Sorry. I didn't mean to sound mad. There are financial reasons that permitting this work probably isn't a good idea. First off, no electrical or plumbing will be touched - that's already in the walls that aren't going to be rebuilt. To permit the room I would have to treat it as a new addition, which would mean bringing the 2 90-year-old walls with plumbing/electric that aren't going to be touched up to current code, which might not be possible without further demolition or may require a small fortune without adding any value to my house. Plus it's a pandora's box - I can't decide to permit it, then find out it would be next to impossible, and decide to do the work anyway without permits. The contractor is aware of the technicalities here and will allow me to choose, and I've chosen not to pay more than 10% of the cost of my house just to re-finish a 5x12 ft laundry room.

The cost of fixing the room - right now quoted at $7,500 - is less than an addition would cost b/c the roof, plumbing, electric are already in place - however, I felt it was a little high considering we're looking at two plain walls, a poured concrete floor, and recycling the windows/doors currently on the house. BUT, I have no experience with these sorts of costs and no one in my neighborhood pays for others to do work on their houses. My realtor doesn't even have any ideas (she thinks, after seeing the room, that I could do all of the repair work myself). I know costs will vary by location but it's hard to get a guess of what the going rate is around here.