Has anyone done an extension themselves?

We currently have a 1 1/2 car garage, which is 1 story...we would like to make the garage a two car garage, and add a family room behind it (I think 16x26) and we would like to add a second story, which will become our bedroom.

If you did something like this yourself, about how much did it run you? My husband and father would do all the work. Thanks!

Re: Has anyone done an extension themselves?

Make sure you get an engineer to determine if the existing garage can support a 2nd floor living space. That's a lot of additional weight, and you might need to do extra stuff to the garage to support it.

Re: Has anyone done an extension themselves?

How much does it cost... A Lot

basically if someone hasn't done your identical extension, picked finishes that you would have picked, and hired out the same parts of the job that you did, its not going to help.


my brother in law helped GC a 2nd story on our house and remodel downstairs. It cost a lot more than we thought origonally, he hasn't done a project this big before.

there are lots of things to consider in doing it, assuming you can based upon setbacks, lot coverage etc.

you need to pour a foundation for the family room, the other 1/2 of the garage. you need to consider how you're framing the additon to marry up to the existing house, whether you have to reframe the garage ceiling to be able to remove the existing garage outside wall, where the breakthrough is going to be, what needs to be rearranaged inside to access the new Master bedroom. is there a new bath?


I'm not a contractor, I couldn't estimate really. if your husband can do this sort of work, he should really be estimating himself, with some inquiries to friends in the business who will be doing pieces of the job. Or if he is a weekend warrior, maybe consider getting in someone to do the foundation work and dry in a shell to possibly complete.

Re: Has anyone done an extension themselves?

Re: Has anyone done an extension themselves?

thanks, my husband can def come up with the figures himself, but I wanted to be able to go back at him if I thought he was saying it was too much Guess I just gotta go with what he says, being that its his expertise....wish I had a clue about it though!!!


the other big thing is how much is he doing himself vs subbing out, and how restrained you are in your choices.

If you think its going to be a 20-30K project then I'll clear that up, it will cost significantly more. Probably more in the range of 50-100 and could go more. again completely uneducated guesses.

numbers I've heard/seen for retail construction are between $100-$200 a sqft of new and remodeled areas.

I've found that even with some significant knowledge, unless you do projects of this size on a daily basis, it will cost more than you think/estimate.
my BIL does construction work, but more along the lines of a kitchen or bath than a dormer, and we went over in both bids coming in higher, and things that we didn't include in the budget and should have.

I'm not saying don't do it, Its exciting and fun....and expensive.

Message edited 9/16/2011 10:19:02 AM.