How Do You Budget for a Renovation or Building Project?
By Zephyr and Stone
Planning a kitchen, bathroom remodelling, home renovation, or new home design for your dream home? Working out your project or renovation cost and then tracking spending once you start, is essential to avoid budget overruns, stress and disappointment…
And it’s actually easier than you’d think with a little project planning and quoting before you start. Skip this vital step, and your dream project could turn into your biggest nightmare! But don’t sweat — we’ve got you covered with this guide which explains what to do first, three options for calculating your project cost, and a project planning template so you don’t miss a thing. #letsdothis
Zephyr and Stone • Resort House Project Planning with Building House Cost Calculator
1. What Are You Building?
First things first, you need to know what you’re building and have a pretty good idea of your home design.
For a new build, having a floor plan with dimensions is essential, while for home renovations or calculating the renovation cost of kitchens, bathrooms or a single room, you’ll need to decide on any demolition and structural changes. This will form the Scope of Work when you’re ready to speak to builders or contractors regarding pricing.
Then you’ll also need to have settled on your home design or have a design vision board so you or your building team will know what to quote for.
Zephyr and Stone • Floor Plan from Home Renovation Design Bundle
2. Go Window Shopping + Get Quoting
As unappealing as talking numbers may sound, project success isn’t possible without it. The old “I’m going to renovate my house for $100k” simply isn’t realistic these days, and setting yourself an accurate budget is near impossible when you don’t know what you want or how much it costs. So your next step once you have your floor plan sorted is hitting the pavement to do some window shopping, Pinterest or internet scrolling and researching products and costs. Especially —
Investigating big ticket items - cladding, materials, fixtures and fittings, like tiles, tapware, flooring, appliances and lighting to name a few!
How much cabinetry are you planning for? What materials and benchtops do you want?
Will you also need new furniture? New window coverings?
Without knowing the cost of what you want, you won’t be able to accurately budget for your project, and no builder’s quote will be accurate. Finding out details like approximate costs per m2 or sq. ft. for tiles you like, or what type of appliances you’re after, is a vital step to avoiding under-estimating your project or renovation cost.
Zephyr and Stone • Scandi Ensuite
3. Number Crunching + Budget Calculator
Now that you’ve done some project planning, you’re in a good position to determine your new build or renovation cost, and there are several ways to do it…
A builder can provide a quote based on your floor plan, structural changes, and the types of materials and finishes you’d like. The more detailed specification of products and finishes you provide, the more accurate your building quote will be. Alternatively, sharing images of your design vision can also help your builder provide a reasonably accurate indication of costs.
Another quick way to estimate building or renovation costs is using the m2 or sq. ft. rate. Do this by taking the Area (m2 of sq. ft of your project) and multiplying it by a cost price. For example, a 300m2 home multiplied by $2,500 per m2 would cost $750,000 to build. The cost rate will be affected by a number of factors including your product and finish selections, the city you live in and your project site access. By speaking to builders or trades in your area and providing a rough guide of the finish you’re after, they should be able to give you a good idea of what cost price rate to allow per m2 or sq. ft. for project planning.
Finally, a budget spreadsheet or renovation cost calculator is one of the most accurate ways to work out your renovation cost and plan your project — and it’s our favourite renovation tool. We’ve used one for over 15 years for every single project and have developed and perfected our own over that time. The best thing about project or renovation budgeting with a budget spreadsheet is that it allows you to add and change costs as quotes come in or you update your selections.
Zephyr and Stone • Planning is Key
We’ve developed our own Project Budget Tracker Tool which we’ve tweaked and perfected over 15 years of renovating, building and developing homes. One of the best features is the ability to Budget — and enter Actual Costs in separate columns side-by-side. This allows you to estimate your project cost now, and then enter actual costs as quotes come in and spending occurs. The Budget and Actual Costs sit side-by-side on our renovation tool so you can monitor and compare your budget and spending throughout your project.
Zephyr and Stone • Project Planning Template
The other game-changing feature of our budget calculator is that pretty much everything you’ll need to include in your budget is pre-entered for you. This ensures you don’t miss critical project costs like Council Fees, Skip Hire or Waterproofing, and with a running total that’s always on hand, you always know exactly where your budget and spending stand.
Zephyr and Stone • Scandi Ensuite
4. Set a budget
Although you’ll likely have a budget in mind, what you want to spend and the reality of how much your project will cost may not be the same! Now that you know what you’ve worked out what your project will cost, you’re in a position to make decisions like—
Is the project estimate within your budget, and if not, are there products or finishes that can be substituted to improve your bottom line?
If you’re renovating and the estimated cost exceeds your budget, you could break up the renovation into stages rather than tackle it all at once.
How far are you willing to stretch your budget — deciding this before committing will avoid being caught out halfway, with the stress of budget over-runs.
Allocate a contingency to allow for unforeseen costs. We recommend 10%, especially when renovating as there are often surprises hidden under the layers of 60’s wallpaper and shag pile carpets. Your Project Budget Tracker Tool calculates a contingency automatically, and you can customise the percentage to suit your project and needs.
Zephyr and Stone • Retreat House Kitchen
The Ideal Time For Budget Planning
Obtaining a fairly accurate cost estimate during the final stages of the home design process — before you sign off on your design, provides the flexibility to make changes to your floor plan and finishes if you’re over budget.
For instance, if the finishes you’re dreaming of don’t work in your budget, it might be an option to reduce the size of your home rather than foregoing the look, feel and finishes. If you’ve allocated an extra room for guests, could you instead incorporate a sofa bed into a second living area or home office, and therefore reduce your home footprint? Could you incorporate a study nook off a hallway and reduce the number of rooms? Or delete that extra bathroom or reduce its size? Only you’ll be able to make these decisions on what’s required for your own home.
Just make sure you don’t skip this vital step, as building a smaller but smarter home means you’ll have more money to spend on the finishes and products you really want, rather than compromising finishes for rooms or spaces that are rarely used.
Zephyr and Stone • Classic Coastal Bathroom
Set yourself up for success
Whichever project planning method you choose — calculating an accurate budget will set you up for success and avoid the stress of budget blow-outs. So work out your costs, set your budget and stick to it!
Zephyr and Stone • Project Budget Tracker Tool