How pricing works
An addition has no standard price. Here is what sets yours, in the order you'll ask.
What decides the price
Five things move an addition more than its size does.
The foundation: slab, crawl space or a basement
How the new roof meets the old
How many walls come out of the existing house
Kitchens and baths cost more than bedrooms
Windows, floors and fixtures you choose
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
Scope, allowances and the schedule are in. Hidden conditions and things you choose after signing are not.
In: drawings listed by sheet, permits, demolition, framing, systems, finishes to the allowances
In: who is on site, and the order of the work
Out: furniture, landscaping, appliances you supply
Out: anything hidden until the wall is open
What the design fee covers
Measured drawings, layouts, construction drawings and the permit set. It is its own line in your contract, and the contract says whether it is credited toward the build.
How and when you pay
In stages tied to finished work, written into the contract, with the schedule shown at the first visit. Georgia rules apply.
If the job changes
Changes are priced in writing before the work happens: the new scope, the cost and the effect on the schedule.
When you get the number
After the drawings. The construction price is in writing before any construction deposit.
Why no square-foot number
Why this page prints no price per square foot
Published figures for additions disagree by a factor of two or more, because the same square foot can be a slab bedroom or a second-floor kitchen. A number here would tell you nothing about your house.
What we can do is write down what drives the cost, show you the drawings and put a number on them before you commit to the build. If a number on this page would have helped you decide whether to call, ask for the design-fee amount. It is the first price we can give you honestly.
Sample change order
What a change order looks like
One page, in this order.
- 01
What we found
A photo and a sentence: an old drain line under the new floor, say.
- 02
What we propose
The fix, in plain words, and who does it.
- 03
What it adds
The cost, and the days it moves the schedule.
- 04
Your decision
Sign to proceed, or say no. Nothing changes until you sign.
Ask for the design-fee amount
The site visit comes first. The design fee is quoted at the end of it.