Sometimes homes need renovating, either to improve aesthetics or because the owner wants to remodel to accommodate modern designs or family changes such as the arrival of a newborn. But before calling in the contractors to start ripping up floorboards and installing new fixtures, it’s essential to have a budget.
A home renovation budget template helps allocate, track, and control how much money is spent on the renovations. Every renovation step typically involves money – from design, materials, labor, and equipment. The home renovation budget template should cover all these costs to guarantee the project’s success.
While creating a renovation budget can be somewhat intimidating, adhering to it can determine whether the budget is helpful or not. This article will highlight how to use and create a home renovation budget template and other helpful information regarding home renovation budgets.
Cost of Remodeling a House
Some of the things to consider when coming up with a home renovation budget are the size of your project and the scale of your renovation, as they influence everything from your labor needs to the cost of materials. The bigger the project, the higher the budget. Additionally, how much time will be needed to complete your project.
Costing a renovation budget is done using square footage with all applicable variables, which differ from one project to another, considering that renovations will typically cost anywhere between $10 and $60 per square footage. The average costs of renovating various parts of the house are as follows: kitchen ($4000-60,000), bathroom ($2500-25,000), and basement ($11,000-30,000).
HomeAdvisor reports that homeowners can expect to spend on home remodeling as follows; $19000 for 1000 square feet and $87500 for 3000-4000 square feet projects.
How Much Should be Spent on a Home Renovation?
Renovation should align with the value of the house. Ideally, the renovation project of a single room should not cost more than 10-15% of the home’s value. For example, for a house valued at $200 000, if the kitchen is to be renovated, it shouldn’t cost more than $30 000.
Determine financing first
The idea of remodeling the kitchen or the sitting may sound exciting. Still, it is advisable to always think it through before initiating the project, more so on the aspect of financing. Renovation projects are costly. There should be a definite source of financing – whether it is from a savings account, loan, or credit card. Once the available funds have been identified, the home renovation budget should be set within that amount. This money can then be budgeted in the home renovation template.
Also, it is important to anticipate any unprecedented events because, with renovations, things can go wrong at any time. Therefore, always set aside at least 10-20% of the overall renovation budget for emergencies.
How to Plan a Home Renovation Budget?
A home renovation budget template should highlight the essential costs of renovating a house. These expenditures will vary from project to project. Therefore, once the budget amount, idea, and designs have been established, the renovation budget can be planned with the help of the following steps:
Determine the type of work
Firstly, determine the type of work that needs to be done in the project. Next, determine the tasks or activities that need to be completed in the project. Trimming the lawn, repainting the walls, and replacing a piece of furniture in your kitchen are all different categories. The scope of work will determine the type and amount of materials, labor, and, consequently, the renovation cost. Not the scope can be reviewed later on to accommodate any scope items that might be necessary.
Set a timeline
The completion timeframe is essential to consider when hiring contractors such as plumbers, painters, and electricians. Therefore, planning the renovation budget should consider the duration of the project. The home renovation budget template should be prepared by following a proper timeline, from when materials and labor will be purchased to when the renovation is done. This is because you need to estimate how much time is required for each work step as it determines how many work hours each worker puts in. Unless you have appropriate data for predicting this, it will be impossible to complete your renovation by a specific date and within your budget limits.
Interview contractors and get quotes
It is wise to meet with different contractors to get quotes on the renovation project. This helps select the most appropriate contractor for the job while helping to narrow down the home renovation budget template to market rates. In addition, selecting a contractor helps establish how much will be spent on labor, materials, and other contractors. The more quotes collected, the more accurate a home renovation budget will be.
Be careful when selecting contractors because cheap is not always equate to quality work. When interviewing a contractor, some of the vital considerations you ought to consider include references, openly communicating your project and budget limitations, thoroughly stating your needs and priorities in terms of the project, and developing a straightforward way of addressing unforeseen issues.
Prioritize remodeling needs
Renovations are typically out of necessity or want. A home renovation budget template should help the homeowner prioritize the things that need to be done first on their list, especially if there is a large amount of work. This can be achieved by creating a list of the order in which activities and items have to be prioritized. Separate the wants and needs of the project. The needs should be prioritized.
Write a detailed plan with costs
A plan is needed to ensure renovation goes on seamlessly. A detailed plan for the home renovation project should clearly outline the order of events, people, and tasks involved in the renovation. If the home renovation budget isn’t based on a plan, it will be impossible to track the project’s progress and how much money is spent on each step. The plan should include the cost of each item that needs to be bought and when they need to be bought. This includes when materials will have to be purchased and how much labor will cost (from start to finish).
Home Renovation Budget Templates
Home remodeling is an extensive process that can be quite time-consuming and challenging. The best option for making a home renovation budget is using a template, which will simplify the entire process of budgeting. Readers can obtain home renovation budget templates from this website for free. A budget template simplifies the entire process of creating a home renovation budget. This template can be adapted for any remodeling project, from simple painting to complex house reconstruction. In addition, the templates are created so that users can customize them to incorporate any extra items that may be required.
How does a Budget Template Help?
The templates are designed to cover the essential costs of home renovation budget items such as materials and labor required for a remodeling project. By outlining the projected costs of a renovation project, the template can be beneficial in the renovation process in the following ways:
- Helps to track larger construction budgets: There may be instances when the project is so big that it is better to break it down into phases. A home renovation budget template helps users to plan for such a situation. This way, the process of tracking spending is simplified into managed categories.
- Helps to track cost estimates of an individual room: A home renovation budget template helps create a cost estimate for each room of a house that has to be renovated. Each room can have a separate home renovation budget template. This way, the progress of each room that is being remodeled can be tracked, thus minimizing the risks of errors in budgeting for one room being transferred to other rooms.
- Helps to track expenses of the whole house renovation: It helps to track the expenses of the whole house renovation. Managing the renovation is simplified since common materials can be budgeted in one document.
Free Templates
Professional Budgeting Tips
Various tips can ensure that the entire process of creating a home renovation budget is simplified and efficient.
These include:
Choose the right people
The easiest way to create a home renovation budget is by having the right people on your team. When you have the plans from the architect and home remodeling contractor, it is easy to write a home renovation budget for each item that needs to be bought. Ask recommendations of sound designers and contractors from friends and consider reviews when choosing contractors from online platforms.
Get at least three bids
Getting at least three quotations from vendors and contractors. This way, you can determine the average amount that should be spent on each budget item. This is because two quotes can illustrate a significant variation that might not be reliable or accurately represent the market prices.
Use mix material
It would be best to consider mixing expensive and less expensive materials. This creates a balance in your budget, and it prevents a situation where you have an overly expensive budget or poor-quality cheap products.
Work yourself as much as possible
Getting involved in renovation activities is an effective way of cutting costs. You can offer to do some painting, handiwork, etc.
Keep in mind the hidden costs
Hidden costs should always be factored in when using a home renovation budget template. Hidden costs can stem from accidents, breakages, shortages, etc. A contingency category should be included in the home renovation budget template. A 10-20% of the total budget can be kept as a contingency.
Communicate freely
Be upfront when communicating with contractors and workers on what you require. Renovation is an expensive exercise, and if not done correctly, it might feel not worthwhile. Disclose your budget limitations and priorities to guide and grant the contractors flexibility to ensure work is done within the budget.
Consider using used materials
Using second-hand materials is more affordable than using new materials. Therefore, you should consider sourcing reclaimed materials that do not affect the quality of work. These materials can be obtained from architectural salvage companies or asked the contractors for sources of reclaimed materials.
Combine projects of the same kind
It would be best to consider combining similar projects as they are executed simultaneously. For example, painters can be called in to paint different rooms all at once instead of separately. This can reduce the labor hours, save you money and facilitate easier project management.
Sell unnecessary things
Unnecessary things such as furniture and electronics can be sold. Selling these items can generate some money that can be redirected to the renovation.
Use alternatives (if needed)
If the preferred designs and materials are costly, alternatives should be considered to ensure the renovation project remains within the budget. Consulting the designers and contractors is a good way of identifying quality alternatives.
Conclusion
Budgeting is inevitable when it comes to home renovations. Home renovation budget templates are often used for this process. Using the templates, homeowners can allocate funds to meet project requirements and track how much is spent on the project. Materials and labor are the two items that take up the most significant percentage of a home renovation budget. However, the template should capture each expense anticipated for the project. While creating a solid home renovation budget can take time, working without it can lead to issues and financial strains during renovation. Therefore, a home renovation budget should be a priority for any homeowner intending to remodel their house.
