Skip to main content
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
RECOMMENDED IN RENT
Moving to NYC after college? Here's how to find a rental apartment
RECOMMENDED IN BUY
How buying real estate in NYC is unlike anywhere else
RECOMMENDED IN SELL
A guide to using a no-fee renovation loan from a NYC real estate firm
RECOMMENDED IN IMPROVE
How to make your NYC renovation more pet-friendly
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE!
National Association of Real Estate Editors
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE! National Association of Real Estate Editors
Brick Underground
Social Links
follow:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flipboard
  • search
Brick Underground
☰ Brick Underground
Brick Underground
Brick Underground
☰
Brick Underground
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
    A rendering of the roofdeck at 55 Broad Street.
    Rent
    Housing lottery launches for 143 apartments in the Financial District
    Aerial panoramic view of Red Hook, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
    Sales Market
    24 NYC neighborhoods where median prices more than doubled in the past decade
    431 West 54th Street is a co-op building that allows subletting.
    Investing
    Want to buy an investment apartment to rent out? Here's what you need to know
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
    Young woman using laptop at new apartment, with moving boxes around.
    Roommates + Landlords
    Didn't get your security deposit returned in NYC? A new chatbot can help
    A rendering of the six-story building in Park Slope.
    Affordable Housing
    Housing lottery launches for 45 rent-stabilized units in Park Slope
    Laura and her dog Jack
    Rent
    Why I moved to NYC from Brazil: I relocated for work and reunited with friends I made 15 years ago
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
    Aerial view of downtown Brooklyn
    Sell
    Median sales price in Brooklyn climbs to $995,000 in the second quarter
    Downtown New York City
    Sell
    Manhattan deals rose to highest level in nearly two years, defying national trends
    new condo building and older co-op buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
    Sell
    Brooklyn median price nears $1 million but the spring market is a question mark
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    Distressed woman sitting in her apartment
    Troubleshooting
    Ask Altagracia: My live-in partner is abusive. How can I get out of my lease?
    Sponsored By Outerbridge Law P.C.
    NYC apartment buildings with fire escapes
    Neighborhood Intel
    Can you sit on a fire escape in NYC? 5 things to know
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
    mini splits apartments new york city
    Products + Services
    Yes, you can install central AC in your co-op or condo unit. Here's how
    image
    Products + Services
    Take back your deck! How to win the war with mosquitoes and enjoy outdoor living again
    NYC apartment building with AC units
    Products + Services
    My neighbor's dripping AC is driving me crazy. What can I do?
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
    Burned and Boarded Up Windows
    When should your board hire a public adjuster?
    Manhattan GM
    What should we consider when renewing insurance for our building?
    Facade of NYC buildings
    How much is insurance on a NYC co-op or condo building?
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    Distressed woman sitting in her apartment
    Troubleshooting
    Ask Altagracia: My live-in partner is abusive. How can I get out of my lease?
    Sponsored By Outerbridge Law P.C.
    Building facades in New York in winter
    Roommates + Landlords
    Ask Altagracia: I withheld rent due to inadequate heat and I'm being hassled to pay it back. What should I do?
    Sponsored By Outerbridge Law P.C.
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
  • About Us
The subscription service is currently unavailable. Please check again later.
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
New Main menu
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
  • About Us
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER →
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
The Winning Bid [ SPONSORED ]

Here’s how much it costs to renovate and expand a house in Hudson Valley, N.Y.

By Bolster  | January 4, 2017 - 9:59AM
Bolster suburban renovation
SHARE:
Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Print
More...

For obvious reasons, most New York City renovations involve reconfiguring existing space rather than expanding an apartment or brownstone’s footprint.  Which is why even experienced urban renovators may be unsure about what’s involved in a major expansion of a weekend or suburban home outside the city--or how much it should cost.

“Higher-end towns around the city suffer what’s known as ‘driveway pricing,’ in which local contractors typically quote higher prices to owners who appear affluent,” says Fraser Patterson, founder of Bolster, a New York City company that has designed a transparent and enjoyable process for area homeowners doing major renovations. “Our process makes it impossible for our general contractors to inflate their pricing.”

That’s why one couple in Garrison, N.Y.--a scenic town on the Hudson River 50 miles north of the city—recently sought Bolster’s help to find a contractor to build a new wing onto the three-bedroom, two-bath, 4,000-square foot home they share with their three children.  Besides adding about 1,000 square feet to the house, they’re also making extensive updates to the property’s exterior as well as some upgrades to the interior, including a bathroom renovation, new millwork, new doors and windows, an HVAC system, and new lighting.

image
Caption

The Georgian exterior of this Garrison, N.Y. colonial will get a Northeastern makeover, including Nantucket-style cedar shingled roofing and siding, and copper accented windows.

Before contacting Bolster, the pair already had plans in hand from an architect who had created a beautiful design—but unfortunately, it was also almost twice their initial budget of $600,000. The couple then worked with a Bolster architect and contractor to revise the project and bring the price down.

“They made the decision to expand the footprint of the house and get the things they really want, while keeping options open to upgrade further over time,” explains Bolster co-founder Anna Karp.

Bolster contractor Isidore Castiglia ultimately supplied the winning bid at $765,063. (Click here to view the bid in detail.)

The renovation will begin in late February, once the worst of the winter weather is over, and take about six months to complete. Fortunately for the homeowners, they’re able to remain in the house for the duration of the project, as the house’s size means they can easily remain out of the way of construction.

Read on to find out how they prioritized their wish list for the renovation, and what it will cost to expand and upgrade their home.

Creating infrastructure to expand the home (and make it easy to build upon later)

The most significant aspect of this renovation is the construction of a larger garage, with a new master suite—including a bedroom, bathroom, office, dressing area, and laundry room—situated above it. Because the initial project plans contemplated a renovation well beyond the homeowners’ $600,000 budget, the clients first met with Bolster architect Agustin Ayuso to brainstorm ways of expanding their home at a more affordable cost.

“Agustin presented alternatives with a fresh set of eyes, to help them maximize their space,” Karp says. For instance, one of the homeowners is an avid car collector, and wanted to install a car elevator in the new garage in order to store cars on two levels. To save money, the Bolster team will build the necessary infrastructure for an elevator so that the project can be easily updated at a later date.

This is the approach for the renovation as a whole: construction will focus on creating infrastructure that will make it simple for the homeowners to make further upgrades in the future. As for what will be added to the home now, the first step in creating the expansion is the demolition of the existing garage ($15,000). Creating a garage and master suite from the ground up then requires excavation to build the foundation for the new wing ($6,000), concrete footings for the foundation ($6,000), and poured concrete walls ($8,000). Framing—that is, the skeleton of the addition to the home—is a big-ticket item, costing $35,000.

Another major project for the home’s infrastructure is installing the electrical ($41,000), plumbing ($35,000), and HVAC ($15,600) and tying them in to the home’s existing systems. This work is crucial to do now, Karp says: “It would be disruptive later on, because it means opening walls and would require the homeowners to close sections of house.”

image
Caption

Luckily, the home is large enough that the owners can live here while renovations are underway. 

When the project is complete, there will be total continuity between both sections of the home. “The connection [between the two wings] is made with and at the garage, which is brought forward, allowing for a transition which really is not noticeable,” Castiglia says.

Opting for understatement on the exteriors  

Creating a seamless transition between the old and new sections of the home entails making changes to its entire exterior. As of now, the outside of the house is eye-catching, with ornate details like Greek columns at the front, but the homeowners want a façade that’s a bit subtler. As Castiglia explains, “We’re going to get it to look more like a Northeastern home instead of a Georgian colonial.”

This involves a new roof made with Nantucket-style roofing and siding, with cedar shingles  ($47,000), and copper standing seams around the windows ($15,500). Karp notes that copper is usually a high end option for roofing, but it’s a great value at the moment, bringing the project bid closer to the homeowner’s original budget. Along with the shingles, new gutters must be installed ($4,000). Further changes to the home’s exterior include new siding ($32,500) and stone veneers ($45,000), making an elegant, but not grandiose, first impression upon visitors.

You Might Also Like

image
Improve Here’s how much it costs to renovate a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath postwar co-op on the Upper East Side
image
Improve Here’s how much it costs to renovate the parlor floor of a brownstone in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
image
Improve Here's how much it costs to renovate a Tribeca rooftop

A cupola ($4,221) will be incorporated into the exterior of the new wing, to bring more light into the master suite area; the front door will be framed by a portico ($16,885), creating a more striking entrance to the revamped house.

Making budget-minded decisions about interior details

The initial design for the interiors of the new wing featured extensive custom work, including bespoke cabinetry and light fixtures. Ayuso helped the homeowners determine what they wanted to keep, and what could be re-envisioned to lower the project budget. Now, instead of custom cabinetry, tiles, and bathroom vanities, the homeowners will use off-the-shelf products, which helps to lower costs.

“The owners wanted a big price reduction, and our suggestion was to reduce by diminishing the most expensive materials,” Ayuso says.

However, Karp adds that it wasn’t worth it to jettison all the expensive details the homeowners had initially chosen, as changing some of the fixtures and fittings would incur more design costs.

Ayuso agrees. If you find yourself with a renovation budget that goes well beyond what you expected, “leave the things that required a lot of design input, or you’ll end up spending more redesigning,” he says. “Cut things you could easily do later.” In this case, the homeowners decided to wait on the car elevator as well as a back patio.

The Bolster team was able to lower costs on features of the new wing’s interior like decorative trim ($35,000) and bathroom tile ($17,000), by opting for high quality, but less bespoke materials. The master suite, for instance, will feature decorative white oak beams throughout, a better value than the reclaimed material included in the original design. The installation of wood flooring in the suite will cost $26,000, and painting the new wing of the home will run $15,500.

Elsewhere, Ayuso says, “We diminished the scope of work on finished woodwork.” Custom closets and millwork were slashed from the budget, to be upgraded over time.

“They’ll have the closets, doors, and flooring done, but fancy shelving, sock drawers, and tie racks can be easily assembled in the shop later and put into place over a couple days,” he explains.


Every year, New Yorkers waste over $700M following the usual renovation process. Bolster is different, using a scientific approach to match you with the highest-quality professionals and financially guarantee your project is delivered beautifully for a fair price - all at no extra cost.

To start your major home renovation project, visit bolster.us 

More from Bolster:

More articles in The Winning Bid series

Here's how much it costs to renovate a rooftop terrace in New York City

Why are high-end bathrooms so low-tech? 

Here's how long it takes to gut renovate a three-bedroom apartment in NYC

Should you hire an architect or a contractor first? 

How to find a great contractor in NYC

Alanna Schubach

Alanna Schubach

Contributing writer

Contributing editor Alanna Schubach has over a decade of experience as a New York City-based freelance journalist.

SEE MORE BY Alanna Schubach »
Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics:

contractors suburbs The Winning Bid
SHARE
TWEET
BRICK’S PICKS
NYC apartment building with AC units
My neighbor's dripping AC is driving me crazy. What can I do?
Historic brick facades of NYC apartment buildings
Getting overcharged by a landlord? Here’s how the Tenant Protection Unit helps rent-stabilized tenants
Apartment buildings in Soho
New Rent Guidelines Board report justifies a rent freeze, tenant advocates claim
Brooklyn apartment buildings
Understanding net effective rent: Here's how to calculate your real monthly rent
image
How much should you renovate your NYC apartment or house before selling?
Council Member Shahana Hanif hold press conference before the City Council vote on Arrow Linen spot rezoning.
City Council signs off on 10-story towers for Arrow Linen site
Follow Brick on Instagram
@brickunderground | #brickunderground
Brick UndergroundBRICK UNDERGROUNDREAL LIFE. REAL ESTATE. REAL NEW YORK.
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Main menu footer
  • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide

Get more news you can actually use...

Email Address

Delivered to your inbox weekly - for free.

*By signing up you agree to receive occasional emails on behalf of our sponsors

Footer Menu
  • About Us
  • Advertise

Copyright 2009-2024 by BND Ventures Inc | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Ad Choices | Login