An entryway addition costs from $14,000 to $32,000, averaging $18,000 depending on its size.
An entryway addition costs homeowners an average of $18,000, though most people pay between $14,000 to $32,000. Adding an entryway to your house can be one of the best ways to increase your home's livability and value. Entryways add a buffer space between the outside and your living area—something even more valuable in areas with extreme weather.
The cost of all home additions is directly related to the size of the new space you build. Most home additions range from $225 to $250 per square foot based on whether you need a foundation.
A standard entryway size is 7 feet by 11 feet, or 77 square feet. However, entryways can range from 40 square feet to 180 square feet.
| Size in Square Feet | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| 40 | $9,000–$10,000 |
| 60 | $13,500–$15,000 |
| 80 | $17,000–$20,000 |
| 130 | $26,000–$31,200 |
| 180 | $40,000–$49,000 |
You can hire a general contractor to build an entryway, and they’ll handle all the details for you. Another option is to DIY some of the simpler work and hire pros for more complicated tasks, like the entryway’s electrical work and design. Here’s what you can expect to pay for various pros to build an entryway addition.
You'll need to hire an electrician to run electricity to your new entryway. Electricians charge between $70 and $120 per hour for their labor, plus materials. Here's a breakdown of common entryway electrical costs.
Installing an outlet: $300
Adding a light fixture: $500
Rewiring: $6,000
Hiring painters can be a great way to save time on the project. Interior painters charge by either the hour or by square feet. Expect to pay $40 to $90 per hour for painting pros, or around $3 per square foot.
Architects charge in one of two ways as well: a percentage of the project cost or an hourly fee. You can trust a junior architect to lay out an entryway and can expect to pay an hourly rate of around $100 per hour or, if they charge a percentage, around 10% to 15% of the project cost.
We recommend you hire a general contractor for this type of work. It ensures you only have to deal with one professional, and they usually have tight teams that do good work fast. Another benefit is that they have more wiggle room in the budget than if you were to break each task down, hiring individuals for each task. Depending on team size, general contractors cost $300 to $700 per day or a percentage of the project cost, around 15% to 20%.
[For a home addition], we charge piece-by-piece for the project, then we add our profit and overhead. For example, lumber for the project, permits, demolition, electrical, plumbing, and drywall. I add them up and then add our profit and overhead. On smaller jobs, we work by the hour and then add the material on top of that.
Understanding your total workload and expenses will go a long way toward making you comfortable undertaking this rather large project. It will also help you negotiate or lower the overall cost.
If you have to demolish an existing structure, you'll pay an hourly rate of around $70 per hour plus any disposal fees. Prep work is often more involved—you may need a foundation poured or built, the ground leveled, and anything else your contractor recommends or requires. Demotion and prep will be much easier and less expensive if you are simply adding the entryway inside the existing house. It mainly involves taping and cleaning the area and perhaps stripping the walls and flooring.
Building an entryway requires a permit, which costs between $200 and $900 each. Failing to secure a permit can lead to fines, work stoppages, or even tearing down any unpermitted work. If you need clarification on a permit, check with both your contractor and city hall, as they have all the necessary information.
An entryway is a simple room, but you can spruce it up. Anything beyond a barebones design will increase cost, but some features are worth it.
While underfloor heating is a luxury, other additions, like seating areas or built-in storage units, serve a much more functional purpose. Organizing your entryway goes a long way toward enhancing first impressions upon entering your home. Some popular features include:
| Accessory or Special Feature | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Custom lighting | $300–$1,100 |
| Built-in storage | $250–$1,400 |
| Custom molding | $400–$2,000 |
| Underfloor heating | $600–$3,000 |
| Ceramic floor tiles | $450–$3,200 |
| Custom doors | $300–$1,000 |
Entryways require certain expertise—but not for the entire project. While you want to hire an electrician to do your electrical, you may be able to handle some of the tasks yourself, like hanging drywall or painting.
However, you may only save around 15% of the project cost in labor. For this reason, we strongly recommend you talk to a home addition expert near you to get an accurate quote and decide your next steps.
You can reduce the cost of adding an entryway in a few ways. While you may be able to save more money on a larger project, there are still ways to whittle down the bottom line—even if the entryway is simple. Some ways to lower costs are:
Install energy-efficient windows, insulation, and doors.
If the entryway requires a foundation, you can consider constructing it yourself.
Source your own furnishing materials.
Try to recycle or reuse any existing materials.
Paint the room yourself or hang the drywall.
Build DIY mudroom lockers or install hooks and a bench on your own.
Entryways commonly increase a home's total value by 5% to 8%, and depending on the cost of your entryway, you could see a return on investment (ROI) upwards of 75%. So, if you spend $20,000, you should see $15,000 of that or more applied to your home's value.
Entryways also significantly increase a home's comfort and convenience, which has immeasurable value for many homeowners.
You can add an entryway to a house in two ways: adding a wall inside the existing house to create the room, or building out from the house itself by constructing the entryway as an addition. Most likely, you’ll need to build the addition if your house isn’t overly large, as you might not have the square footage already present to add an entryway inside the existing floor plan. For very large homes, you may be able to add a wall and cut out an entryway from the existing front door area.
An entryway is as important as you want it to be. While entryways are seldom added to a house to increase the sale price, they are commonly constructed to increase the livability and enjoyment of a home. Entryways are most valuable in areas of extreme heat, cold, or rain, as the space between the living area and the outdoors helps keep the outdoors outside—snow, wet boots, and mud are all corralled into one space.
A bump-out addition is a space you add to your house that is smaller than a traditional room but larger than adding a small feature such as a bay window. Bump-outs are often much less expensive than a more formal addition and are a great way to create extra space without significant cost. Depending on the bump-out you're adding, you may or may not need specific types of foundations to support it.
While you may hear entryways referred to as mudrooms, there are some differences. Entryways are often the entrance point to the house from a guest’s perspective, which is why they’re off the front door. Mudrooms are more for the people already living there, which is why mudrooms are often attached to garages. Entryways are also more formally decorated, while mudrooms are usually just a floor, mirror, and some storage options.
