Any Bob Vilas around?

[davestar]

I'm going to be getting some work done on my house and I'm trying to figure out how much damage is going to be done to my wallet. I have a ~100 year old house with original plaster walls/ceilings and original wood floor. Unfortunately the wood floor isn't salvagable. Anyway, here's what I want done in my living/dining room (12'x24' space):

Plaster stripped off the ceilings/walls (one 12' length of wall has the underlying brick exposed)
Floor pulled up, properly insulated, and new subflooring put down
Framing and drywall put up (aside from one of the 24' walls which will remain brick) -depending on the price, I may hang the drywall myself-

I'll be laying new hardwood flooring, installing moudling, etc. myself.

Has anyone had similar work done to his/her house or is anyone involved in construction who might be able to ballpark what I'll be paying? I'm going to start calling around this afternoon, but don't want to go into this totally blind. Thanks.

 

[jhayx7]

Just a note from my exp. hang the drywall yourself but pay someone to finish it. Also, have you checked under the house to see if there is any damage beneth the subfloor? Are you looking to replace the flooring with real hardwoods or composite? If you are going with composite, I would do it myself (very easy to install). You should be able to get some free quotes from contractors around the area. Good luck!

 

[blert]

I own a construction company. Based on the premise that this is a 3 bed, 2 bath 2000+ SF house it will cost around 5-10,000 per room depending on what you would be willing to do yourself. Get at least 3-4 bids, then choose who you feel will do the best job. Cheapest bid can be the most expensive (re-doing sh!tty work), and with the most expensive you may be tossing money out the door you could use elsewhere.
Good Luck!

 

[theknight571]

Originally posted by: jhayx7
Just a note from my exp. hang the drywall yourself but pay someone to finish it. Also, have you checked under the house to see if there is any damage beneth the subfloor? Are you looking to replace the flooring with real hardwoods or composite? If you are going with composite, I would do it myself (very easy to install). You should be able to get some free quotes from contractors around the area. Good luck!

I would agree... but make sure the drywall contractor will do this. I ran into several guys/companies that would only finish the drywall if they hung it themselves.

 

[Sphexi]

You're looking at a bit of cash there, nothing that can easily be ballparked without really looking at it though.

Since it's a 12x24' room, and most hardwood runs between $.99 to $4 per square foot, depending on if you want crappy laminate, or something nice like solid oak. Right there will probably run you $500+, plus the subfloor materials, and insulation, another $300 or so. Drywall is cheap, I dunno how high your ceilings are but I'm betting you'll need about 15 sheets of drywall, so you're looking around another $150 or so there, plus screws and all that jazz. All the extra stuff (moulding, redifiller, beading, etc.) will be pretty cheap, but it adds up in the end. Toss in another $100 for that just to be safe.

The big thing will be labor. Doing it yourself you'd spend the better part of a month doing it, in your spare time and on weekends. A pro would probably take two weeks or so, depends on how much of their time they dedicate to just your job. I'm betting you'd have to shell out $3k for the labor, plus the $1050 mentioned above for parts.

Once again, hard to ballpark since I"m not there, best have a buddy who knows check for you

 

[uberman]

Please let me recommend the following regarding wood flooring. Do not resurface with Pergo. I thought about this a lot. If I use Pergo or Pergo knock off it is a thin laminate on particleboard. Any water spills I end up with mush. So I redid a lot of my house with Mannington Gold Vinyl Flooring that looks exactly like hardwood flooring. My maid asked, "What do you use on the hardwood floors?" It's that convincing. I sold that house. My new one has Pergo. There was some water spillage; it has turned to mush. What a mess.

 

[Greenman]

Interesting replys. Everyone missed the the two critical points though.
Is there asbestos in the old plaster?
Were the walls ever painted with lead based paint?

Those two items could add many thousands to the cost of your project.

Other than that, without knowing where you live, and what labor rates are in your area, the best you're going to get is a WAG.

 

[davestar]

Originally posted by: jhayx7
Just a note from my exp. hang the drywall yourself but pay someone to finish it. Also, have you checked under the house to see if there is any damage beneth the subfloor? Are you looking to replace the flooring with real hardwoods or composite? If you are going with composite, I would do it myself (very easy to install). You should be able to get some free quotes from contractors around the area. Good luck!

I did two bathrooms and a hallway by myself previous to this room, so I know exactly what you mean when you say that it's worth bringing in someone to finish the drywall. what a pain in the a$$!

I've been in the crawspace underneath this room. the floor joists under the "living room" area have been replaced at some point and the joists under the "dining room" are original and in good shape. I'd like to have hassle of the subflooring out of my hands, but I definitely intend to lay the hardwood myself. Not sure exactly what I'll be laying, but my father has plenty of experience in this area.

If I can get the demolition, subflooring, and drywall for $3,000-$4,000 I think I'd be happy.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

For a project like this I would start with an estimate or two. An experienced contractor will be able to help you not only estimate the costs, but also identify where you could maximize the benefits (e.g., move this little wall, add a few new outlets, ect...).

You're going to be spending some coin.

 

[davestar]

Originally posted by: Greenman
Interesting replys. Everyone missed the the two critical points though.
Is there asbestos in the old plaster?
Were the walls ever painted with lead based paint?

Those two items could add many thousands to the cost of your project.

Other than that, without knowing where you live, and what labor rates are in your area, the best you're going to get is a WAG.

Fortunately I'm in the clear with regards to asbestos and lead paint. My house in in Baltimore.

 

[uberman]

I had some beautiful sheets of asbestos, I mourn their loss over the years. They were great for sweating copper pipe etc., or anywhere you use a torch, as heat shields.