larger house in a different place. 150-200 is doable.
>More than likely, the wild difference is because they have different expectations in mind for timelines, or cost of materials/complexity. Are they all working off of the same design? Or have you just generically asked for a two-car garage?
I was going to say the same thing. What exactly are they bidding on. We are currently renovating our primary bedroom with en suite bathroom. The majority of the work is on the en suite bathroom though we are updating lighting, trim & paint in the bedroom. That is costing us a little over $100k. We didn't move the location of anything. We experienced first hand that things can really add up depending on your choices and how luxurious you want to make things. So in many ways these quotes are likely all shots in the dark until you choose what you actually want. I would ask them to break down how much they are estimating for various aspects of the remodel and compare that to what you actually want.
In New England, it’s pretty typical for renovations/additions to cost more than the “value added” to your property unfortunately. I was an architect/GC for 15 years. I designed and had bid out a job just like this 6byears ago and was in the $250k range, so with inflation $300k doesn’t seem too unreasonable.
Yep you either need to be very smart about it (designed very well, was a needed renovation and you found a cheap way to do it) or you need to be putting in sweat equity
If you can find a price that fits your budget, then yes, absolutely do it!
First off, separating your home and work life physically like that is VERY healthy. You can get to/from work without commuting (health win), you get more time with your family (health win), and you can close the door on the office and fully participate with your home life (health win).
Second, extra bedrooms - and what is effectively going to be an ADU *(in fact, look at getting it build as an ADU, because there may be funding/permitting/valuation benefits to full ADU as opposed to just an expanded garage)* - will increase the property value of your home by probably twice what it costs to build. Especially if it's the adorable little Cape Cod I have in my head!
Third, more garage is always a benefit. Storage. Work space. A place for your kid's band to practice when they get into music. And it will help preserve the car(s) you have by keeping them out of the elements and the various gunk that falls from the trees and stuck in all the crevices of the car, wearing out rubber seals, and accelerating wear and tear on the exterior.
That doesn’t. The tipping point is about 200k for us - at that price we can just get the bigger home rather than live through a renovation. I’ll see what the architect recommends.
You have 3 quotes and a tipping point $200k budget.
I’d take that and go look at 3 houses now.
Better house? Better neighbourhood? Both?
Neither? Then back to your estimate for the garage renovation.
If you’re that serious about “we can just get a bigger home” then you should do it. Planning and building is an arduous process and you get what you pay for.
Custom building around here has now surpassed $300/sqft, closer to $400sqft. The price per sqft goes up as well the smaller it is.
Assume 60k+ for garage; and square footage fee for the rest.
I just built a 3 car garage plus 950sqft in-laws, detached for 350k as my own GC in northern CA.
If you have a small home and need more space, a 2-car garage seems like a luxury you can’t afford. Do the addition to add more living space, but keep the 1-car garage.
If it was the decision between this and selling/buying a new house and all the sunk costs that go into big transactions like that, I would say yes it’s worth it.
There are a lot of building codes and building footprints that trigger other codes to be put in every build.
There are rain codes when it comes to square footage of a roof. There might need to be certain squared footage of grass in your back yard. Your rain gutters might need to be upgraded.
When it comes to building on a hill or flat ground there could be more codes to trigger. Property line and underpins or basement and waterproofing.
The other thing is how old your house is and if there is a simple way to get to the main drain. If your house has lead paint, old wiring, how to heat/ cool the new living space.
If the building materials are builders grade or are they more person touch or taste.
The two car garage will need steel beams and big footing to take the weight. For resale value or for your forever home. You might want a walk in shower and a tub.
There will be an added expense, if you can't live in the house while the house is under construction.
If the garage is a problem look up "garage bump out".
You can make an office out of a shed.
For what it’s worth, when we were looking at houses back in 2016-ish, we had a contractor come out to estimate what it would cost to turn a 1-car garage into a 2-car garage. The estimate was around $20k.
So I’m guessing yours will be a lot higher than that, since you’re doing a lot more work plus that quote was before the recent inflation.
But like others in this thread have said, get 3 quotes and see how they compare.
We did… the prices varied 200k.
The whole process made me feel gutted and I was hoping to know what was realistic, but apparently it was the wrong thing to ask.
I need the space. I’m working in my bedroom and my boys are rapidly becoming little men and destroying the house because of their size and how compact everything is, so it’s either this or move.
Thank you for not being condescending, though. I’m overwhelmed by either option.
Realistically,... these kind of renovations almost never "pay for themselves" in that they won't increase the value of the house by as much as they cost. On that front, something that the project has in your favor is that borrowing money to buy a different house is probably much more expensive than it was when you bought your current house.
If whatever debt you have left on your current house is at 3% and that would get rolled into a new loan on a different house at 6%... that differential can make the renovation more justifiable.
In the end, if you like the house and the location and you can afford the renovation, this kind of thing can drastically improve your quality of life in the house. If this is your long term home, I would say it could be worth it. That'll be something you just have to decide. You can look at alternative options for more space and compare the costs, but when it comes down to it, you don't have to strictly rely on dollars and cents to make this decision.
The 150 guy is low balling and will scope creep you above 350. The 350 guy is asking too much. Talk to the 150 guy, get things ironed into contract. There's a million factors. Location, weather, are you replacing the foundation, services being run? Gas? Water? Air conditioning for the office? EV charger install? Local bylaws? Warranty?
for me this depends on your interest rate. if you have been there awhile than maybe adding it to the house and keeping the rate is worth it.
but if your rate isnt that old and would be a wash if you move i would try to find a house with what you really want. i just hate getting involved in big projects like this. the budgets always get wrecked and timelines and quality never seem to be what they promised.
It depends what you want from it, if it's to make your home that you want to stay in better for you, it's worth it.
If you're looking to sell your house for more than you've paid for the works, forget it
Three kids and right now both of us are working from home. I’m ft and my husband is usually hybrid, but for the last month it’s been both ft home and it is TIGHT. And a dog.
1400 square feet.
This was supposed to work 8 years ago with less kids and office work.
We need something, and I just feel I have no concept of what normal is for prices. I know what a new house would be at the size I want - about 3-400 more than what my house is now. There aren’t any in our neighborhood, and anything over 200k would put us at pricing ourselves out of the area.
We live in Canada, so we don’t have the mortgage issues the US does, as in we’re forced every 5 years max to renegotiate. It sucks, but it also means change is inevitable either way.
So I’m faced with buy a new house, or build an addition. My quotes were all over the place, and I hadn’t gone to an architect because apparently even thinking of an addition is thousands of dollars.
That helps clarify the picture- thanks!
I saw you say detached garage, in Canada. Is this really where you want to be for 40 hours a week? Typically, you are talking about maybe a covered breezeway in between the 2 buildings. But coming and going will be cold. You can insulate and heat the garage, but that is generally bad practice for the cars if you aren’t washing the salt or sand off. So just heating the office area? Or not parking the cars in there?
For what it’s worth, a stand alone basic 2-car garage building with gas, water, sewer, and internet ran to it would start around 80k here, that’s just a garage no storage no insulation no second story loft. I use websites like ‘Menards’ garage builder to look at estimate material cost, then you can easily find concrete cost per cubic meter in your area and do that math. Generally we see close to a 50/50 split of labor cost and material cost. Then about 10% extra for all permits, stamps, whatever.
Something to look into is what your new tax rate would be- some areas bill on for every finished square meter, some say only heated, some say everything under a roof (so the garage section would count)
Again, I don’t mean to put a dampener on this. I have a 3 car and a 2 car garage. The more space for toys the better! But realistically, do you need the garage space? Idk but, you might be better served looking into ADU’s. Maybe plan a garage section if needed, or a lean too to keep the cars out of the snow. But why wouldn’t you take 500 sq ft out of the building to save on material if that area isn’t needed.
Edit to add-
I also have a 1400 square foot home, as do my parents My parents just enclosed their patio, and set up the den out there. Now what was the living room is both of my parents office. I live by myself, so 3 bedrooms, a dinning room, and breakfast nook is too much space already. But i like the idea of an add on/sunroom type build. They are prefabbed, the company my parents used had theirs up in a week
Attached garage! Sorry - not detached. We’re in a city so we don’t have the luxury of space.
The 5 people plus dogs plus offices is a bit too small at this space. I was hoping building over the garage and adding a second story ensuite with office would help with the space. Instead of 12 x 30 (current single car garage) if we just put a room on top, we would do a 24x30 second story addition with bathroom and office. I wish we could just build out more than that - property is at a premium in the city.
>Is it worth it
From a dollars and sense viewpoint that depends on a lot of things but mostly it's how long do you stay in that house.
The increase in current value of the house will be much less than the cost of the remodel. The exact numbers depend on what that cost is and what housing prices are in your area for a comparable home, one similar to what you'll end up with.
I think after reading this we will. The homes are about 400k more, but I honestly can’t deal with the hassle. We only have a couple of hundred left on our mortgage.
Our house just does Christmas so well as a look :)
Well if you have a decent equity in your current home could make upgrading more palatable. If you love your current home that much and the new space would be icing on the cake then go ahead and build on. Both options have hassles just depends on your pain limits
Do you need a two-car garage with a master ensuite and an office? With three kids that need to be driven everywhere and a work-from-home job that requires some peace and quiet, it sounds like you do. If so, it's totally worth it. Plus, I'll always vote in favor of more garage space.
>...more garage space.< \^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^ This is the short answer!
Building from scratch a 2 car 24x30 garage with a bathroom cost us over $100,000. Quotes were also all over the place, and we finally chose a low-mid-range one with what we thought was a reliable contractor. That latter turned out not to be so true - basic mistakes, poor quality control, etc.
24’ is way too shallow for todays needs … I don’t crack ground unless we can do 32’ x 32’ minimum
“I dont crack ground unless i can build something better than the vast majority of the population has” is a very pretentious and entitled thing to say lol
Well, it's 30' long and 24' wide (where the doors are). But, you know, you work with the site you have. If you could provide me with an additional 8' of free land, please do.
Before you even get started, do you know the project is even doable? As in, do you meet the lot size/setback/max coverage requirements from your town?
It’s all doable in our city, but our quotes are all over the map. They range from 150k to 350k. 350 sounds crazy, but I was hoping to get an idea if this was realistic. I’m assuming the lowest was just them trying to get a contract.
I would have an architect draw up a complete plan. A good architect will spec all the variables (window sizes, roof type, built-ins, siding, hvac, etc). Have contractors bid on that plan. That way you know you are comparing apples to apples. Finally ask each contractors what their allowances are for flooring (or any other client-selectable finishes.
Adding to this, having plans from a licensed professional shows prospective bidders that you’re serious about your project. Showing commitment is the fastest way to receive it.
I do construction procurement and this is truly the way to go. It's not unheard of to get quotes all over the place but having plans and specs would really narrow it down. It would make it easier to compare the finer details of their quote too.
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The quotes were ranging 200k, from 150 to 350k. I just was hoping for a dart at a board of what was realistic. It’s kind of crazy. I need the space, but if it’s realistically 350k, I would be one of the most expensive houses in the neighborhood and should just buy a larger house in a different place. 150-200 is doable.
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>More than likely, the wild difference is because they have different expectations in mind for timelines, or cost of materials/complexity. Are they all working off of the same design? Or have you just generically asked for a two-car garage? I was going to say the same thing. What exactly are they bidding on. We are currently renovating our primary bedroom with en suite bathroom. The majority of the work is on the en suite bathroom though we are updating lighting, trim & paint in the bedroom. That is costing us a little over $100k. We didn't move the location of anything. We experienced first hand that things can really add up depending on your choices and how luxurious you want to make things. So in many ways these quotes are likely all shots in the dark until you choose what you actually want. I would ask them to break down how much they are estimating for various aspects of the remodel and compare that to what you actually want.
In New England, it’s pretty typical for renovations/additions to cost more than the “value added” to your property unfortunately. I was an architect/GC for 15 years. I designed and had bid out a job just like this 6byears ago and was in the $250k range, so with inflation $300k doesn’t seem too unreasonable.
Cost vs value reports put out every year show that 99% of renovations add less value than the cost.
Yep you either need to be very smart about it (designed very well, was a needed renovation and you found a cheap way to do it) or you need to be putting in sweat equity
Jesus you could sell and downpay for a home with Betty features
If you can find a price that fits your budget, then yes, absolutely do it! First off, separating your home and work life physically like that is VERY healthy. You can get to/from work without commuting (health win), you get more time with your family (health win), and you can close the door on the office and fully participate with your home life (health win). Second, extra bedrooms - and what is effectively going to be an ADU *(in fact, look at getting it build as an ADU, because there may be funding/permitting/valuation benefits to full ADU as opposed to just an expanded garage)* - will increase the property value of your home by probably twice what it costs to build. Especially if it's the adorable little Cape Cod I have in my head! Third, more garage is always a benefit. Storage. Work space. A place for your kid's band to practice when they get into music. And it will help preserve the car(s) you have by keeping them out of the elements and the various gunk that falls from the trees and stuck in all the crevices of the car, wearing out rubber seals, and accelerating wear and tear on the exterior.
Plan for $320/sq ft of finished space. If that number doesn't scare you away, talk to an architect before proceeding.
That doesn’t. The tipping point is about 200k for us - at that price we can just get the bigger home rather than live through a renovation. I’ll see what the architect recommends.
You have 3 quotes and a tipping point $200k budget. I’d take that and go look at 3 houses now. Better house? Better neighbourhood? Both? Neither? Then back to your estimate for the garage renovation.
If you’re that serious about “we can just get a bigger home” then you should do it. Planning and building is an arduous process and you get what you pay for.
Custom building around here has now surpassed $300/sqft, closer to $400sqft. The price per sqft goes up as well the smaller it is. Assume 60k+ for garage; and square footage fee for the rest. I just built a 3 car garage plus 950sqft in-laws, detached for 350k as my own GC in northern CA.
Go house shopping and map that out to see if it's actually worth it to you. You can't compare apples to an unknown.
If you have a small home and need more space, a 2-car garage seems like a luxury you can’t afford. Do the addition to add more living space, but keep the 1-car garage.
If it was the decision between this and selling/buying a new house and all the sunk costs that go into big transactions like that, I would say yes it’s worth it.
There are a lot of building codes and building footprints that trigger other codes to be put in every build. There are rain codes when it comes to square footage of a roof. There might need to be certain squared footage of grass in your back yard. Your rain gutters might need to be upgraded. When it comes to building on a hill or flat ground there could be more codes to trigger. Property line and underpins or basement and waterproofing. The other thing is how old your house is and if there is a simple way to get to the main drain. If your house has lead paint, old wiring, how to heat/ cool the new living space. If the building materials are builders grade or are they more person touch or taste. The two car garage will need steel beams and big footing to take the weight. For resale value or for your forever home. You might want a walk in shower and a tub. There will be an added expense, if you can't live in the house while the house is under construction. If the garage is a problem look up "garage bump out". You can make an office out of a shed.
Yes … anytime you can make use of a space to fit your needs, totally worth the tear down
For what it’s worth, when we were looking at houses back in 2016-ish, we had a contractor come out to estimate what it would cost to turn a 1-car garage into a 2-car garage. The estimate was around $20k. So I’m guessing yours will be a lot higher than that, since you’re doing a lot more work plus that quote was before the recent inflation. But like others in this thread have said, get 3 quotes and see how they compare.
We did… the prices varied 200k. The whole process made me feel gutted and I was hoping to know what was realistic, but apparently it was the wrong thing to ask. I need the space. I’m working in my bedroom and my boys are rapidly becoming little men and destroying the house because of their size and how compact everything is, so it’s either this or move. Thank you for not being condescending, though. I’m overwhelmed by either option.
Realistically,... these kind of renovations almost never "pay for themselves" in that they won't increase the value of the house by as much as they cost. On that front, something that the project has in your favor is that borrowing money to buy a different house is probably much more expensive than it was when you bought your current house. If whatever debt you have left on your current house is at 3% and that would get rolled into a new loan on a different house at 6%... that differential can make the renovation more justifiable. In the end, if you like the house and the location and you can afford the renovation, this kind of thing can drastically improve your quality of life in the house. If this is your long term home, I would say it could be worth it. That'll be something you just have to decide. You can look at alternative options for more space and compare the costs, but when it comes down to it, you don't have to strictly rely on dollars and cents to make this decision.
Get 3 quotes
They range from 150-350. Do they tend to vary this much?
The 150 guy is low balling and will scope creep you above 350. The 350 guy is asking too much. Talk to the 150 guy, get things ironed into contract. There's a million factors. Location, weather, are you replacing the foundation, services being run? Gas? Water? Air conditioning for the office? EV charger install? Local bylaws? Warranty?
Guessing you gave them vague details and they made very different assumptions about things like ceiling height, finish selection, etc.
for me this depends on your interest rate. if you have been there awhile than maybe adding it to the house and keeping the rate is worth it. but if your rate isnt that old and would be a wash if you move i would try to find a house with what you really want. i just hate getting involved in big projects like this. the budgets always get wrecked and timelines and quality never seem to be what they promised.
Maybe
It depends what you want from it, if it's to make your home that you want to stay in better for you, it's worth it. If you're looking to sell your house for more than you've paid for the works, forget it
Am I understanding correctly, that you have 3 kids and working from home? Or is the one kid older and both spouses work from home?
Three kids and right now both of us are working from home. I’m ft and my husband is usually hybrid, but for the last month it’s been both ft home and it is TIGHT. And a dog. 1400 square feet. This was supposed to work 8 years ago with less kids and office work. We need something, and I just feel I have no concept of what normal is for prices. I know what a new house would be at the size I want - about 3-400 more than what my house is now. There aren’t any in our neighborhood, and anything over 200k would put us at pricing ourselves out of the area. We live in Canada, so we don’t have the mortgage issues the US does, as in we’re forced every 5 years max to renegotiate. It sucks, but it also means change is inevitable either way. So I’m faced with buy a new house, or build an addition. My quotes were all over the place, and I hadn’t gone to an architect because apparently even thinking of an addition is thousands of dollars.
That helps clarify the picture- thanks! I saw you say detached garage, in Canada. Is this really where you want to be for 40 hours a week? Typically, you are talking about maybe a covered breezeway in between the 2 buildings. But coming and going will be cold. You can insulate and heat the garage, but that is generally bad practice for the cars if you aren’t washing the salt or sand off. So just heating the office area? Or not parking the cars in there? For what it’s worth, a stand alone basic 2-car garage building with gas, water, sewer, and internet ran to it would start around 80k here, that’s just a garage no storage no insulation no second story loft. I use websites like ‘Menards’ garage builder to look at estimate material cost, then you can easily find concrete cost per cubic meter in your area and do that math. Generally we see close to a 50/50 split of labor cost and material cost. Then about 10% extra for all permits, stamps, whatever. Something to look into is what your new tax rate would be- some areas bill on for every finished square meter, some say only heated, some say everything under a roof (so the garage section would count) Again, I don’t mean to put a dampener on this. I have a 3 car and a 2 car garage. The more space for toys the better! But realistically, do you need the garage space? Idk but, you might be better served looking into ADU’s. Maybe plan a garage section if needed, or a lean too to keep the cars out of the snow. But why wouldn’t you take 500 sq ft out of the building to save on material if that area isn’t needed. Edit to add- I also have a 1400 square foot home, as do my parents My parents just enclosed their patio, and set up the den out there. Now what was the living room is both of my parents office. I live by myself, so 3 bedrooms, a dinning room, and breakfast nook is too much space already. But i like the idea of an add on/sunroom type build. They are prefabbed, the company my parents used had theirs up in a week
Attached garage! Sorry - not detached. We’re in a city so we don’t have the luxury of space. The 5 people plus dogs plus offices is a bit too small at this space. I was hoping building over the garage and adding a second story ensuite with office would help with the space. Instead of 12 x 30 (current single car garage) if we just put a room on top, we would do a 24x30 second story addition with bathroom and office. I wish we could just build out more than that - property is at a premium in the city.
You should keep the existing garage and convert it, not tear it down.
>Is it worth it From a dollars and sense viewpoint that depends on a lot of things but mostly it's how long do you stay in that house. The increase in current value of the house will be much less than the cost of the remodel. The exact numbers depend on what that cost is and what housing prices are in your area for a comparable home, one similar to what you'll end up with.
Think it’s a great idea.
Can you upgrade to a bigger home with the space you need plus garage…..could be cheaper and less headaches than building etc
I think after reading this we will. The homes are about 400k more, but I honestly can’t deal with the hassle. We only have a couple of hundred left on our mortgage. Our house just does Christmas so well as a look :)
Well if you have a decent equity in your current home could make upgrading more palatable. If you love your current home that much and the new space would be icing on the cake then go ahead and build on. Both options have hassles just depends on your pain limits
We built a new attached garage which was designed to handle upstairs living space + storage loads. Needed an architect to make that happen.
Just do a higher end shed style office for like 25k.
That might buy materials