Creating a budget for a home renovation is often necessary to avoid any financial surprises later on and ensure that you get the most out of your money. The process itself is not complicated and can be summed up in a few distinct steps.
First, you need to ask yourself whether you’re giving your house a definite makeover or would rather only replace the worn-out parts. Once you know your approach to home renovation, it’s time to do some preliminary material cost estimates. You should also decide if you want to hire subcontractors or renovate the house on your own.
If you decide to use professional services for your home renovation, you should also collect and compare bids from several contractors to choose the most cost-efficient one. Follow the tips below and learn the ins and outs of budgeting for your home renovation!
Define the Scope of Your Home Renovation
When starting to plan your home renovation, you first need to sit down and think about what exactly you want to achieve. Are you planning to renovate your entire house or just a few rooms? Would you like to focus on the exterior or interior of your home? Is your renovation limited to essentials only, e.g., getting a new garage door or repairing a roof, or you’d prefer a complete makeover?
Knowing the answers to these questions will give you a better understanding of the overall costs and the necessary time frame for your project. It’s also worth considering whether you want to use this opportunity to make any major (and costly) changes, such as reconfiguring the floor plan or knocking down any internal walls.
Do Some Preliminary Cost Estimates
After you have a clear idea of what you want to do during your home renovation, it’s time to do some preliminary cost estimates. This will give you a rough idea of how much your entire project will likely cost and whether it’s worth going ahead with.
You can look at prices online and try to estimate the material costs of your home renovation. Although this is far from being an exact science, you should at least have a ballpark idea of the costs.
For example, once you know how many square feet you can cover with a single can of your chosen paint, it becomes easy to calculate the exact amount of paint you’ll need. The same applies to flooring solutions – you can use one of many online square footage calculators to find out how many square feet you can cover with one box of flooring tiles.
Decide Whether You’re Going to Hire Subcontractors
If you’ve decided to give your house a complete makeover, you may need the help of professional contractors. This is particularly true if you’re planning any structural changes, such as a house extension or reconfiguring the floor plan.
Hiring subcontractors will obviously add to the overall costs of your project. However, it’s important to remember that in many cases, it makes sense to hire professional services. This is particularly true when it comes to working with gas, electricity, or water, which may require specialized knowledge to tinker with.
Collect and Compare Bids from Several Contractors
If you decide to use professional services for your home renovation, you should start collecting bids from different contractors. Once you have a few offers, it’s time to compare them and choose the most cost-efficient one. Remember that the lowest bid is not necessarily the best one. Instead, you should focus on finding a contractor who can offer you a good price-quality ratio.
When comparing bids from different contractors, pay attention to the materials they’re planning to use as well as their estimated time frame for the project. If you’re not happy with any of the offers you received, don’t hesitate to negotiate with the contractor of your choice. After all, it never hurts to try!
Set Aside a Contingency Fund
Once you have a clear idea of the overall costs of your home renovation, it’s time to start setting aside a contingency fund or, in other words, an emergency fund. A contingency fund is an integral part of any renovation budget since it gives you a financial buffer in case any unexpected problems or delays occur during the project.
A good rule of thumb is to set aside 10-20% of the total costs of your project for your contingency fund. This should give you enough room to cover any unforeseen expenses during your home renovation.
Conclusion
As you can see, creating a budget for your home renovation is not as difficult as it may seem at first glance. By following the simple tips and tricks described above, you should be able to put together a comprehensive budget for your project without any significant problems.
Remember that a well-thought-out budget is a key to any successful home renovation. With a clear idea of how much money you’re likely to spend on your project, you can avoid any financial surprises later on and ensure that your home renovation goes as smoothly as possible. Hopefully, this guide will help you put together a comprehensive and accurate budget for your home renovation. Good luck!
