Ballpark cost - remodel of a 1980 home

2,165 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by GE
Bonfire97
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AG
Just hoping I could get some input on what a remodel cost would be on a 1980 3800 sqft house. I am looking at new flooring in most of the house (would be looking at a mix of laminate floors and tile), getting rid of the wood paneling and new sheetrock in a couple of rooms, adding crown molding, all new interior paint, and all new appliances in the kitchen. Probably no bathroom upgrades and going to leave the exterior and windows alone for now. My wife and I would be doing the labor on the crown molding, painting, and appliance installation. Maybe not enough info here for a good estimate, but just looking for something ballpark. Thanks in advance.
Picard
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Are you familiar with the concept of opening Pandora's box? That's what's about to happen here.

I have no advice other than to triple your budget.
tgivaughn
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Gut & remodel (more extreme than your post):
The high end for lawyers/doctors $200-250/sf (Aggieland location) without imported items like a golden goose faucets
If you can afford that, then maybe prices & supplies will become more normal when you get to it.
Design-Build is the way to go if budget is foremost, not lifestyle nor longevity but if an Architect is on board, then more quality candy choices in the store for selection.

The more demo, the more $$$ down the drain to add to all that.

More gratis discussion if you Google my email
IMHO and am sticking to it
Bonfire97
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Goodness. This isn't sounding too good. I was thinking something along the lines of:

Flooring @ $10/sqft = $38,000
Appliances = $7500
Sheetrock and wall demo = $10,000
Paint, crown (self install) = $5000
Total = $60,500

Am I just way off in the weeds here or possibly thinking 2019 prices?
JP76
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Paint prices are going through the roof. For a full interior repaint, quality materials alone will be $1-1.5 a square foot.



87IE
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Bonfire97 said:

Goodness. This isn't sounding too good. I was thinking something along the lines of:

Flooring @ $10/sqft = $38,000
Appliances = $7500
Sheetrock and wall demo = $10,000
Paint, crown (self install) = $5000
Total = $60,500

Am I just way off in the weeds here or possibly thinking 2019 prices?


Like Picard stated, Pandora's Box.

Popcorn Ceiling?
New kitchen Cabinets and countertops?
Dumpster rental?
Removing old flooring?
Light fixtures?
Electrical Work?
Plumbing?
Specialty tool(s) purchases?




Claude!
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For a little bit of context on your appliance budget at least, I just paid over $5k for a mid-grade fridge and washer/dryer last month.
The Lost
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Claude! said:

For a little bit of context on your appliance budget at least, I just paid over $5k for a mid-grade fridge and washer/dryer last month.


So much pain on even the "cheapest" counter depth fridges, also couldn't do Samsung/lg for that
JP76
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Bonfire97 said:

Goodness. This isn't sounding too good. I was thinking something along the lines of:

Flooring @ $10/sqft = $38,000
Appliances = $7500
Sheetrock and wall demo = $10,000
Paint, crown (self install) = $5000
Total = $60,500

Am I just way off in the weeds here or possibly thinking 2019 prices?


Maybe but too many variables in play and odds are scope creep will get you above your initial ballpark. 1 story ? 2 story ? Carpeted stairs ? Hardwood stair treads ?


Recently did a proposal on an 1800 sq ft remodel and it came in right around $60 a sq foot including replacing hvac and remodeling the bathrooms, full interior and exterior repaint, wood look tile flooring, paneling removal and sheetrock, replacing all interior and exterior doors, electrical and plumbing fixtures etc


UnderoosAg
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JP76 said:

EVERYTHING prices are going through the roof.



FIFY. Especially if it's made of anything and spent any time being handled or on a truck.
HDeathstar
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Sub $100, probably $60-80 thousand.

We did a back to the studs and add on, and below are a few things to think about. May not be applicable since you are not going crazy.

- If opening walls, think about replacing water lines.
- If opening walls, think about electrical wiring updates.
- If doing any work, think about replacing the sewer lines under the house. This is the piece we missed and wish we would have replaced it, since doing it now, may require busting out some work.

During our project, the wife never thought about the infrastructure items, she only wanted the pretty look. Its extra money, but if this is a house you will be in for some time, it is worth the look and avoid doing some of the same work later. Ours was a 1970 house, and yours is getting pretty old.

Bonfire97
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Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, I am thinking about $60,000-$80,000 is probably where this ends up. However, that doesn't factor in gotcha stuff you find as mentioned above, which I am sure will end up surfacing. This is a single story house, all brick exterior with a fairly recently installed metal roof.

I guess one of the main things I would like to find out before we move forward is whether or not this house has cast iron sewer lines under the foundation. That would probably make it a no-go for me. The CAD says it was built in 1980, but I am not sure about that. I think that was sort of the border of when things changed to PVC.

Is there any way to tell about the cast iron sewer piping other than looking for side-house cleanouts and such?
JP76
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Bonfire97 said:

Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, I am thinking about $60,000-$80,000 is probably where this ends up. However, that doesn't factor in gotcha stuff you find as mentioned above, which I am sure will end up surfacing. This is a single story house, all brick exterior with a fairly recently installed metal roof.

I guess one of the main things I would like to find out before we move forward is whether or not this house has cast iron sewer lines under the foundation. That would probably make it a no-go for me. The CAD says it was built in 1980, but I am not sure about that. I think that was sort of the border of when things changed to PVC.

Is there any way to tell about the cast iron sewer piping other than looking for side-house cleanouts and such?


Is it in a slab foundation or pier and beam ?

Most housing after about 1970-75 will usually be pvc or abs


Easiest way would be to climb in the attic and look at what the vent pipes are made of that penetrate the roof.
JP76
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Bonfire97 said:

Goodness. This isn't sounding too good. I was thinking something along the lines of:

Flooring @ $10/sqft = $38,000
Appliances = $7500
Sheetrock and wall demo = $10,000
Paint, crown (self install) = $5000
Total = $60,500

Am I just way off in the weeds here or possibly thinking 2019 prices?



You are leaving all the old electrical fixtures, hinges, cabinet pulls, door handles and existing plumbing fixtures ? All the existing countertops are staying ?
2wealfth Man
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Popcorn ceiling and asbestos floor removal are muy expensive.
Milwaukees Best Light
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If you are going down to studs, I would recommend you do the windows. I know you said no in the op, but this one will pay big dividends. Hopefully you said no to the windows because yall already did them. If not, at least get a quote. There are about a million more things that will pop up as a , well, now is probably your best time to do this too. Good luck. The whole process sucks.
Bonfire97
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Quote:

Easiest way would be to climb in the attic and look at what the vent pipes are made of that penetrate the roof.
Thanks. That's good advise. It's on a slab, so poking around in places like this is probably about my only option.

JP76, yes, I think we will probably be leaving all of that for now. We are going to look at the house again this weekend and take a better look at things. I can see where stuff like that can add up and probably double the cost. I think our goal will be to do what we need to get it decent and then replace other things over time. At least get it to a point where we aren't ashamed of it when we have friends over.

One thing that I did notice about the house is that is seems to be sitting very low in terms of soil line. I didn't really get a good look at things, but it appears there could be areas where the soil line is actually over the brick. I plan to take a close look at that this weekend. I know that is very bad from a termite perspective. The way the slope is around the house, I think this will be very difficult to correct, so that also may be a deal breaker.

The one good thing about the house is that I cannot find much more than a little sheetrock tape pulling here and there. No cracks in the external brick/mortar, either. That seems very rare with a house built on black clay soil. I know there have been no repairs to that sort of stuff because we know the family selling it (it is an estate and has been somewhat neglected for some time because of an elderly owner).
Keeper of The Spirits
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If you think 80 plan for 120. Your scope will creep and materials, labor and equipment is all expensive. Even though you and your wife plan to do all those things, you might change your mind when the time comes. Managing a remodel and be exhausting without doing the work yourself if you have day jobs and or kids. The better and more detailed the plan with the right stakeholders the better outcomes you will have. (Architect (with permitting experience) Contractor + subs) should all weigh in. Also
Don't forget about any financing costs if you go that route
GE
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Bonfire where are you located? We are nearly done remodeling ours which was built in '82 and had basically no previous updates. Really depends on how capable you are in doing things yourself. Also over what period you want it done. Plumbing and electrical you can save a ton of money.

One recommendation - consider getting the paneling painted white by a good company rather than removing. It can look really good if done properly. Also check out the receptacles, switches, and air vents for if they will look crappy and yellow once everything else is done.

Easy things to do yourself to save a bunch of money include:

  • All the interior painting (except for paneling)
  • Switching out receptacles and switches
  • Baseboards/molding
  • Landscaping
  • Demo

Stuff I don't recommend doing yourself that I did:
- tile demolition. Worst ever.
- sprinkler work: too labor intensive and not that expensive to find a landscaping co. to do
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