Do renos ever come in on budget?

8 years ago

Not ours, that's for sure. Our bathroom reno is in full swing. When the workers gutted it, they found mold and rot that needs to be taken care of. $$$$. Then it turns out we need fire-grade pipes for our vanity/sink, because the pipes go down the common wall of our semi-detached home and code requires it. $$$. Then all these odds and ends I had conveniently put out of my mind. $$ All in all I suspect we'll be $3,000 to $5,000 over budget. Sigh.

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grannysmith18

8 years ago

It isn't about the "allowances" from the contractor - it's other things that come up that simply couldn't be anticipated before you take down existing walls and floors and see what's going on behind there.

And as much as you want to stay on budget, there are other aesthetic, practical situations that come up. As we were doing my kitchen reno, I realized that I should widen the door way into the adjoining room, but it had to be done then, before the rest of the kitchen went in. Without going into details, it really was a no-brainer - it looks great, and changed the entire look and feel of the first floor. So we spent the $500, which, with all the money we were spending, was the equivalent of loose change at the bottom of my purse.

And that's just the first thing that come to my mind. It adds up, and I don't regret any of it, but you should budget and plan for the unexpected, or you'll put so much effort into your project and end up dissatisfied. The worst thing that can happen is that you'll have some money left over when you're done.

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Comments (7)

grannysmith18
8 years ago
Never, ever, never. I think it's always a mistake not to have a slush fund when doing any project.
jewelisfabulous
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The biggest budget discrepancies occur, in my opinion, between the "allowances" contractors state in their bid and the actual cost of selections. It's become very clear to me that some contractors often "short" selection allowances purposefully in order to make the entire bid palatable to the client while hoping the client doesn't realize how unrealistic the allowances really are.

I'm sorry about the nasty surprise you got during your reno.
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PRO
Precision Carpentry
8 years ago
For things like kitchens and bath remodels there will be allowances in the contract.I always ask the customer plenty of questions to try and get a feeling of the quality they want in cabinets and fixtures before making the allowances.I look at the rest of the home and make a few judgments based on that and the neighborhood they live in.I try to be as realistic as possible and I'm usually pretty close .I never bid the allowances planning on making extra after the job starts.Nobody likes surprises or delays.If I error I always try to error on the high side so there are none of these surprises.

If I don't get the job so be it.When the job is done we both know where we stand.
sjhockeyfan325
8 years ago
We've never done a contract with "allowances". We came in within our "+10%" on our most recent whole-condo renovation (budgeted $150,000, spent a little over $160,000).
PRO
Precision Carpentry
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The only time that there are not allowances is when every piece of material,fixture,finish,appliance,flooring and so forth is picked in advance of signing a contract.This is virtually inpossible unless I'm just way overcharging you for the job.

I'm simply not going to spend all them time on your job figuring all those items out without a contract.And rarely have a client who knows exactly what they want when I show up.
Ellie RK
8 years ago
No, not even close. We did an entire house renovation. Broke walls, moved steps, new floors, new kitchen, new master bath, old master bath is now a walk-in closet, painted everything inside and out, and redid the back deck steps. This doesn't include new plumbing, electric and propane line needed to be changed to accommodate a new range. (I'm not even including the landscaping).

I will NEVER go through this again. We thought we bought a bargain home in a lake community. After everything is said and done, the reno will cost more than the house and land did.

On the plus side, we plan on keeping it until we retire (that's still a looooong way off) so it's worth it in the long run.

Plus, going up to your own home on weekends/holidays, and being able to get away from the city - priceless.

Do renos ever come in on budget?

grannysmith18

Comments (7)

grannysmith18

jewelisfabulous

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