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How Much Does An Addition Cost In Tampa, FL? General Contractor Answers Remodeling Questions

 

Room additions are a common project many clients are interested in, but often there are questions about potential costs. Many factors have to be taken into consideration for a room addition. 

 

As found with other construction-related questions, to simply put it, it depends. 

 

The biggest factor for room addition costs is how much square footage you plan on adding to your space.

 

An addition will contain a few things;

 

Electric, plumbing, HVAC, and roofing.

 

In a typical addition, there will be a living space and a bathroom/kitchen of some sort.

 

For bathroom and kitchen additions, your electric panel will have to be upgraded due to the extra lines created, since there aren’t enough circuit breakers to handle the additional lines. 

 

An addition is considered a level 2 renovation. Which means it will have to be built according to the current building code. There are multiple requirements to fulfill including;

 

Changing out smoke detectors in your existing home

Panel upgrade

Plumbing (bathroom and kitchen) 

For HVAC, you’ll have to upgrade your existing unit or add a stand-alone secondary unit to the new addition.

 

For any new addition, your A/C company will have to conduct a manual J (low calculation) to your space. 

A low calculation involves your A/C company measuring your space, windows, walls, and insulation. Based on the results, they will determine if your existing A/C unit is capable of efficiently cooling the space down, or if it will have to be upgraded.  

 

In most cases, existing A/C systems are unfit for adding on new additions. Anything over 800 sq/ft will require a new A/C unit. 

 

Other factors include the type of system you have, how old it is, and the foundation of the existing building.

 

Your yard also plays a large role in determining price points for room additions.

 

If there’s a slope in your backyard, it’ll have to be footed, filled in with block, and then topped off with slab and extra dirt to create a seamless and flat base to build your addition on top of. 

 

So with all these factors in mind, what does the overall cost come out to?

 

In Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas county, for addition projects with Home Love Construction, the average cost is $200 per sq/ft. 

 

Of course, that can also vary depending on what the addition is.

 

It can go as low as $80 per sq/ft for simple projects that only include structural work, or it can be as high as $300 per sq/ft. 

 

So the question remains,

 

Is it worth it?

 

A great way to determine that is to look up property sales in your neighborhood and compare them to the value of your home, keeping equity rates in mind.

 

But to put it simply, in the Tampa Bay Area, room additions average around $200 per sq/ft. Although in some cases, costs can be reduced to $150-175 per sq/ft if there is minimal or no plumbing or electrical. That said, costs can also exceed $275 per sq/ft in many cases when a kitchen and bathroom are being moved into the new addition area.

 

In your particular case, it is always best to consult with a properly licensed general contractor about your project. Using properly licensed professionals protects you from shoddy workmanship and mismanagement of project funds.

 

If you have a remodeling question or inquires about remodeling your space in the Tampa Bay Area, please send an email to homeloveconstruction@gmail.com 

 

-Brad Bachand

Transcribed/Published by Emily Lavechia

Emily Lavechia