P 1.0
What it costs
Published planning ranges for every scope on this site, with the basis stated and the soft costs that are not in a builder’s number listed separately — because leaving those out is how a budget ends up wrong by a quarter.
Reviewed October 2026 · planning ranges, not a bid
A square-foot price is useful for deciding whether to start and dangerous for deciding what to sign. It is worth spending two minutes on why.
The cost of a house is not evenly distributed across its floor area. A kitchen costs several times what a bedroom costs per square foot. A bathroom is worse. Foundations, structure and utilities do not scale with floor area at all — a 300 square foot addition needs nearly as much foundation work per foot of wall as a 900 square foot one. So a small addition containing a kitchen will come in far above the rate, and a large simple one will come in below it.
Use these numbers to answer “is this project a $400,000 project or a $1.2m one”, which is the question you need answered before you spend money on drawings. Do not use them to build a budget you intend to hold somebody to.
And read the soft-cost table below before you do either. Construction is between roughly two-thirds and four-fifths of what you will actually spend. The rest is design, engineering, reports, city fees and the cost of owning a building you cannot live in for two years — and that last one is the line most often missing entirely.
Carrying cost. On a 30-month new build, the loan interest, property tax, insurance and rent somewhere else are routinely a six-figure sum, and no contractor’s estimate contains it because it is not construction. It is the single strongest argument for publishing the schedule as prominently as the price.
What moves a number to the top
- What is already there. An 1890s building with an unreinforced foundation needs work before your project can start.
- Access. A narrow attached lot with no side yard means everything is carried by hand, through the house.
- Specification. The gap between a good kitchen and a bespoke one is a multiple, not a percentage.
- Occupancy. Working around people who live there costs real money in staging and lost productivity.
Give us all four and a range collapses to something you can plan on, usually on the first call.
Working on a number this week?
Tell us the building, the year and the square footage and we will narrow it on the call.
Call (415) 543-2100Mon–Fri 8:00 AM–5:00 PM PT
P 2.0 By scope
Construction cost, by scope
Construction only. Design, engineering, reports, city fees and tax are separate and are in the next table.
01 Additions & Vertical Expansion
| Item | Description | Unit | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.10 | Rear addition, finishedStructure, envelope, finishes, ordinary fixtures | SF | $650–$1,050 |
| A.20 | Vertical addition, finishedIncluding structural work to the storeys below | SF | $750–$1,250 |
| A.30 | Ground-floor build-outConverting garage or storage to living space | SF | $480–$850 |
| A.40 | Deck and rear stairStructure, decking, rail, to code | SF | $180–$340 |
| A.50 | Foundation work under an additionNew footings, tie to existing | LF | $900–$2,200 |
| A.60 | Kitchen, mid to high specificationCabinetry, appliances, finishes, excluding appliances over allowance | EA | $85,000–$260,000 |
| A.70 | Bathroom, fullIncluding waterproofing and any structural notching | EA | $42,000–$110,000 |
| A.80 | Window replacement, code-compliantIncluding any structural header work | EA | $2,600–$8,500 |
Additions & Vertical Expansion in detail — with its schedule and what has to be established before anybody can price it.
02 Accessory Dwelling Units
| Item | Description | Unit | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.10 | Ground-floor ADU, finishedFull conversion including kitchen and bath | SF | $520–$900 |
| B.20 | Garage conversion ADU, finishedIncluding replacing the garage door opening | SF | $560–$950 |
| B.30 | Detached rear-yard ADUNew structure on its own foundation | SF | $700–$1,150 |
| B.40 | Underpinning to gain ceiling heightSequential underpinning and slab, per linear foot of wall | LF | $1,400–$3,200 |
| B.50 | Separate utility serviceElectrical, water and gas, separately metered | LS | $28,000–$95,000 |
| B.60 | Sewer lateral replacementFrequently required, frequently discovered late | LF | $320–$780 |
| B.70 | Fire and sound separationAssemblies between the unit and the rest of the building | SF | $38–$95 |
Accessory Dwelling Units in detail — with its schedule and what has to be established before anybody can price it.
03 Seismic & Structural
| Item | Description | Unit | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.10 | Soft-storey retrofit, small buildingTwo to four units, engineered frames and walls | LS | $95,000–$260,000 |
| C.20 | Soft-storey retrofit, larger buildingFive or more units | LS | $220,000–$680,000 |
| C.30 | Steel moment frame, installedFabricated, set, welded, inspected | EA | $38,000–$110,000 |
| C.40 | Plywood shear wall with holdownsIncluding opening up, nailing schedule, inspection | LF | $420–$980 |
| C.50 | Foundation replacementSequential removal and replacement under an occupied building | LF | $1,100–$2,800 |
| C.60 | Underpinning, sequentialTo gain height or to support new load | LF | $1,400–$3,200 |
| C.70 | Cripple wall bracing and boltingWhere a crawl space exists | LF | $180–$420 |
| C.80 | Special inspectionIndependent, required on most of the above | LS | $6,500–$32,000 |
Seismic & Structural in detail — with its schedule and what has to be established before anybody can price it.
04 Multifamily Renovation
| Item | Description | Unit | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| D.10 | Unit renovation, occupied buildingKitchen, bath, finishes, staged around tenants | SF | $420–$780 |
| D.20 | Unit renovation, vacant unitThe same scope, without the staging premium | SF | $330–$600 |
| D.30 | Plumbing riser replacementWhole stack, per storey, with unit reinstatement | EA | $18,000–$52,000 |
| D.40 | Electrical service upgradeService, panel, unit sub-panels | LS | $45,000–$160,000 |
| D.50 | Common area and entryStair, lobby, corridors, lighting, accessibility | LS | $60,000–$240,000 |
| D.60 | Roof replacementTear-off, deck repair, membrane, flashing | SQ | $1,400–$3,200 |
| D.70 | Exterior envelope and windowsSiding, waterproofing, windows, per unit | EA | $28,000–$95,000 |
| D.80 | Tenant protection and stagingDust walls, protection, temporary provisions, per unit | EA | $4,500–$18,000 |
Multifamily Renovation in detail — with its schedule and what has to be established before anybody can price it.
05 New Residential Construction
| Item | Description | Unit | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| E.10 | New house, standard specificationStructure, envelope, systems, ordinary finishes | SF | $800–$1,150 |
| E.20 | New house, high specificationBespoke millwork, specified fixtures, complex envelope | SF | $1,150–$1,900 |
| E.30 | Detached guest houseOwn foundation, own services | SF | $700–$1,200 |
| E.40 | Excavation and shoring, attached lotNext to an existing foundation, engineered | CY | $180–$620 |
| E.50 | Foundation, engineered for slope or soilsPiers, grade beams or mat, per geotechnical report | LS | $140,000–$620,000 |
| E.60 | Facade retention and shoringTemporary structure holding a retained wall | LS | $85,000–$380,000 |
| E.70 | Demolition, attached buildingSelective, with protection to both neighbours | LS | $45,000–$180,000 |
| E.80 | Site utilities and connectionsSewer, water, gas, electrical to the street | LS | $38,000–$160,000 |
New Residential Construction in detail — with its schedule and what has to be established before anybody can price it.
Units are SF square foot of the area being built or renovated, LF linear foot, CY cubic yard, SQ roofing square (100 SF), EA each, LS lump sum.
Prices are USD planning ranges for San Francisco residential work, exclude design and engineering fees, city permit and impact fees, geotechnical and hazardous-materials assessment, furnishings and any applicable tax, and assume normal access and no undisclosed conditions. Durations are planning ranges that assume no discretionary review and one round of plan-check corrections. They are published so an owner can plan before spending money on drawings. They are planning ranges, not a bid. Reviewed October 2026. A price and a schedule for your project come from a written proposal against a defined scope. See the disclaimer.
P 3.0 Not construction
The other quarter of your budget
None of this is in a builder’s number, and it is where most budgets go wrong. It is published here because you will pay it whether or not anybody told you about it.
| Item | Typical range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Architect and designer | 8–15% of construction | Schematic through construction administration. A complex project or a small one costs proportionally more. |
| Structural engineer | $8,000–$60,000 | Required on anything structural. On a retrofit it is a substantial and unavoidable line. |
| Geotechnical report | $6,000–$22,000 | Required on most new construction and on many foundation projects. The cheapest large piece of information available to you. |
| City permit and impact fees | $8,000–$180,000+ | Wildly variable. Depends on valuation, whether you are adding a unit, and which fees apply. |
| Hazardous materials survey | $1,500–$6,000 | Asbestos and lead on any pre-1980 building. Abatement is separate and is its own number. |
| Survey | $3,500–$14,000 | Boundary and topographic. On an attached lot in this city it is worth doing properly. |
| Title 24 energy compliance | $1,800–$9,000 | Required. Increasingly consequential for what systems you are allowed to install. |
| Expediting and filing | $3,000–$25,000 | Optional, and frequently worth it on a complex entitlement. |
| Carrying cost while you wait | Your own number | Loan interest, tax, insurance and rent somewhere else, for the whole schedule. On a 30-month project this is routinely the largest omitted line in a feasibility calculation. |
As a planning rule, add 20 to 35 per cent on top of the construction number for soft costs, and more on a project with heavy city fees or a difficult site. Then add your own carrying cost for the full length of the schedule, which on a long project can exceed every other line in this table put together.
P 4.0 Worked through
A 600 square foot rear addition, all in
Built from the tables above, with nothing added and nothing hidden. This is the arithmetic we would rather you could do before the first meeting than after the bids come in.
| Line | Basis | Lower | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addition shell and finishes | 600 SF at $650–$1,050 | $390,000 | $630,000 |
| Kitchen within it | One, mid specification | $85,000 | $150,000 |
| Bathroom | One, full | $42,000 | $78,000 |
| Foundation under the addition | 34 LF at $900–$2,200 | $30,600 | $74,800 |
| Deck and rear stair | 120 SF at $180–$340 | $21,600 | $40,800 |
| Construction subtotal | The builder’s number | $569,200 | $973,600 |
| Soft costs | At 20% and 35% | $113,800 | $340,800 |
| Carrying cost, 18 months | Your own number, not ours | not included | not included |
| Order of magnitude | Before carrying cost | $683,000 | $1,314,400 |
A spread of nearly two to one on the same 600 square feet. Neither column is padded and neither is a bid — both are arithmetic done on the published tables. The way you find out which end you are at is to let somebody look at the building, which costs nothing.
P 5.0 Questions
Questions about the money
Deposits, progress payments, allowances, change orders and your statutory right to cancel are in the payment and cancellation policy.
Why are the ranges so wide?
Because the honest spread is wide, and narrowing it on a web page would make it less true rather than more useful. A rear addition at $650 a square foot and the same addition at $1,050 differ in specification, in what is behind the walls, in access, and in how much structural work the existing building needs to carry it. Give us the building and the drawings and the range collapses quickly — but it collapses on your building, not on a page.
What actually moves a number to the top of its range?
Four things, roughly in order. What is already there, because an 1890s building with an unreinforced foundation needs work before your project can start. Access, because a narrow attached lot with no side yard means everything is carried by hand. Specification, because the difference between a good kitchen and a bespoke one is a large multiple. And occupancy, because working around people costs real money in staging and lost productivity.
Is a square-foot price meaningful at all?
It is useful for sizing and dangerous for budgeting, and it is worth understanding why. A square-foot rate is an average across a whole scope, and the cost is not evenly distributed: kitchens and bathrooms are several times the rate of a bedroom, and foundations and structure do not scale with floor area at all. A 300 square foot addition containing a kitchen will not cost what the rate suggests. Use it to decide whether to start, not to decide what to sign.
What is not in these numbers?
Everything that is not construction. Design and engineering fees, the geotechnical report, city permit and impact fees, hazardous materials survey and abatement, survey, energy compliance, furnishings, and tax. Together those routinely add 20 to 35 per cent on top of the construction number, and on a project with a big fee exposure more. There is a table of them further down this page, because leaving them out is the most common way a budget is wrong by a quarter before anybody has done anything wrong.
What is an allowance, and why does my estimate have them?
An allowance is a line with a stated sum for something that cannot be priced yet — tile you have not chosen, or framing behind a wall nobody has opened. It is reconciled against actual cost when it is known, up or down. An estimate for work on a hundred-year-old building that contains no allowances is not a more confident estimate, it is a less honest one, and the difference will show up as change orders. Ask every contractor how many allowances are in their number and what each one is based on.
Fixed price or cost-plus?
Both are legitimate and they allocate risk differently. A fixed price gives you certainty and the contractor prices the uncertainty into the number, which on an old building means a contingency you pay whether or not it is needed. Cost-plus with a guaranteed maximum gives you the benefit if the unknowns turn out well, and requires you to be comfortable with open books and more involvement. On a well-documented new build we would usually suggest fixed. On a gut renovation of an 1890s building, cost-plus with a cap is frequently the more honest structure.
How firm is the number in a proposal?
The scope is firm, the allowances are identified as allowances with their basis stated, and the contract says exactly what happens when an allowance is exceeded or a condition differs. What is not firm is anything that depends on a decision you have not made or a wall nobody has opened. The point of writing it that way is that there is nothing to argue about later, because it was already written down.
Why publish prices at all?
Because the alternative is an owner who has no idea whether their project is a $300,000 project or a $1.2m one until they have spent money on drawings to find out. That is a bad position to put somebody in, and it is the normal one in this industry. Publishing ranges with a stated basis costs us nothing we were not going to tell you in the first meeting, and it means the people who call are the people whose project is real.
Narrow the range on a phone call
The building, roughly when it was built, the square footage you have in mind, and whether anybody is living in it. With those four we can usually tell you which end of each range you are at, and what about your project would push it past the top.
Trico Construction, LLC · 981 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94103