Many of us haven’t the slightest idea of how much it really costs to undergo a basic home renovation, let alone a complete overhaul.
In our
Renovating Costs series, we outline how much you can expect to spend for just about any project you plan to take on.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION - If you are planning major changes in your home, then demolition is going to be present on your budget breakdown.
- Average costs of gutting a house, approximately 1500 square foot in size is $6000 - $7000, with disposal.
Once your house is ready for re-build,
CONSTRUCTION will start, and these are the basic principles involved:
- Insulation, at $1 a square foot
- Vapor barriers at $0.70 a square foot
- Building Walls (frame, drywall, plaster) at $9 a square foot (both sides)
- Staircase construction using basic oak treads, closed (paint grade) risers, and stringer cost approximately $100 per riser, plus finishing stain and varnish ($50 per tread) and $100 linear foot for balustrade including spindles and railing.
Knocking Down/Rebuilding Walls - Some of us have the desire to knock down walls and build a new layout. The design work for such a project often requires drawings and permits.
- The cost of architectural drawings vary, but to give you a rough idea you would be looking at approximately $4000 for a residential space of approximately 2,000 square feet, which would further allow you to apply for a Permit.
- Permits are approximately $7.50 to $12.50 per square meter.
- For a further breakdown and requirements on Building Permits check out your local municipal board.
- If no structural plans are in the works and simply tearing down a few (non-structural) walls and building anew is on your agenda then you would be turning to drywallers, tapers and carpenters.
- You will need carpenters for framing your walls, drywallers for boarding the frames and tapers for taping and plastering.
- On average, to frame, board (i.e. plasterboard or gypsum board, otherwise known as “drywall”) and tape (on both sides) a wall is $9 per square foot.
- To paint and finish is additional.