Question
Hi, I live in PA and am looking to purchase a home that is a small 1300sf ranch home on a .61 acre lot. There is a stone patio that is fairly decent size and then the rest of the lot is steep and built all around the house on a corner lot. I was thinking of buying it and doing an addition but would def want to take advantage of the large lot for grass for the kids to play on.. Is this an extremely costly undertaking? The house is about $229,000 and we would need to do a 2nd floor addition of at least 800 ft. Then as I said we want to utilize at least .30 as yard space. Are there strict laws about regrading ? thank you for your time

Answer
Hello,

Construction cost for buildings range typically from 50 to 100 dollars per square foot;much would depend on labor costs in your area.

For grading you will need a permit from your municipality and you may need the grading designed by an engineer and built by a contractor qualified in such work. Often regrading cannot be allowed to increase storm water flow and erosion from such work must be controlled. Typically,a permit is needed for any grading where the total amount of soil exceeds 5 cubic yards.

The cost of grading can also be greatly increased if new topsoil and other types of fill have to be brought to the site. Grading sometimes also makes devices such as retaining walls and drainage devices necessary and that also adds to the overall cost.

Erosion control may include devices such as erosion control mesh,seeding to establish vegetation,silt fences and water retention basins. Good luck. Let me know if I can be of further help.

Mark Harshman
http://www.mahdrafting.com
Email: [email protected]

http://www.scribd.com/markscrib47