How much did you pay?

Hello Goodlife,

Having done many 2 bedroom 2 bathroom renovations i can tell you that it usually costs my clients (this is with materials included) anywhere from 300k-400k, that is for what I call med-highend. I do think alot of people would call it highend.

We have also done projects where the person might be a 1st time homebuyer and they are on a budget where the project costs 150-200k

The finishes are what seperates it mostly

To get an example of what I am talking about you can see photos of these projects on my website. www.primerenovationsnyc.com

Primer is low

We just did our 2 bed 2 bath complete gut renovation, with medium to high end( granite kitchen floors and countertops, stainless steel appliances, marble for both bathrooms ) for under 150k. It can be done especially if you have time to shop around and know your prices for supplies and materials. Then you are armed with confidence to tell the contractors you know what you are talking about.

Not to hijack this thread. Primer, What your rough cost estimate for mid-high end gut renovation for 2000 sq ft loft with moving the kithen (no special architectural features). Do you include architect"s fee? Full project management. Thanks.

Helpful thanks. I think 150k Is about what I'll shoot for. We'll try to keep the finishes very basic in the bathrooms and spend a liitle more in the kitchen.

Thank you Ljstahl, I will raise my prices then, great news

Hi 300 Mercer,

2,000 sq ft will cost you around 400k-450k that would include architectural. Each project is different, there are projects that are 1200 sq ft. that cost 700k.

I just finished a full loft renovation 1850/1900 Sqf, skimcoat of walls, entire solid wood floors, new kitchen (granite/stainless), 2 full marble baths, 3bedrooms for $127K in 3 months.
lots of deals to be found on prices.
I was quoted 250K by some before the work . my budget was 100K. It can be done

Nice, out of curiosity, What kind of kitchen cabinets? Custom? All licensed, plumber? Electrician? It just does not seem possible for a med-highend job. Was this in Manhattan? The products you bought should have been in the neighborhood of 50k right?

nicercatch, would love to get the contact info your contractor. Thanks.

marble tiles and granite 8K, kitchen appliances 4,5K bathroom fwcts/shower Grosohe (spelling?)10K
double sink/cabinet piece Villeroy Bosh from gracious home 1K (original price 5K), door handles from Gracious home 12 of them bought 20/piece (original 180/piece)wood solid oakselect plank $3/sqf.
Kitchen cabinets Ikea (they look great)cheap price.lighting Gracious home 2K? locks 1K.
I wouldn't say high end, but certainly good medium (it's a loft, not a hotel. this is a second home for me). it's in Chelsea.
Gracious home was closing: lots of good prices.my friend was acting contractor.

how long should a project like that take for a 2-3b between 1400-1700 sf? ie new floors, new kitchen, 2 possibly 3 bathrooms, wiring for sound throughout apt, etc? will contractors agree to a penalty if job is not completed by certain time?

Bmf,

Without knowing all the details I would guess that project should take aboout 5-6 months but impossible to say without knowing all the details. Each item can make a job longer or shorter, it could depend on so many variables. a penalty is very dangerous as you might hire a contractor that in fear of the penalty has his guys rush, he might finish on time but what kind of quality are you going to get.

Bmf, are the walls sheetrock or plaster? Sheetrock will take a lot of time off a project?

Nicer,

I do not mean any disrespect but that doesnt sound like med- high-end. When you say your friend was the contractor, is he or she a contractor?

I have done several med end apartments that used IKEA and I was presently surprised, they really do look good.

thanks primer, walls are plaster, not sheetrock, most of the work is cosmetic, nothing major structural, apt needs new kitchen, 3 new baths(enlarging one, but ot switching around the plumbling), new floors, closing up a door and making a new one(shetrock)

Bmf,

If you live in a building please make sure your building allows wet over dry. in many buildings they will not let you expand the bathroom or kitchen for fear that if you have a leak and your bathroom is over someones bedroom there will be problems.

As far as timing it really depends on the finishes. Level 5 skim coating takes longer then level 3, install tiles with borders or other patterns will take longer as well

primer: lol. I have seen the renovations. they don't sound great: they ARE.
Believe me I saw them.
The point of the post really is :there is no need to spend 400K when yoou don't have to. Save 100K/200K which means 200/400k in pretax money which is substantial for middle class folks.Do your homeowork and do not for a minute go in for the outrageous quotes which will only go up as the work progresses. I am not even mentioning the usual trickery of not showing up for work/blackmailing for more money/occult commissions on materials/bills, mutiple projects at the same time, etc...
That's all. renovators beware. It can be done.

Now I am a little confused, Not showing up for work, blackmailing? usual trickery? Perhaps you never hired the right people. What appliances were only 4k?

You say you hired a friend as the contractor, was he a licensed contractor, did he use licensed plumbers and electricians?

Nicer, I do agree that there are places to save money but if you need an architect and are doing the right project saving as you say 100k isnt not that easy.

If a person in the middle class buys a 2,000 sq ft apt, i am not sure if they would be considered middle class, not in Manhattan, and there renovation costs would be at least 400k minium unless the purchased low end products and had a low end contractor

GE profile, 50%off. more than enough as I only eat out.
I was describing the antics of contractors to gauge their clients. I didn't suffer any of that.
Less than 1Mil/year is middle class.

I will leave now as this is getting frustrating. For renovators: do not believe what you are quoted. Do not get taken for a ride.Do your homework, find bargains/discounts and save. it's fun.(and the results are lovely:I love my NYC loft)

50% off appliances? Dare I say impossible. There is absolutly no way that happened unless it was a floor model and dented and scratched.

Of course everyone should be careful who they hire, check references, check the BBB, go see the contractors work. All those things are very important

hey Primer,

I usually enjoy your postings (you seem to be to GCs what ali is to RE agents), but I hope you're not suggesting that someone who can afford a $2mm (pick a number) can therefore pay X (what I have heard some call paying the Park Ave premium -- or Scarsdale, or Greenwich or wherever). There are contractors out there who do charge such a premium just because they figure it's what that that mkt will bear.

The original post was looking for figures. Nicercatch came up with 127k for a 1900sq ft apartment, which will represent the low end of the price range, and it's great that he got a nice reno for that money. Good job. I am looking to spend about 150k on a 1200 sq ft 2bed/2bath gut reno, which judging by this post and the several contractors I've spoken to, can be done nicely. I can easily spend 200-250k on it, but will make necessary choices to get down to 150k.

Primer, do you have an in-house designer

TGL,

we did similar work on a slightly smaller 2/2 (1100 sq ft) 4 yrs ago, and all in cost was $153,000, so it can certainly be done - I would think that prices are somewhat lower now. We hired an architect to draw/submit plans and permit work on a flat fee basis, sourced all of the appliances/fixtures/finishes ourselves, had the kitchen cabinetry and built-ins made by the contractor's cabinetmaker in LIC, and used his source for the countertops. I preferred to use his cabinetmaker b/c the price and quality were pretty good, and especially in a pre-war place where there is lots of uneveness, I didn't want to get in a he said/she said if everything didn't fit right. It did take a couple of re-do's on pieces here or there to get it right, but it was all handled w/out my needing to get too involved.

Kiss,

Not at all. The only time I have to charge more money in one building or another is due to the building rules. Some will let me put down construction paper in the hallways while others I must put down masonite every morning, it does take longer so I will charge a little more for that. Another example is a project I did at an apartment where we had to take 3 seperate elevators to get to the apartment. Thats 1 hour a day every day waiting for the elevators, as they say time is money

Kiz,

We do have an in-house designer.