Modular room addition costs?

[disneybound31]

Have any of you ever added a modular room/sunroom on the back of your house vs. a stick-built room? We live in a 3br/2bath 1600 sq. ft home and even tho this is our first home, we do not plan to move. But we really are going to need more space as our kids age. We've been here 8 years and kids are 8 and 11. We want to do this within the next 2-4 years. It's in a gated community so, of course, it has to go before the architectural comittee, but I cannot see a difference once either type of addition is completed...

It seems to me that adding a modular room would be easier than getting multiple bids from local contractors- let me add we are in a small area and good contractors are hard to come by here. Also, anyone we have ever met says add double the cost and time when getting a site built room estimate...in my research I have found that a modular room 12x16 is roughly $34k...16x20 is around $38k...plus the attractiveness of a short build time..4-6 weeks vs. months and months and months for stick built...

Anyone have any advice/info/experience?

ETA: my parents had a small dining room converted into a cathedral ceiling family room and it took 9 months and more than double the contractors original estimate. It looks great now, but the mess was horrendous and that was one of the 'good' contractors around here.

 

[disneybound31]

Nobody has ever added on a room?

 

[3boymthr]

My parents looked into it but decided not to when they realized that although it would be done more quickly it could actually end up costing them more It had something to do with lining up the room with the existing house and manuevering it into place and there was a risk of damage to the existing structure and and... There were a lot of unexpected variables that drove up the cost beyond just the actual cost of the modular addition.

 

[toddlerhouse]

We have a modular house- but we added a stick built family room with a cathedral ceiling a couple of years ago. 20X20 was 40K. They started July 4th weekend and were completely done by the end of August.

We love it by the way!!

 

[sameyeyam]

I used to want to build onto our 1,800 sq. ft. house when the kids were little. But you will be amazed at how quickly the time will go by and the kids get bigger. Once your kids get in jr. high and high school...well all of the sudden the house seems to get bigger without spending a dime. Seriously if you can stick it out for about 4 more years, you will be amazed at the space you will have. The kids will start rolling their eyes, stomping across the floor and slamming their bedroom doors shut...they will stay in their bedrooms for hours and you won't see them half the time. Although they do seem to come out when they need food, money or a ride somewhere.

Do you have a garage that you can convert or partially convert into a rec. room? Then build a separate carport or garage, that is usually cheaper then adding onto the house. Or if you don't mind parking outside, get a large storage shed or two for the garage things.

I am actually glad we didn't add onto the house when the kids were younger. Right now we have one that just started college (but still lives at home) and another that just started jr. high. The college age one is not home a lot and now our house is starting to seem the right size again. Not to mention that I'm not making home equity loan payments for space that I don't need anymore.

We didn't turn our garage into a rec. room entirely, but we did buy a couple of cheaper rolls of carpet and put some down on the floor and add ceiling insulation. We then put a small pool/air hockey/table tennis game, punching bag, exercise equipment, small tv & stereo in the garage and it gave us a bit more room and the kids then had a place to go hang out with their friends.

Just a few thoughts on squeezing out some extra room in your house for a few years.

 

[tvguy]

Never herd of modular additions.

We did a stick built 16 x 16 add on on the back of our house for $23,800.

 

[DawnM]

I don't know what stick built means.

Is modular material like vinyl sided/mobile home type material?

When we lived in CA there were quite a few people who added those types of sunrooms on to their houses.

 

[tvguy]

I don't know what stick built means.

Is modular material like vinyl sided/mobile home type material?

When we lived in CA there were quite a few people who added those types of sunrooms on to their houses.

Stick Built.

Modular

 

[pandamom]

We had a four season room (stick built) added to our house about 10 years ago and it was done in a few days and did not go over the original estimated cost. The hardest part was coordinating it with the delivery and setup of a jacuzzi -- the reinforced floor had to be built and then the hot tub put in and then the walls / roof built. Definitely worth the money and time! Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[aprilchem]

My mom had a modular sunroom added to her house and she hates it. It is usable for about 3 months of the year - the rest of the time it's either too hot or too cold. I was there the week before Easter and it was 85 degrees in there; there's just no insulation and the AC from her house doesn't travel well into that room.

She lives in central Virginia.

 

[yoopermom]

I'm biased because my DH is in construction, but I would only do stick built. The quality is just going to be SO different. Check with your insurance, also. If you know a real estate agent or appraiser, you might want to check with them as well because, at least around here, the stick built room would increase the square footage of your home but the modular would not.

I would LOVE a three season room, and don't blame you for wanting one!

Terri