If you’re thinking of starting a remodeling or building project, one of your worries might be how to control costs. This is without a doubt people’s biggest fear. Ask anyone who has built a house or remodeled one and you’ll probably hear scary stories about cost overruns and unexpected expenses. And they’ll tell you that you’re in for the same fate. But you could prove them wrong if you do two important things.

Cost overruns come in two forms. One type is due to insufficient planning before the project begins. Often people view hiring an architect or house designer as a luxury. But a good architect can help you define the project on paper before you sign a contract for construction. With many things undefined, there are ample opportunities for unexpected added costs to come up. Make you materials, finishes, and fixture selections early on so you don’t get unpleasant surprises later. Think through the entire project and try to anticipate as much as possible. Make sure your drawings and specifications describe the work to be done so there is little ambiguity. Unclear construction documents will open the door for extra charges from your builder. An experienced design professional can help you with this. It’s not just their skill you are buying when you hire them. You are also buying their experience.

The second type of cost overrun is actually more common and is self-inflicted. (more…)

These days, with lower real estate values and the economic uncertainties, reinventing your house may make more financial sense than building a new one. I hate to admit that. Being an architect, I love building new houses. But I understand that selling a house these days can be tough. Real estate commissions, fixing up your old house to get it into condition to sell, and the costs of moving can add up fast. But what if your family situation has changes?  What if your children have grown and left home and you need a house to retire comfortably in that is easier to take care of and will remain accessible even if you should lose mobility? What if your  bathroom is outdated or simply old and you want a new look? (more…)

It’s the holiday season and that means your house must adapt to accommodate a different number of occupants than normal. When design your new house or design your remodeling project, consider making your house flexible by thinking through how your house will live during the holidays.

I know that in our house, with four adult children and their family and friends visiting, we often have a packed house. We wanted a house that was not too big, but would be able to adapt to different needs. We wanted a house that was flexible. (more…)

 Joyce L. asked:

Thank you for the wonderful site! I am about to “redo” my kitchen. We will be installing light coloured tiles in the kitchen and have new oak floors in the rest of the house. The cabinets are of course the original goldish coloured, raised panel oak cabinets from the 80′s. The problem is that the finish on some of the cabinets almost looks new while other cabinet doors, especially those around the sink and stove area, are in dire need of refinishing. I’m afraid that if I try to refinish some of the cabinets they will not match the existing 30 year old wood/stain of the others. And refinishing all of the cabinets seems like too daunting a task. I’m almost afraid to ask this question but…I have heard that a grain filler can be applied to all the cabinets and then they could be …primed and painted (maybe white, I’m thinking country blue). There seems to be alot of controversy over painting wood, especially oak due to the pores. I would appreciate your advice.  (more…)

A number of the houses I have designed have included home gyms. There are a number of considerations to keep in mind when designing a home gym.

First and foremost would be sound. I think it’s best to place the home gym on the lowest floor of the house to reduce the noise transmission from the exercise equipment. If this room can have a concrete slab floor, as you might have in a basement space, that would be best of all. Treadmills, stationary bikes, and other exercise equipment such as that produce droning vibrations that can be transmitted through a wood framed floor/ceiling assembly. (more…)

I received a note from someone the other day asking how much it would cost to add a room to an existing house. She was interested in the “cost per square foot” for budgeting and planning purposes. She also asked what the best options might be. Figuring the cost of building a new house based on a cost per square foot is a tough thing to do because there are so many variables. Additions are even tougher to estimate. You could spend anywhere from $100 per foot to over $1000 per foot. It all depends on the complexity of the addition, the way it is built, the level of the appointments (finishes, fixtures, etc.), the construction materials used, and the location in which it is built.

Can you compare an addition of a simple room with no plumbing or special features with the cost of a kitchen addition full of cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures, and appliances? The kitchen addition could cost twice what the simple addition would cost based on the “cost per square foot.” What if an addition was to be built on flat land, clad in vinyl siding, and contained only a couple of simple windows. It would be much less expensive than an addition built on sloping land, clad in fieldstone, full of high-end windows, and included a soaring ceiling. Comparing the cost of these two projects would be like comparing apples and oranges. (more…)