Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 10 votes
Hi folks,
I would like to get a rough idea of how much would it cost to renovate an apartment in a triple in decker dorchester excluding electrical and plumbing. We talking new kitchen, bathroom, hardwood floors and drywalls.
Realtor · Portland, ME · Member since 2015 · 656 posts · 552 votes
8y
You will only be required to install fire alarm and sprinkler system where the work area exceeds 50% of the building area. That is Massachusetts State Building Code from the Existing Building Code.
It really depends on the square footage of the apartment but I would say $80k-$100k most likely will cover it. But there are a lot of variables to really get you an exact number.
Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 10 votes
8y
Hi @Enis Shehu,
Thanks for taking the time to give an input. I feel like that $80k is a bit on a high end renovation or i maybe underestimating the costs.
If i want to break it down, it is a 3 bedrooms, 1bath, 1000sqft, i thought something like this(considering mid range materials not the most expensive, not the cheapest):
5~6k for bathroom?
10~15k for Kitchen?
8~10k HardwoodFloors?
6~8K dry walls?
~4k overhead?
Total maybe around 33~ 43k to finish? Honestly, I'm using rough numbers, i may need to do more math to come up with a much concise estimate.
Real Estate Agent · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 65 posts · 32 votes
8y
Condos generally have nicer finishes and one is more inclined to do more work (even a gut reno!) if they are flipping it vs. just collecting rents. Also depends on the tenants you are trying to attract. Some landlords do just enough to meet code requirement for a section 8 inspection and some will make it as nice as a condo to attract high-end market tenants.
Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 10 votes
8y
@Camilo Rey it will be nice but honestly, the biggest driver of cost is mostly the labor. it the greater Boston with the value of properties increasing and holding value as well as rent, the cost can be very high.
You can start by knowing the cost of your material. Time estimates and then dicuss the labor. Get as many quotes as you can. if possible have a written contract.
Realtor · Portland, ME · Member since 2015 · 656 posts · 552 votes
8y
You will only be required to install fire alarm and sprinkler system where the work area exceeds 50% of the building area. That is Massachusetts State Building Code from the Existing Building Code.
Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 10 votes
8y
@Maureen F. we are not replacing all the dry walls, we will go over some of them with new dry walls since we don't want to disrupt the existing walls. It will make it look nicer.
@Dan Weber I'm well aware of this code and since this is just one apartment (not everything is touched), then that is approximately 33% of the building which is less than 50% but will make sure we don't get caught up with that right now.
Milton, MA · Member since 2016 · 88 posts · 27 votes
8y
@taoufik K., Will the new drywall extend to the floor, or just to the top of baseboard? If the latter the baseboard won't look right. (Same issue with door and window trim). Or tear out the baseboard and re-use? Or new baseboard? If the old are good quality could be hard to find comparable. On the other hand if they might be lead-painted replacement could be cost effective.
Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 10 votes
8y
@Maureen F. Your point if very good and I couldn't agree more with you...
it will extend to the floor/ceiling. most likely replacing the baseboard. They are old good quality good (i'm preserving them for re-purposing them at some point, time-consuming to refinish them now). However, for now, I will go with new baseboard.
Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 2 votes
8y
I find this to be helpful because it collects data from different parts of the country. My fiance is a tradesman & when he started out, I used it to find out what he should charge for labor etc. It tends to be on the high side for our area, so check with a local contractor, but it's a good place to start
Real Estate Investor · Peabody, MA · Member since 2013 · 304 posts · 91 votes
8y
If you're not doing major electrical and plumbing I say no more than 30k.
Is this for rental or condo?
Does it have hardwood floors? They can be refinished for about $1000
If rental this would be my strategy,
Skim existing plaster walls, remove trim and drywall over any fake 70s walls. If drop ceilings just get the nice patterned drop tiles.
Bathroom, if not hideous 70s colors just regrout and put nice vanity
Kitchen, paint cabinets, butcher block top, new handles
This list is mostly what I do for rentals and I usually spend well under 10k and they look great. I do my own work though.
Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 398 posts · 147 votes
8y
80k does sound high, but not that unreasonably high to me. Labor around Boston is far more than out in Lowell or Worcester or other places farther away. My experience is that renovations always cost more than you would expect!
Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2012 · 257 posts · 139 votes
8y
In my experience electrical could end up being involved. Recently renovated a unit and all of the wiring needed to be updated to meet code. The housing stock is old so expect newer wires pigtailed off of knob and tube.
Real Estate Broker · Worcester, MA · Member since 2015 · 84 posts · 38 votes
8y
@Taoufik K. I normally spend 8-12k to renovate a unit in worcester or chelsea, but I have good systems in place, I wouldn't imagine it could cost any more than 20k to do one, if you spend more than that you are making mistakes somewhere. I recommend you sub everything and get multiple quotes, for example have 3 or 4 floor guys come give you a quote, have 3-4 guys quote out the kitchen cabinet work. Try to sub every part of the work, like have painters quote the patch and paint jobs for your walls. Another big thing that helps is to source the materials yourself, I like grossmans for cabinets and get most other items at home depot. When you go to home depot go to the pro desk, get a pro account and try to order as much stock as you can so that your order is as high as possible, they will then run it through what they call the "bid room" and it will save you some money. To go even further you could take that quote and play lowes vs. home depot and go back and forth until they can't go any lower, but I usually don't spend that much time on picking up stock for a job anymore. Hope this helps, it takes a lot more time but you will save a ton of money.
@Taoufik K. I normally spend 8-12k to renovate a unit in worcester or chelsea, but I have good systems in place, I wouldn't imagine it could cost any more than 20k to do one, if you spend more than that you are making mistakes somewhere. I recommend you sub everything and get multiple quotes, for example have 3 or 4 floor guys come give you a quote, have 3-4 guys quote out the kitchen cabinet work. Try to sub every part of the work, like have painters quote the patch and paint jobs for your walls. Another big thing that helps is to source the materials yourself, I like grossmans for cabinets and get most other items at home depot. When you go to home depot go to the pro desk, get a pro account and try to order as much stock as you can so that your order is as high as possible, they will then run it through what they call the "bid room" and it will save you some money. To go even further you could take that quote and play lowes vs. home depot and go back and forth until they can't go any lower, but I usually don't spend that much time on picking up stock for a job anymore. Hope this helps, it takes a lot more time but you will save a ton of money.
@Mike Duran, this is great feedback. Who then acts as the GC (project manager) for the remodel? If permits are required, do each of the subs need to pull them as required?
Boston, MA · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 10 votes
8y
@Mike Duran thank you for the input, it is indeed very helpful and I'm thinking about this technique now. However, how do arrange what goes first? how about when you need to knock (none-load-bearing-wall) a wall? do you just have a GC does?
Also, do you find Grossmans cheaper than HomeDepot or Lowes? Anywhere you were able to get cheap decent Kitchen Cabinets?
you mentioned 20K or less. does that include appliances?