I’m trying to assess if this is worth it before talking to contractors. I’ve done a lot of DIY remodels and hired out some but never anything of this magnitude. I want to build an addition on top of the garage and connect to the rest of the 2nd floor. Here’s some assumptions I have.
-The slab foundation appears to have same construction as the rest of the house. Let’s assume the footings are good for a second floor
-The joists and walls in the garage do not appear to be structured for a second floor. Will need to reinforce garage walls and add joists.
-This project would coincide with an already planned new roof and HVAC upgrade. So HVAC could be sized for the new square footage
Houses are going for about $275 square foot in our area. This will add about 250 square feet to the house. So if this could be done for $60k or less I won’t lose equity.
- Any success or horror stories with this sort of thing?
- Any one tackle something like this as your own GC?
So I think the the big questions you need to answer before moving forward getting engineering quotes is what would you do with the space, how much is that worth to you, and are you in a position to take in the additional costs if it’s on the high end of what you consider worth it.
Even if it adds $100k of equity to your home, if you can’t afford to take on the debt, or have no real use of it beside adding square footage then it may not be worth the initial exploratory costs. On the same hand if you want more room for an office, kids room, etc, and are in a place to take on the extra costs then I’d call an engineer or three and ask about their costs and process.