Home Renovation Cost Estimate | Know How Much Your Project Will Cost

When considering a home renovation, one of the most asked questions is how much will it cost? In today’s video, I show you exactly how to figure that out and because we will expect the unexpected, you will eliminate those “surprises” because you’ll have already planned for it.

There are 5 different types of costs that need to be taken into consideration.

1) Materials

this is pretty self-explanatory. Materials costs is all the materials needed for your specific project.

• Do a room-by-room outline of what you need for each project
• Stand at the door / entry of the room and write it all down; itemize each item you see and know you’ll need. Ex: bathroom - you’ll see you need a vanity, sink, countertop, faucet, mirror, medicine cabinet, bath bar (replacing) or changing lighting - 2 x wall sconces.
• Add this to a spreadsheet and then research (retails or online) how much each of those items cost

2) Labor

who is going to do the work? Who are you hiring to make your vision come to life?

• General Contractors / Specialty Trades - interview and get 3 bids
• Designer
• Drafter, Architect, Structural Engineer
• Add to spreadsheet

3) Miscellaneous

• Permits
• Storage - off-site storage facility; pod storage; in the garage? Around the house? Consider the cost of having clutter in your daily life
• Meals Out - not having a kitchen to cook in or not having the energy to cook when there’s disruption in the house
• Alternative Housing (apt, hotel, friends/family)
  • Does it make sense for you to move out for the duration of the renovation?
  • Weekend stays?
  • Stay with friends/family
• Add to spreadsheet

4) Contingencies

allow 15-20% just in case (Ex: rat infestation, termite infestation, wood rot, electrical upgrade, roof repair, additional work want to do, etc.)

5) Time / Opportunity

• how much longer will it take if you lived in the house v. moving out temporarily
• DIY v. hiring pros
• do you have time to design and manage your renovation while working F/T and being a parent? Should you hire a project manager?

To make it super easy for you to do this for yourself, I am gifting you the exact budget spreadsheet TEMPLATE that I use on every single one of my projects.  There's no need to reinvent the wheel. Just get your budget template here or click the image below and watch the video for step-by-step instructions on how to use the budget spreadsheet and plug in your numbers and see what those real costs are so that you are realistic about what budget is needed to complete your project.Is it more than you expected? At least you know how much more you’ll need to save up before you get started and not stress about scrambling to pull together the funds. Did it turn out to be less than you thought...awesome, now you can tackle another project.Good luck!