How To Create A Renovation Budget (Free Printable Planner)

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Find out how to create a renovation budget that fits your needs. Avoid unexpected expenses and make the most of your home improvement.

Do you want to go into debt for a home renovation? Find out if it’s a smart financial move or could cost you more than you bargained for.

Last year, our home renovation budget was a whopping $75,000, and we spent close to $70,000 if not a little more.

The breakdown of our renovation budget is listed below.

Although our expenses came under budget, we still had to deal with potential disasters.

Home Renovation Budget Questions And Considerations

Anytime you want to renovate your home, some factors are critical to consider.

First, winter is the cheapest to renovate, whereas summer and spring are more expensive as contractors are in demand.

During the fall months, the weather can get wonky, but it’s also an excellent time to schedule home projects that need to be completed.

When we purchased our home in the winter of 2009, we knew we had to hire roofers before we put in an offer.

If there was anything else that needed repairs or replacement outside, it came as a surprise after the winter melt.

The home seller was upfront about the mouse problem she had in the past although it was obvious.

I knew that the basement insulation was full of mouse poo and holes that needed to be cleaned and replaced.

Cleaning the basement insulation would undoubtedly be a time-consuming and expensive job for me to complete.

We tallied any obvious renovations into our house offer to know where we stood.

Homeowner Suprise Always Costs Money

However, always plan a renovation budget for homeowner surprise, especially when you get the keys for the first time.

Homeowner surprise is when you find things you didn’t anticipate needing fixing or renovating until you move into your new home.

During our 17 years in this house, we’ve completed renovations, including the roof, wood flooring, new wood deck, wood fence, basement insulation, and a bathroom renovation.

Each one of the projects above was planned using a renovation budget, projected expenses, and a checklist.

Projected expenses are those that you anticipate and save for in advance.

Questions To Consider For Your Renovation Budget

Below are questions to consider before buying materials or hiring tradespeople to begin a project.

Do we need or want to renovate? What renovation projects must be completed first? How much or should the renovation cost be in proportion to the home? Can we afford the renovation with potential emergency repairs, if any? Should we finance a loan for the renovation? How many comparison estimates do we want to get? Will we go into debt for the renovation? Should we hire a design-build contractor? How much have we saved to renovate? What will the length of time be to finish the project? Do we need to leave our home during the renovation?

Ways To Finance A Home Renovation

Although you know we prefer to pay cash for our home renovations, you may want to explore the other options below.

Be cautious when getting loans from family and friends, as this never ends well.

Cash– Any available liquid cash. Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC) – Access up to 80% of your home’s value. Borrow for renovations, debt consolidations, or large purchases. A private Loan is a loan given to an individual or company by a private organization or affluent person. Personal Loans allow you to borrow a fixed amount of money and pay it back over a certain period. Lenders may also refer to them as long-term financing plans, installment loans, and consumer loans. Canada.ca Mortgage Refinance means renegotiating your existing mortgage loan agreement. You might do this to consolidate debts, or you could use the equity in your property to increase your mortgage loan amount for significant expenses. – TD Canada Trust

Planning A Home Renovation Budget Checklist

We used to get asked why we kept so much cash in our savings account, and the answer was always renovations.

Planning the right time for a renovation begins with understanding the process and, in our case, saving money.

Our first major renovation in 2023 was the vinyl siding insulation and eavestroughs, which cost us $25,131.20.

Initially, we set the renovation budget for the project at $25,000; however, we were fortunate to get money back through a government incentive plan.

Next came the new windows and sunroom for the entire home except for the basement windows, which were fine.

The total cost for significant renovation projects completed in 2023 is $66,885.87.

However, this does not include the drywall, plaster, tape, insulation, and accessories for the garage, which would add about $4,500-$5,500.

An expert tip I learned was always to remember that when a wall comes down, anything can be hidden that will increase your renovation costs.

Things to consider hidden behind walls during a renovation might be any of the following;

mold mice poop little to no insulation missing or wrong parts/materials water damage, etc.

Our Renovation Budget Breakdown Of Expenses

I have yet to complete two more walls in the garage.

Double garage door $5,876.32 The windows in the entire home were replaced, apart from two in the basement. $25,828.41 includes a new sunroom with floor-to-ceiling windows and two sliding doors with screens. Epoxy flooring in the garage. $4,625.94 Eaves, soffits, downspouts, new vinyl siding, and insulation $25,131.20 New asphalt driveway $5,424.00

We needed a planning checklist to ensure we followed a renovation budget and met our goals.

Creating a renovation budget and planning checklist helped keep us on track so we didn’t burn through $75,000.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the extras that companies offer when negotiating deals for renovation projects.

For example, you might be offered heated bathroom flooring for an extra $1000.

If you haven’t considered heated flooring and don’t have the cash, forget the reno and save the money first.

Any time you use money from a source that is not directly cash from your bank account, you pay interest.

If you roll the expense into your mortgage, you’ll pay it off until the end.

Whatever your renovation budget is, you can add all the interest you will pay.

Project expenses that aren’t paid in full quickly will exponentially increase the long-term costs.

Unfortunately, homeowners who don’t have the patience to wait must be willing to pay the price.

Creating A Renovation Checklist

Below are questions that we include before we plan a renovation budget.

Mrs. CBB and I sit with our budget binder to document the renovation process.

For example, we include all the projects we want to complete for the year.

What is the order of importance of those projects, and rank them from highest to least?

One tip that we found very important and thankful that we did was to take before, in-between, and after photos of all projects.

Doing so helps you see how your home evolves and may become valuable.

We create goals for each project so we know what we expect from the renovation.

For example, when we had the epoxy flooring done in our garage, the goals were to drywall, insulate, add a new garage door, install ceiling storage, and include accessories.

The accessories were ceiling fans, new lighting, and mechanic/construction cabinets for storage and workspace.

Ideally, we wanted to complete a full garage reno before the winter so we had somewhere to store everything we owned.

Also, we have a bedroom over the garage that is always too hot or cold, which seems to be a problem for most homeowners in Canada.

I had to ensure the ceiling was correctly insulated before I put the new drywall up.

Choosing A Contractor and Buying Materials

From there, we created a renovation budget, and everything I needed to purchase for the project was detailed with estimated costs, including measurements and materials needed.

We called several epoxy flooring contractors to visit our home and give us a free quote.

Always ask for references so you can call a previous client or see the work they’ve completed in photos or by visiting the home.

For example, if you are looking at new windows and a home in your city has had work done with a potential contractor, perhaps you can drive by and have a look from the road.

You never ask to visit inside someone’s home, but I’m sure it’s been done before.

After choosing an accredited company we were comfortable hiring, we looked into any permits the city might require.

For the garage door, insulation, drywall, and epoxy flooring, there were no permits that needed to be pulled.

We reviewed with the contractors what we wanted our floor to look like and finally scheduled the renovation.

Also, for any renovations you complete yourself, don’t forget to factor in a rental bin and dumping costs.

Free Renovation Budget Planner Printable

Print a copy of my custom Renovation Budget Planner if you plan to begin a home project.

Not only will a renovation budget planner keep you organized, but it will ensure you are on track with your budget.

We print a budget sheet for each renovation we plan for to detail the expenses, wants, and needs so we know what we want.

Preparing a document helps when we meet with contractors who visit our home to give us estimates on each project.

Alternatively, you can use an Excel spreadsheet instead, but you’ll have to configure that yourself.

Whether you do the renovation or hire a contractor, keep all the receipts in one folder.

Track every expense for each project so you know the exact amount it costs you once completed.

Also, anytime you remodel a space, consider any appliances, lighting, materials, and accessories included in your budget.

Research Before Signing On The Dotted Line

You get what you pay for when you hire a contractor, and always do your research.

Never pay upfront for an entire renovation; however, many companies ask for a small portion to start the job.

Overall, getting the renovation done right starts with the homeowner being savvy with their research, organizational, and negotiating skills.

Discussion: Have you ever completed a project and wished you had a renovation budget because expenses kept adding up?

Share your stories below.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. CBB

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