How much does it cost to renovate a house?
House renovations are a stressful time to both you and your wallet. Whether you’re just doing up one room, or changing the interior design entirely, knowing how much will it cost before you start can be a great advantage. Estimating the budget and knowing where to save and where to splurge should be your priority way before you start looking for professionals to do the job. After all, better safe than sorry. But how do you exactly go about estimating the cost of a house renovation? What should you take into consideration and how do you know what things should cost and where to say no?
Labour costs
One of the main things that always seem to shock people when they calculate their renovation costs is the price of labour. It’s worth remembering that house renovations are not just about buying the materials, the furniture and the projects, but the skill and time that each labourer brings.
Underestimating the time it will take to tear apart the old house and make everything brand new is the main reason why people get angry at labour costs. Think how much time it would take you to do it yourself! Ripping out old floors, getting all the tiles off the walls and floors, prepping the walls for new paint, securing everything in place, working on every minute detail – it all takes time and in the building industry, time costs as much as materials do.
Tip: Look around for constructors that will be willing to take on such a project and sit down with them. Let them estimate how much time it would take and be realistic about it. Demolition may take anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days depending on the scale of your renovation.
You might think they workers are not actually doing anything, but it’s still hard work and it has its price. The exact price will depend on the contractor but you must be prepared for it to be around £50 per labour hour.
Good quality materials
There’s no point renovating a house if your materials won’t be good quality. It’s better to save on furniture and decorations than on tiles, floors or paint.
When estimating your budget for the renovation, look around the market and check for average prices of things like tiles, plumbing materials, plaster, paint, floors, primer – things may be cheap, but they add up quite fast and the final cost might be surprising. If you know nothing about materials, let your constructor advise you and pick the best within your budget.
House renovation. Source: Dick Whittington Design & Build.
It’s safe to say that house renovations can be worth anything from £10 000 to + £50 000 depending on the extent of the renovation, the materials you choose, the labour put into the project and the end result you expect. Be prepared to spend a lot and always remember to have a backup in case of emergency. It might be a pricey investment, but for most properties, it’s worth every penny.
