Rough Ballpark Addition $
- Thread starter cjer
- Start date
bczygan
Well-known member
Easy to figure. Make a list. Take your rough sketch and measure up the lineal feet of top (double) plate and sill plate. Count your studs based on spacing. Add for corners and at openings. Layout the number of sheets of sheathing required. You are building this in your mind. Figure the siding including any trim and corner pieces required. Roofing will include joists and rafters or trusses, metal connectors, sheathing, ply clips, staples, nails, felt underlayment, ice and water shield, shingles, edge metal and flashings. Add for misc. like sill seal, anchor bolts and epoxy to set them, house wrap, soffit and ridge vent, nails, doors, windows, locks, opener, electrical fixtures, wiring, insulation etc.
Take your list of items and quantities to the big box store for pricing and add it up.
Easy peasy.
Or figure $100/SF. That will cover it.
Take your list of items and quantities to the big box store for pricing and add it up.
Easy peasy.
Or figure $100/SF. That will cover it.
JakeKohl
Well-known member
$100/SF is pretty high and changes a lot from region to region and depends on how much of the work you are doing yourself.
I finished a two story garage with plenty outlets/electrical, nice lighting, drywall, paint, vinyl siding, HVAC upstairs and downstairs, insulated garage doors, openers, kitchenette upstairs with granite countertop, wood flooring upstairs, a 1/2 bath, LED lighting, ....Did it for about $50/SF on a 24x36 building - but handled the design, HVAC, electrical, some plumbing, door opener install, lighting, and some of the interior framing myself.
It doesn't sound like the OP is even talking about any kind of finished interior - just getting it in the dry. I bet that could be done for about $25-$40 per square foot.
Last edited:
niget2002
Well-known member
Dang... I was hoping this thread was about how much it might cost to put in a Ballpark 
hockey88fan
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 25, 2011
- Messages
- 428
For the number of studs needed, figure one stud for every linear foot of wall, this will give enough for headers for doors windows.
There is currently a basement level attached 2-car garage that I would be building on top of. Block walls and when I built it I topped it with a steel beam, floor joists and 3/4" plywood flooring and then just put a shed type roof on. All I would have to do is take down the shed roof and it would be ready to start standing walls, etc.
At this time I would just frame it out and make it look finished on the exterior but leave the interior for future projects.
Thaks for some of the positive responses.
At this time I would just frame it out and make it look finished on the exterior but leave the interior for future projects.
Thaks for some of the positive responses.
bczygan
Well-known member
Seriously, most people want a ballpark number to see if they can afford it. But there are too many undefined things here to have any accuracy. How many lineal feet of new wall? Can any of the existing roof framing be reused? To REALLY know the cost of materials, you need to do a materials takeoff and price them. If you have a sketch, then any big box store or lumberyard can do it for you, or it is easy to do yourself. The main thing is not to miss any line item. Second, define the quality level of materials. How good a door, window or lockset? What siding material? What roofing? You should be able to get withing a couple percent of exactly what it will cost. Don't forget sales taxes and permits if required.
Quick figuring for just a shell (bare studs inside, no insulation, no wiring) for a structure 24x24 without any adjoining walls. New 4 and 12 pitch roof structure with no overhang, 8' walls and existing floor. No windows and doors included.:
Wall per LF:
2x4 plates $2
2x4 studs $2
OSB sheathing per LF $5
House wrap per LF $1
Vinyl siding per LF $9
Nails and metal strapping and anchor bolts $1
$20 x 124 (Added 24LF for gable ends) = $2,480
Roofing per SF:
Trusses $1
OSB sheathing $1
Felt $.10
Ice and water shield $.25
Shingles (3 tab) $1.25
Nails, staples, ridge vent and soffit vent $.25
Total $3.85/SF x 624 = $2,400
Trim lumber and paint (fascia) LS $100
So call it $5K or roughly about $10/SF
You can adjust for actual LF of wall and SF of roof and add for windows, doors and hardware, and for extra roof overhang. And this is just materials without sales tax, permits, labor, demo etc.
Does that answer your question? What was the reason for the question?...to see if you had enough cash? How about some photos. And what is the use going to be? No interior walls, finishes , wiring, plumbing or HVAC included in this.
The point of this little calculation is that you, or anyone, could have done it. I did it in my head with prices pulled from the internet big box stores in a few minutes. Main thing is to see the plan in your head, or put it on paper. Then measure and add up lineal feet or square feet or lump sums for all the things required. It is important to list the things NOT included as well. Those have to be added to the total for a true total price. In this case I took some lump sum items and converted to SF or LF prices.
That is a great explanation. My dim's would be 24' x 26". All I want is an estimate to judge how much cash is needed. Initially it would be used for some storage and it will enhance the appearance of the whole house if it were done. Obviously before doing anything I would have to plan for what the future need/uses of it would be so I can incorporate any necessary walls, etc.
Thanks.
Thanks.
times 2
bczygan
Well-known member
You can adjust for your particular layout. Add 4 LF of wall for the 26'. Subtract 24 LF of wall if this is to be next to an existing building wall.
add 2'x24'=48SF of roofing for the larger space.
And the basic prices were roughly estimated like this.
Wall framing:
Each lineal foot of wall needs 1LF of bottom plate and 2LF of top plate=3LF,
2x5x8 at HD is $3.42 and $3.97 for PT. So figure half of one @$2.
Then for the studs, figure one per LF as mentioned above. Ooops, I just figured $2, when I should have put $3.50, so add another $150 to the estimate, but it's rough anyway, so 5K is still close, even when you add say 50SF of roof at $4=$200 and reduce the wall by 20LFx20=minus $400. You end up about the same. And there was a little fat in the gable end which I figured as 24LF of 8' high wall. Use that for some small overhang framing and soffit material.
Anyone could set up a simple spreadsheet to figure the cost of a building of any configuration, size or material. You just need line items for each and every item to be included, labor and material, taxes, insurance, permits, fees and (If you are a contractor) overhead and profit. And I always like to budget a percentage for contingencies. Like unexpected delivery fees, weather problems, material upgrades and things I forgot. Use the CSI construction divisions to account for and organize everything. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16_Divisions It helps you to not forget anything. Some commonly forgotten things on projects are caulking and sealants, lock sets and hardware, special finish trim, rough and finish hardware, security and home automation equipment, specialties and finishes. And don't forget the cost of furnishings.
And in each division it helps to know enough about the trade to know what materials and equipment are required. For roofing, for instance, you need to make decisions on, and price, the shingles, underlayment, ply clips, edge metal, flashings and counter-flashings, valley material, ice and water shield, staples, nails and gutters and downspouts. And if DIY, the tools to safely install the above including fall protection. scaffolding and ladders, measuring tape and chalk line, staplers, hammers or air guns, metal cutters and caulking guns.
Just ignore divisions that don't apply to your project.
A completely designed and selected building project with a careful takeoff of materials and competitive bids for labor can be accurate to 1%.
And even a roughly estimated simple project like yours above should be within 10% of actual cost. Just remember that total costs change when the scope of the work changes or the materials selected change or as time elapses.