Residential Construction Budget Cost Calculators Instructions and Disclaimers-- There are many factors that can influence construction costs. Geographic location, level of detail and workmanship, and interior finishes can cause construction costs to vary widely. The cost calculators below will give you a general idea of what your construction may potentially cost in the Northern NJ, Southern NY State, Connecticut, Long Island metro suburban New York City (excluding 5 Boros NYC [1]) geographical area. Calculators are based on construction cost data collected from the actual costs of similar scope projects, the prevailing data on economic conditions, and the good faith professional judgement of WJM. The calculators are periodically adjusted based on changes in data. (Last adjusted June 2010 - decline in overall construction costs has stopped, costs have stabilized.) Normal, middle-range,"85th percentile" [2], complete, fixtured, and finished occupiable residential 1 and 2 family home construction is the basis for these calculators. The normal things that most people want. This includes basic finishes, walls, base and trim moldings, basic flooring and bath tile, ceilings, painting, electrical, basic lighting fixtures, heating and air conditioning, basic plumbing fixtures, doors, windows, exterior vinyl type siding, ashphalt shingle roofing. Anything not included in this list is not part of these calculators. If your personal taste tends toward more expensive features and finishes, this is not reflected and must be added. The idea is to provide a useful tool for someone who wants a general idea of what their project might cost to build. The cost of kitchen cabinets, appliances and countertops is NOT part of these calculators. New or redone kitchen costs must be added. Land clearing, landscaping plantings and other site related work such as pools and retaining walls are NOT part of these calculators. Contractors will generally exclude the cost of lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, flooring, and painting. A contractor's initial estimated cost will likely be lower than what these calculators show for this reason. These basic items ARE factored into the calculators since it is assumed that complete and finished construction is the goal. You need to be aware of this. When dealing with contractors, it is not just "how much" but also, "what specifically does that cost include and NOT include". These calculators are not directly for renovations and alterations of existing spaces, finished basements, or new garage space. If your project is an addition to an existing home, the cost of altering and renovating existing spaces in the existing home is NOT part of these calculators. However, generally the altered / renovated space (and finished basement and new garage space) can be estimated at approximately 40% of what the calculator shows for the volume of the altered / renovated space. You should know this can sometimes be very inaccurate, professional advice is needed. As projects get larger, economy of scale factors in. A larger project will have a lower overall unit cost. The calculators are broken down into square foot ranges to account for this effect. Every project has a wide range of variables and not all variables can be factored into these simplified tools. You should NOT rely only on this information alone to make cost decisions. These calculators are provided to help people develop a general understanding of costs and are not meant to replace good professional advice. Remember, the proven way to get the most for your money is by Competitive Bidding. Contractors compete against eachother for the opportunity to construct your project. Generally, it is NOT in the best interest of the contractors to exactly define the work when bidding, since it allows you to directly compare prices BEFORE you select the contractor. You won't know the exact construction cost until you have completed the competitive bidding process. You cannot successfully complete the competitive bidding process without a detailed set of professionally prepared construction drawings. Click this link for more cost info. This page is a beta test page. Your comments and questions are welcome. Please send comments to comments@wjmarchitect.com. IMPORTANT NOTES: Volume cubic footage includes only new finished living space areas in your project. Attic volume cubic footage is not included unless it is finished heated living space. The appropriate calculator is selected based on the total floor area in square feet ( s f ) of all proposed new constructed finished living space. Kitchen cabinets, countertops, and appliances are NOT part of these calculators. These costs must be added if your project includes kitchen work. Normal, three fixture baths are part of basic construction. Master baths with patterned tile, jacuzzi's and other expensive fixtures and features need to be added separately to these calculators. These calculators are NOT directly for renovations and alterations of existing spaces, finished basements, or new garage space. --SEE 40% NOTE ABOVE-- If the square footage of your project is close to the upper or lower sf range of the calculator, averaging with the next closest calculator is recommended. These calculators are +/- only for preliminary guidance. You won't know the exact construction cost until you have completed the competitive bidding process. Scroll to the bottom of this page for an example of how to use the calculators. TERMS DEFINED: Square Feet ( sf ) __ Room length in feet X room width in feet = Square Feet Floor Area Volume cubic feet ( cf ) __ Room length in feet X room width in feet X room height in feet = Volume Cubic Feet Calculator #1 Construction cost calculator for additions and new construction floor areas from 200 to 500 square feet. Enter the volume in cubic feet, of your proposed new rooms: Click this button to calculate the basic construction cost Your estimated budget construction cost is $ plus or minus 25% Calculator #2 Construction cost calculator for additions and new construction floor areas from 500 to 1000 square feet. Enter the volume in cubic feet, of your proposed new rooms: Click this button to calculate the basic construction cost Your estimated budget construction cost is $ plus or minus 20% Calculator #3 Construction cost calculator for additions and new construction floor areas from 1000 to 2000 square feet. Enter the volume in cubic feet, of your proposed new rooms: Click this button to calculate the basic construction cost Your estimated budget construction cost is $ plus or minus 15% Calculator #4 Construction cost calculator for additions and new construction floor areas from 2000 to 5000 square feet. Enter the volume in cubic feet, of your proposed new rooms: Click this button to calculate the basic construction cost Your estimated budget construction cost is $ plus or minus 15% Calculator #5 Construction cost calculator for additions and new construction floor areas from 5000 to 10000 square feet. Enter the volume in cubic feet, of your proposed new rooms: Click this button to calculate the basic construction cost Your estimated budget construction cost is $ plus or minus 15% Hypothetical example of how to use these calculators: The example project is a new family room addition with a full bath, added to the rear of an existing home. An existing rear wall will connect the addition to the house, so the alteration to remove this wall and renovation of the 15 foot wide existing space adjacent is also proposed. The addition siding will match the existing vinyl house siding. The addition roofing will match the asphalt shingles of the existing house. Heating and air conditioning will be expanded and extended into the new space. Windows and exterior french glass doors will let in light and provide access into the rear yard from treated wood steps. The basic 3 fixture bath, tub shower, toilet, sink vanity will have basic tile floor and walls. The new room and adjacent space will have painted walls and ceiling, and basic red oak hardwood flooring. Basic recessed lights, electrical outlets, switches, cable tv wiring included. The proposed new addition is 25 feet by 25 feet with a new basement space under that will be unfinished. The ceiling height will be raised cathedral type and be higher than the existing house ceiling height of 8 feet. 25 times 25 = 625 sf. This is the sf of new finished living space. 10 times 625 sf = 6250 cubic feet. This is the volume cubic footage of the new finished living space with a sloping cathedral ceiling average height 10 feet. 25 times 15 = 375 sf. This is the sf of the 15 foot wide altered renovated existing living space adjacent to the addition. 8 times 375 sf = 3000 cubic feet. This is the volume cubic footage of the altered renovated existing living space. Select Calculator-----> 625 sf new finished living space. Select Calculator #2.( 500 to 1000 sf ) Enter 6250 into the proposed new rooms box. Click the Calculate button. Estimated budget construction cost is $131,250 plus or minus 20% Calculate altered renovated existing space at 40% of calculator value. Enter 3000 into calculator #2. Click the Calculate buttom. Take 40% of this value ( $63,000 X 0.4 =$25,200 ) and add it to $131,250. Estimated budget construction cost for this hypothetical example is $156,450 plus or minus 20%. This example project does not include renovation of the kitchen. The cost of kitchen cabinets, appliances and countertops is NOT part of these calculators. Kitchen costs must be added. Land clearing, landscaping plantings and other site related work such as pools and retaining walls are NOT part of these calculators. Every project has a wide range of variables and not all variables can be factored into these simplified tools. You should NOT rely only on this information alone to make cost decisions. These calculators are provided to help people develop a general understanding of costs and are not meant to replace good professional advice. Call WJM with questions regarding your specific project requirements. Footnotes: [1] New York City -- Manhattan add 30% to calculator figures, Brooklyn add 17% to calculator figures, Staten Island add 16% to calculator figures, Bronx add 15% to calculator figures, Queens add 15% to calculator figures. [2] 85th percentile -- This refers to a method of statistical analysis by which the extreme highs and lows of a data set are excluded leaving data that more accurately represents middle range. Copyright ©2010 William J. Martin, R.A., AIA, P.P., Architect--all rights reserved ® Click here to return to the Main WJM Page

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