Gut renovation costs

$150 to 200 per sq ft
if you get it done professionally and do not go crazy with appliances etc

Manhattan? Apartment building? Estimates will range from $150-300+/sqft depending upon level of finishes and materials. A door can cost $29 at Home Depot or $250 at Dykes for custom panel MDF or $500+ for solid wood. Figure for mid-level:
$20,000 per bathroom
$30,000 kitchen
$25,000 architect (including job oversight), expeditor, filing fees, coop/condo engineer approval
Then ask, do you need a lot of electrical work? Type of floors you foresee? When you say move walls what do you mean? Most buildings won't let you touch footprint of bathrooms and kitchen, btw. Is there much plumbing? Are you replacing tubs/showers? Do windows need to be replaced? Do existing walls require skim coating? These types of things impact price a great deal

There are also several threads on this topic if you look in the renovations category on here.

Hell, all new FLOORING ALONE can range from $15/sf to $100+/sf.

30yrs: I hear you, but someone going with prefinished boards in place with an existing decent subfloor can get away with much less than $15/sqft. You and I might not choose that material/quality, but many do. Going with laminate will be even less. Personally, I dislike the micro-bevel edges of prefinished boards because they collect dirt and just aren't as nice as true hardwood finished on sight to me. But then again, I also had to have Samuel Heath doorknobs that were about 10x the cost of a Home Depot Baldwin. To each his own. Tastes and price points vary a lot.

See, this is the problem when people use the term "gut renovate". How do you "gut renovate, but leave things like old subflooring, etc., while changing rooms around (did they have subflooring under the old walls?).

I'm not disagreeing at all with you kyle, the micro numbers for how much flooring costs were less the point than the same one's you made supra about the cost of EVERYTHING can vary by more than 1000%.

The more knowledge you have about costs, the better you can estimate. I find I'm pretty good at it. 15 yrs with an interior designer who did gut jobs from the Pierre and Sherry Netherlands to CPW grande dame buildings to more modest jobs. That plus RE and architecture being like a hobby (can't help it--find it fascinating). Without that experience I'd have been at a great disadvantage estimating costs of my own recent reno since the architect didn't want to offer guesses before the job was bid, and the contractors couldn't really be trusted not to lowball the numbers in an informal conversation.

I think, if one doesn't have the personal knowledge, bringing someone along for a look-see who has experience is a good idea. Preferably someone who was recently very involved in their own reno at the same quality that you are seeking.

i would also advise in getting prices for the labor alone. find your own fixtures/kitchen cabinets/tiles/flooring so that you know that will be a fixed cost.

"The more knowledge you have about costs, the better you can estimate."

I agree, but for the vast majority of people, they are looking for a +/- 10% number, but only able to actually guess a +/- 100% number.

I find this all very confusing. As a badminton player I thought this meant getting my racket restrung

$150.00 a sq.ft. is considered low-end (inc. all tiles fixtures, etc). Most of my clients projects are low high-end, which is very nice and they typically spend close to $250.00 sq. ft.

Also you should purchase all the fixtures, tiles, flooring, etc but ask your contractor if they would pass on their discounts to you.

I send my clients to Nemo tile, AF plumbing supply and Simons Hardware and I save them around 30% on all the items they need.

Hi, I guess I am like the 100th person to ask...but here goes. I'd like to knock out an existing galley kitchen to create an open floor plan. Put in a nice kitchen (very modest cabinets with higher end appliances) and re-do 2 bathrooms--replacing floor and wall tiles and new toilets, vanities, one bath tub and one stall shower (existing). Is it possible to complete this with all-in (fees, etc) for $100-$110k?

josie25: Alot depends on material you choose and what types of ancillary work is needed. You don't mention is you will have electrical, plumbing work, patching and refinishing of floors, mouldings, type of building or location (boro).

That said, I think what you contemplate is possible at the price you suggest. There are a lot of "ifs" in this, though.

Aim 20% lower than your max. Chop the project up into phases based on your priorities and set intermediate milestones with your contractor.

Given that you are somewhat constrained by cost I would start with the big ticket item (wall/kitchen) and see that it is done right, on budget and on schedule. If discoveries are made that will add to cost during this phase then you can chose to drop one of the lower priority items. Above all don't sacrifice quality for the sake of cost. Its better to have three things done right than four sub standard. Realize that it's more likely than not for the initial estimate to be best case. You may chose (read: likely) to adjust design and scope once things get underway, just be disciplined about it and realize there could be a time and cost element to anything you may want to change mid stream.

You'll be a lot less stressed knowing that you have that 20% buffer when the phone call comes that says: "Houston we have a problem."

Why is Streeteasy even keeping up threads like this? All the numbers are eight years old and completely out of date

I think these are very informative threads. One can easily adjust for inflation and arrive at a ball-park. Many new buyers have these questions and can use these discussions as a starting point.

I agree with Mercer. It's very helpful to be able to search a topic and see all posts, including the ancient ones.

What someone pays for a renovation is completely up to them but most of the renovations I have seen do not appear to be "accretive". I have personally renovated apartments to exactly what I wanted - a mix of old and new - with the highest-end appliances and fixtures as well as a few frivolous things but never spent anywhere near $300 psf. The reason was that I was cost-effective, acted as my own GC and was only willing to spend money that I knew I would get back when I sold. I have cringed at times when I have seen the palaces that some people have built for themselves with little to no consideration of what the next owner might want. That's one of the reasons why so many apts. are listed at aspirational prices.

What's that expression "one man's home is another man's castle"? Might as well turn that around and say "one man's castle is another man's home renovation project."

Ximon, You have a good point. If an apartment is livable and you renovate it, you are unlikely to get your money back. However, if the apartment has not been renovated for 40-50 years, in NYC you will get your money back and some if you do not over-personalize it. If you happen to use $100-150 per sq ft calacatta slab marble in a postwar 60s building in a good area, you are not getting paid back for the slab marble. However, if you are using $25 per sq ft 12x24 calacatta marble tiles, you will certainly get paid if the design is nice. That is why cost effective renovation is an art. Not all architects are good at it. A few times, I have renovated, I have provided heavy input and direction to the architect about which materials to use and what space optimization I would like. What matters the most in my opinion is how every thing fits together - from paint color to moldings to door way to flooring to kitchen cabinets. You need a good architect with excellent interior design capability.

Even small changes can add value well above the actual cost. If permitted, adding a washer-dyer is a no-brainer with a 2-3x payback. Same with open space layouts. If you are going to renovate anyway, why not spend a little more to open a few walls to expand a kitchen or bath or create an open scheme?

Not only could you get a higher price but also reduce the market time as many buyers don't want the headache of doing a renovation. No reason to alienate half the market because of the unit's condition or layout. It all comes down to doing what is in the best interest of the apartment, not just the owner.

Depending on how high quality you'd want to go, I'd guess from experience anywhere from $100k to $200k.

Does the $150-200ppsf estimate vary depending on the layout? What if we are talking about an oversized 1br that has an extra bath? Surely that's going to be more expensive to renovate than another apartment that's the same time which only has one bath?

At what point do you start 'negotiating' with a contractor?

Huge variation. Are you moving the walls or changing the location of bathroom fixtures? If everything mostly stays where it is, you are not using a designer German/Italian kitchen, limited custom woodwork, and there is no central air ac to be added, $150-$200K is very doable for say 1000 sq ft 1 bed room with 2 bathrooms.

You could also spend that much just on new flooring.