We all know renovations can get costly so it’s best to plan ahead. That’s why I’m gonna ask you put down the sledge hammer and let’s talk about the best budgeting practices before starting your next home renovation.
What is a renovation project?
That may sound like a ridiculous question but I want to define renovation before we get moving. The thing is, you might hear renovation and think we’re tearing down walls and putting in a new kitchen. But I would argue redecorating a bedroom could be considered renovation if there’s paint involved. So for our intents and purposes we’re talking about projects that alter anything attached to the walls (paint, tearing down walls, redoing a bathroom, tile floor etc).
draft a plan
To start you need to know what it is you’re going to be doing. I want you to list out everything you’re planning to change about the space. For instance, if we’re renovating a bathroom our list would look something like this:
1/ Demo- everything
2/ Reconfigure layout- move toilet, vanity, shower and bath
3/ Electrical- new lighting and switches
4/ Tile- floor, shower walls, backsplash
5/ Drywall + Trim + Paint
6/ New vanity, sink, toilet, bathtub and fixtures
Create tradesperson categories
Once you have your master list I want you to break it down even further into categories based on the trades you’ll be using. If you’re renovating a bathroom you’ll definitely need a plumber, so that would be one category. Based on the list we have above we’ll need the following tradesperson categories-
1/ Demo
2/ Plumber
3/ Electrician
4/ Carpenter
5/ Drywall
6/ Painter
7/ Designer 😉
Now that we have the trades lined up we can place all the things they’ll be doing under their category.
use the internet for basic pricing
Before I say anything here, it is ALWAYS best to reach out to the contractors for pricing. For our intents and purposes we’re trying to establish a rough estimate so we know what we’re getting into. A quick google search will tell us that a plumber charges around $45-$200 an hour. It’s up to you how you want to go about this but I would take the highest number. After that we can assume that it will take them 2-4 days. In our example I’m going with 4 days since we’re moving a lot of plumbing. If you’re not moving too much 2 days should do it. For my plumber I’m budgeting $6400, which I’ll be honest sounds high. But I’d rather budget high than low. You want to do this for each contractor that you listed above. For some of the categories like drywall, paint and tile you will need sq footage to calculate the material cost. I love this easy free online sq footage calculator.
pick your finishes now
You may think I’m rushing things here but it might be a good idea to know how you want the space to look. Head over to pinterest and start a board for your project. From there start making a list of the finishes you see and like. For my bathroom project I pinned a bathroom that had a really cool marble inlay tile. I added it to my list, found the pricing online and after using the sq footage calculator I know I will need to budget $1000 for the tile. Other items you may want to consider are big ticket items like cabinets, flooring and freestanding bathtubs. These can take a big chunk out of your budget.
final pricing and editing
Once you have all the rough numbers in your spreadsheet you might be thinking wow this is going to cost way more than I thought. But the good news is you’re still in the planning process and things can be changed a bit. This is a great time to decide what you’re willing to let go if pricing comes in higher than you’d like. Are you willing to forgo the cement freestanding tub and opt for the acrylic one? Can you leave the layout as is? One of my top tips for saving money on renovation projects is with the finishes. I’ve found beautiful light fixtures on amazon, freestanding tubs and vanities on wayfair. These are the things you can get creative with and save some money.
call the contractors
Once you have a general idea of what your project might cost it’s time to call your contractors. Pro tip: keep your budget pricing to yourself. Let them tell you how much they would charge, you never want to suggest pricing to them. Most often I find that homeowners don’t have a good sense of what a project might cost. And they are blindsided at pricing but with a rough budget you will at least have a general idea.
If you’re in the Philadelphia area and are starting a renovation project feel free to reach out! We are general contractors, that just means we handle all the contractors for you. So instead of you calling the plumber, electrician etc you just call us and we handle the rest! And of course I can help with the design work. Visit our Design+Build page here for more info.
Can’t wait to hear how your project goes!
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