The space in a single-story home is falling short, but you don’t want to leave it for another multistory property in another part of the city. For many of us, location and neighborhood are precious than anything and everything. As the cost of residential land skyrockets in sprawling metropolitan areas, the convenience and charm of the neighborhood becomes irreplaceable at any price. If you have no choice to expand laterally, consider staying put, and build a second story instead.
After deciding to expand vertically, the next big question is what the cost of adding a second story is? The answer to this question is no straightforward, as it depends upon so many factors. Definitely, your primary objective is to budget numbers down. However, cost estimates without proper context could prove discouraging and incorrect. There is no denial of the fact that a second story addition increases not only living satisfaction but also the value of your home. At the same time, it could prove a critical and complex activity.
The first and foremost task is obtaining reliable price quotes and negotiating with contractors that can take a lot of your time. However, if you are based in Los Angeles, we can make the whole process of adding a second story lot easier and hassle-free. We can help you with the design of the project and cost estimates to make the design a reality. That’s not the end of the story, our construction division will be ready to take up the whole brick and mortar job with 100% customer satisfaction and compliance with government standards and regulations guaranteed.
Is Vertical Expansion Cost Effective?
It’s a common belief that vertical expansion is less expensive than lateral, but that comes with a lot of caveats. The notion is valid in terms of actual construction costs, but other factors must be taken into account while calculating the cost of adding another story. Your family has to move out on a rented place before the construction work is started as the contractor will remove the roof. Renting another property for the construction will have a considerable cost.
Costs also vary depending on the design, quality of materials, your choices and amount of work required. However, a rough estimate is that the construction cost will range from $275 and $325 per square foot. This estimate would also depend significantly on the terrain. The intricacies of building a new story on a hillside are far more extenuating than those on flat terrain. For that reason, the cost estimate for hillside varies between $350 and $450 per square foot.
Execution Time is Important
Another critical factor in deciding the final cost estimates is the time when you want to execute the project. The cost estimates are based on the current market value of materials, which means that quotes or estimates will have validity not surpassing two months. In a dynamic economy like ours, price variations could be happening every month. For this reason, it is crucial to have a price quote based on the time when the cost project will be undertaken. Cost of adding a second story this year will be significantly different from the same project next year.
Work Volume Affects Cost
A second story addition usually requires the strengthening of your existing 1st floor, which translates to demolishing around 75% of your existing structure. Though the word demolishing may sound terrifying, it is almost inevitable all the construction projects. The good news is that this demolishment will strengthen your house’s structure and value.
Building a new story also requires the contractor to take up the gravel, restructure the foundation and framing. In many cases, this means that the existing foundation and framing will be revitalized, making it more durable. If the existing foundation requires retrofitting, the cost of removing your existing walls will raise the overall budget substantially. You must bear in mind that adding another story means adding a staircase, which will take up precious floor space on your first floor. The restructuring will benefit not only your new second story but also the existing floor.
Enough rambling about the complexities of building a second story, let’s get to point, which started all this discussion. What will it cost to add a second story to your home? The answer again is, it depends.
