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New Home Upgrade Pricing

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Newbie
Oct 15, 2007
93 posts
12 upvotes
Mississauga

New Home Upgrade Pricing

I just purchased a new home still under construction and will be closing next year. Went to their design studio to look at the upgrades, but when I asked for pricing they told me that they won't give me the price until it's my time to choose the upgrades with their designer, they will call me and set up an appointment. They told me that they will give me 3 hours to decide what I want. I guess that's how builders make more money after selling you the house.


I asked a friend a list of prices she had when she bought her house. Hopefully some of you guys can add your lists here. At least give new home owners an idea on how much upgrades would cost them


This info was 2 years ago
Builder: Great Gulf Homes
Sq Ft: Approx 1800 SQ. Ft.
Type: Semi

Cabinet
1st Upgrade: $ 768.00
2nd Upgrade: $ 1,310.00
3rd Upgrade: $ 3,021.00
4th Upgrade: $ 6,369.00

Kitchen Backsplash
1st Upgrade: $ 345.00
2nd Upgrade: $ 382.00
3rd Upgrade: $ 494.00
Mirrored Backsplash $ 608.00

Front Door Glass Inserts (per door)
1st Upgrade: $ 275.00
2nd Upgrade: $ 374.00
3rd Upgrade: $ 587.00


Cultured Marble Bath Vanity Tops (Main & Ensuite Washroom)

$524.00

Cultured Granite / Onyx Vanity Tops (Main & Ensuite Washroom)

$990.00

Floor Tiles--------------------1st upgrade---------2nd upgrade
Foyer----------------------------$ 35.00-----------------$ 89.00
Powder Room-------------------$ 41.00-----------------$105.00
Kitchen / Breakfast--------------$441.00----------------$899.00
Ensuite Bath--------------------$113.00----------------$288.00
Main Bath------------------------$ 82.00----------------$208.00


Wall Tiles---------------------1st upgrade----------2nd upgrade---------3rd upgrade

Standard Bathtub-----------------$218.00---------------$267.00-------------$624.00
Shower Area-----------------------$217.00---------------$286.00------------$855.00

Hardwood Flooring:
------------------------------------Parquet----------Strip 2 1/4" x 1/2"------------Strip 2 1/4" x 3/4"-----------------Strip 3" x 3/4"

Family Room-------------------------$834.00------------------$1,528.00--------------------$1,817.00-------------------------$1,895.00
Living Room-------------------------$798.00------------------$1,562.00--------------------$1,879.00-------------------------$1,966.00
Breakfast Area-----------------------$000.00-------------------$ 960.00--------------------$1,429.00-------------------------$1,556.00
Upper Hall----------------------------$746.00------------------$1,422.00--------------------$1,530.00-------------------------$2,344.00


Carpet: Whole House---------------------1st upgrade----------2nd upgrade---------3rd upgrade---------4th upgrade

------------------------------------------------$663.00---------------$806.00--------------$1,499.00------------$1,788.00


Underpad: Whole House---------------------1st upgrade----------2nd upgrade

---------------------------------------------------$308.00---------------$593.00



I'm sure there are more upgrades but this is the only info I got from my friend. Please feel free to add your list here. I hope this post will help give people r ballpark figures on what to pay for upgrade even though each builder has their own pricing.
16 replies
Sr. Member
Dec 12, 2007
771 posts
112 upvotes
I think it's underhanded to sell a house without telling your customer the costs of upgrades. We included our upgrades in our purchase agreement. Otherwise you might overspend when it comes to getting what you really want, especially since you are already locked into buying that home. We didn't have too many upgrades but here's a vague list.

Gas Fireplace - $5K
Cabinet Upgrade - 1st level $650, 2nd level $1300
Cabinet Upgrade for Bathrooms - 1st Level $200
Hardwood throughout Main - $2000
Basement 3 pc. Rough-in $650

That's all I remember.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jun 14, 2003
23140 posts
202 upvotes
That should be done before you sign the purchase agreement. That is the time you can really negotiate. After that, you will be burnt.
Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. -- Will Smith
Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
Stay hungry, stay foolish.
Sr. Member
Aug 25, 2008
564 posts
163 upvotes
we did the following upgrades:

heated Muskoka room - $20,000
frameless shower door in master ensuite - $1100
jacuzzi 8 jets - $2000
french door with transom from the kitchen to the muskoka room - $1100
10 X 10 deck with stairs to the walkout - $1000
Cold Room - $2100
additonal bathroom - $5000
extended upper cabinets, kitchen, pantry, laundry - $1600
granite countertop upgrade in kitchen - $1100
island upgrade - $500
Slate tiles in foyer - $1000
porcelin tiles thruout the house - $2000
listello in bathrooms - $600
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 23, 2005
9003 posts
5727 upvotes
lamborghinireventon wrote: we did the following upgrades:

heated Muskoka room - $20,000
frameless shower door in master ensuite - $1100
jacuzzi 8 jets - $2000
french door with transom from the kitchen to the muskoka room - $1100
10 X 10 deck with stairs to the walkout - $1000
Cold Room - $2100
additonal bathroom - $5000
extended upper cabinets, kitchen, pantry, laundry - $1600
granite countertop upgrade in kitchen - $1100
island upgrade - $500
Slate tiles in foyer - $1000
porcelin tiles thruout the house - $2000
listello in bathrooms - $600
So you essentially bent over and signed for it? :D
Member
Sep 19, 2006
224 posts
1 upvote
I work for a builder and my job was to price upgrades. If you want any help with your upgrades pm me. Generally builders do money on upgrades but you have to be careful when you want custom items. Remembr the sales agent isn't an engineer so they might miss important construction components.

But generally builders should have some kind of pricing guide for you before you come in for your appointment. This way the purchaser has a chance to budget before hand and there may be items you didn't think of doing until you know it's available. Like infloor heating or 9 ft basement or elevators.
Sr. Member
Dec 14, 2007
542 posts
1396 upvotes
saugaboy wrote: I work for a builder and my job was to price upgrades. If you want any help with your upgrades pm me. Generally builders do money on upgrades but you have to be careful when you want custom items. Remembr the sales agent isn't an engineer so they might miss important construction components.

But generally builders should have some kind of pricing guide for you before you come in for your appointment. This way the purchaser has a chance to budget before hand and there may be items you didn't think of doing until you know it's available. Like infloor heating or 9 ft basement or elevators.
Good to have you on the forums :D , i am waiting for opening of regal crest homes and mattamy homes ( gore road / castlemore road ) , i will ask for your help in case i decide to purchase my F I R S T home :lol:
Deal Addict
Dec 12, 2006
1355 posts
44 upvotes
I have had 2 greatgulf homes and I have found that they seem to be priced better than other builders. For example the cabinet upgrades are for all cabinets including bathrooms and laundry room. Post who your builder is and someone might be able to give you a better guideline. If you are using the GG prices you will be dissapointed with the actual pricelist.

For us we received a pricelist the first time we visited the decor centre both times. they encourage you to go as many times as you want to familiarize yourself with what you want. This way in the end it's easy to make selections. If the list that you have is within 30 days of making your selections, and they quote a higher price, they will give you the lower original price.


Not impressed with your builders Customer Service.
Newbie
Oct 15, 2007
93 posts
12 upvotes
Mississauga
Smooth Ceiling : $ 1,500.00 per floor x 2 = $3,000.00



Stain Stairs with pickets = $ 1,200.00
Stain Stairs w/o pickets = $ 900.00
Cost of Iron Pickets = $ 1,075.00

Upgrade Laundry Room from Tile to Hardwood $550.00

Cabinetry 1st 2nd 3rd
Kitchen $ 1,000.00 $ 2,660.00 $ 4,320.00
Main Bath $ 125.00 $ 300.00 $ 500.00
Master Ensuite $ 150.00 $ 100.00 $ 200.00
Bsmt $ 60.00 $ 80.00 $ 95.00


Tile Upgrade

1st 2nd
Master Ensuite Shower Stall $ 950.00 $ 1,300.00
Oval Tub Tile $ 320.00 $ 400.00
Tile Insert/ Border Shower Stall ( $ 350.00 ) Tub ($400.00)


Frameless Door = $ 2,750
Glass Door only = $ 1,950

Oval Tub upgrade to 8 Jet Whirlpool = $ 1,800.00
Pot Lights Main $ 200.00 per potlight
Potlights 2nd level $ 250.00 per potlight

Potlight rough-in $ 125.00 per light
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 24, 2006
3162 posts
2257 upvotes
Barrie
You can PM as well with any questions you have. While I have not been on the builders side I have gone through two new home builds and have faired extremely well on the side of upgrades. As another poster put on here though, before you sign is the time to get the upgrades in. Once you sign you are pretty much screwed. The other thing you NEED to do is get the name of the Site Super and the Names and Contact of EACH vendor they deal with. Making side deals with the vendors they use can save thousands and the builder will be happy to please you and take the management off of their place. Remember the builder is there to make a profit but they need to QUICKLY turn out homes and can't afford 30 different houses going up at once with 30 different designs, that is why they charge so much. If your builder is a customer or semi-custom builder than that is different.

Alas though you are dead in the water since you already signed. I would also say go back in and talk to another person on the price of the upgrades. You need to know ahead of time what they charge so you can budget accordingly. If they refuse put a call in to the BBB on them.

Also make sure that the cost of the upgrades are tacked on to your TOTAL purchase price and not paid on the spot. This is so so so so important and here why. If you pay for them on the spot they are not considered part of the house "value" on closing. They are dealt with outside of it so when your closing amount is registered with your lawyer and the REALTOR bored your house will be undervalued. Yes that is correct your house is registered with the closing cost NOT the cost you paid! When you go to sell your house the REALTOR you choose is going to look at that price and deem whether your current asking price makes sense or not. You could pay for $30,000 or more (or less but it makes my argument look better to big numbers ;) ) in upgrades and not see that number in your house value which hurts.

Also make sure that you take pictures of everything and make sure to document Manufacture and Make of everything. Search the products after you select and be sure to make changes if you come up with any bad reviews. This is especially important for things like bricks, tiles, carpeting or any other "cosmetic" items as the Tarion warranty only covers them for 1 year and good luck getting the manufacture warranty (if it exists) to cover them.

I had said above to get the name of the site Super, this is important as you should call him during the build of the house and become somewhat friendly or at least cordial with him. A name of a person in someones head makes it harder for him to allow shotty workmanship on your house. This may seem stupid but it works. It also serves for you ask him what items he might put in your house for Cash (Again this is within reason or you stand to loose out on the purchase price thing I talked about above). Slide a couple hundred bucks to him for things like speaker wire in the walls, networking cable, move the location of telco boxes, wrapping your heating ducts in aluminum tape, adding soundproof insulation to the interior walls, getting water lines run to the fridge, getting extra insulation done in the attic, wiring conduits from basement to cieling, etc. The sky is the limit but again don't go too too far as it won't get recorded on your record of sale for Value!

Once you know the super you can also request to have him go through the home with you while it is being built. The building office will always say you are NOT allowed on the site, the site super will say differently. You will need a hard had and steel toed shoes but you want this to find any issues. Look to make sure that your upgrades are getting done. Make sure layout changes are done properly and that the framing is done right (no bent/bad 2x4 or 2x6's present). Make sure that check the floor for squeaking, after the drywall is up it is a major pain to fix. Remember that Tarion WILL warranty the fix of the squeak but they will NOT fix the mess that is made to get to the squeak so drywall cuts, mudding and painting will be your responsibility. Look at everything and as often as possible and report back problems quickly (site super is usually with you so that you can tell him right away). You can also get in there and measure up windows so you can purchase drapery/blinds ahead of time so when you move in you can have some privacy. The last thing you need moving in to a new neighborhood is for every person to walk by look in your windows and see all your possessions as you have unpacking late at night. Call me paranoid but it is true.

I know I am not giving you prices, I can do that in PM's or even here if you want me too but doing the things above will allow to take your upgrades to the next level.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Apr 17, 2005
11038 posts
1545 upvotes
Brampton
enjoku wrote: Stain Stairs with pickets = $ 1,200.00
Stain Stairs w/o pickets = $ 900.00
Cost of Iron Pickets = $ 1,075.00

Upgrade Laundry Room from Tile to Hardwood $550.00
I do not recommend upgrading to hardwood floors in the laundry room!!!
If you get the iron pickets, you save $300 on the staining cost of the stairs, so your iron pickets technically only cost you $775 :D

It will be cheaper to install hardwood after closing vs. builder.
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Member
Sep 19, 2006
224 posts
1 upvote
Let me shed some light on what you posted. Im not going to quote the whole thing. Its always a good idea to get to know your site super, however making side deals with trades may or may not work in your benefit. One thing is for me if I found out a trade was doing side deals then I would either penalize them of fire them. That does not have any effect on the home owner but it something I would make sure all my trades knew about. Secondly if he builder has to do some warranty work on the house and find changes that were not recorded for they may decide to void your warranty. Ie electrical work.


A lot of builders I know of make purchasers pay for upgrades upfront. A big reason for this is between start of construction to end of construction a lot can happen. Purchaser dies, divorces, cant get loan ect. And then as the builder you are stuck with a house that
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 24, 2006
3162 posts
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Barrie
saugaboy wrote: Let me shed some light on what you posted.......channels will keep the ceiling from cracking.
To each his own on the cash deal parts. I did put in some of the drawbacks, on the other hand the builder may support and fully allow this, hence the asking them. As a builder, if you don't condone this, tell your people this then a customer successfully does this and you find out...well I would be you are happy to get rid of an dishonest employee. Also I didn't say anything about electrical. That should only be done by a licensed electrician.
Deal Fanatic
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Nov 23, 2005
9003 posts
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patrob wrote: I do not recommend upgrading to hardwood floors in the laundry room!!!
If you get the iron pickets, you save $300 on the staining cost of the stairs, so your iron pickets technically only cost you $775 :D

It will be cheaper to install hardwood after closing vs. builder.
I don't know why anyone would want hardwood in the laundry ... god forbid you have a leak, your nice hardwood floor would love to absorb the water and then you are left with an eye sore and an ugly floor.

At the end of the day patrob, isn't everything cheaper doing it elsewhere, besides the builder? That's why I got my new house "bare boned" :D I just couldn't justify paying half of what they wanted, let alone the full price for the "upgrades" ...
Member
Sep 19, 2006
224 posts
1 upvote
RunnerForDeals wrote: To each his own on the cash deal parts. I did put in some of the drawbacks, on the other hand the builder may support and fully allow this, hence the asking them. As a builder, if you don't condone this, tell your people this then a customer successfully does this and you find out...well I would be you are happy to get rid of an dishonest employee. Also I didn't say anything about electrical. That should only be done by a licensed electrician.
maybe I read your post incorrectly but I though you said that buiders wold like you to do cash deals as it is less management for them. I didn't really see your drawbacks. Cash deals are an ethical issue and each person has to deal with it on their own.

I mention the electrical because in my experience I fine that most people do pot lights after they close. And even with a licences electrician, any changes to electrical may void your warranty on discretion of the buider. Again I don't really have a problem with cash deals and I understand that it's part of the game. But maybe a builder let's you do this and then voids your warranty. Shady yes. My problem with the cash deal is that it's dishonest. Everyone or company has a right to make money. The point of theis forum is to inform people so they make better choices but I wouldn't tell people to steal. For instance pot lights should cost 150-170 now you can use this knowlede to help you negotiate.

I own a business and I wouldn't want people to steal from me but if they come to me and talk to me about prices I will work something out with them. Again I'm not attacing you or trying to flame you but if you give people that kind of advise then you have to also let them know of the consequences.
Deal Guru
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Apr 17, 2005
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Brampton
boyoflondon wrote: I don't know why anyone would want hardwood in the laundry ... god forbid you have a leak, your nice hardwood floor would love to absorb the water and then you are left with an eye sore and an ugly floor.

At the end of the day patrob, isn't everything cheaper doing it elsewhere, besides the builder? That's why I got my new house "bare boned" :D I just couldn't justify paying half of what they wanted, let alone the full price for the "upgrades" ...
It sure is cheaper to do it after closing but many people don't like "bare boned" houses when they move in :D You have total controld of what you are getting & at what price. We also closed our house "bare boned" & upgraded everything ourselves & wouldn't have it any other way :cheesygri But also many builders will not close a house that way, we got very lucky.
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