Planning new addition to house in FL

[adriana]

I have a 2 story house that was built in 2001. 3499 sq ft, with 2750 under air. Big house, but none of the rooms are downstairs and we don't have a patio....so we want to build them!

The plan is to build a 24x14 room off the dining room (replace a window with french doors) and a 12x31 covered patio off the family room and kitchen. We are also planning another 12x31 slab to extend to the end of the room and having it all screened it. The room needs AC, 2 windows and another set of french doors that lead to the patio. We plan on putting a hot tub in the covered area, so we need a 220 volt for it.

We refinanced and got some cash out as well as a home equity line - just in case...we also have some savings that we can tap into if needed. We drew up some plans on our home PC using some home design software we purchased and the HOA approved our plans...YIPPEEE

We are now getting estimates from various architects and the quotes are coming in between $2000 - $2750. We are also getting estimates on the cost to do this and are getting prices from $35k to $80k - HUGE RANGE!

I've included the document I'm sending to get estimates...please review and let me know what else should be included so there are no surprises!

Any tips to someone who has never done this would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Rich]

Whew.. there are a million things to consider.. from the selecting of an architect to the selecting of a contractor and signing a "good" contract. There's not enough time in my day to puke my brain out on this forum :) . I would suggest reading some of the articles in the Home Construction section of this website to get some ideas on specific questions - do a little more reading and research on the internet and then come back and ask questions regarding items you either don't understand or maybe you have several options available and want the best option.

[3design]

I am confused on how you are getting quotes for both the architect and the contractors at the same time.

In my experience, you get an architect/designer on board for drawings and design. Then you put it out to bid. Otherwise the contractors have no idea what they are really bidding on.

The only way to get a tight number is to 1. Get construction documents completed and put them out to bid. or 2. Get a design/build team together and come up with a number.

I am sure there are many more ways, but these are the two that I use quite frequently with much success.

[Rich]

Good point 3design - I had missed that on my first reading.