How Much Is A Home Remodeling Project?
How Much Does A Remodeling Project Cost?
If you search this question in Google you’re going to see thousands of results with a slew of different answers.
While this can be somewhat helpful, it’s hard to wrap your head around how much you should expect to pay for your specific remodeling project.
I get this question often and I’ve found it hard to give people a concise answer considering there are so many factors involved in a remodeling project.
So to make your life just a little easier, I’ve gone ahead and broken down the cost of remodeling projects by specific rooms and shared a few helpful tips that will guide you through the process of making decisions for your next remodeling project.
Let’s get into it!
How Home Remodeling Is Priced
Before I get into a breakdown of different remodeling costs, I want to walk through the pricing process so you can see it from a remodeling contractor’s perspective.
There are a few different components that play a role in a remodeling project’s price that you should consider and know about before signing on the dotted line. They are design costs, design estimation and specification costs, and your final estimated costs. I know these can sound confusing so let me provide some additional details.
Design Cost
Design Cost refers to what you will pay a designer or architect to create the concept and blueprint for your remodeling project. In many cases, your remodeling contractor will work with reputable designers and architects in your area and refer you to the ones they partner with the most and trust. This cost comes separate from your total project and can run anywhere from $2-5k.
From my experience in the remodeling industry, I know that working with designers has a massive impact on the success of your project. While some might look past this part of the process, I put a heavy emphasis on working with a design team to bring your vision to life so that when it comes time to build, you already know what is going to happen and your remodeling contractor can follow the designs you’ve approved.
Design Estimation & Specifications Cost
This is where your remodeling contractor sits down with you to review the proposed design and walks through all of your selections. Depending on your remodeling project, these selections range from tile, countertops, and flooring and, all the way to paint colors, fixtures, and faucets. This part of the process gives your remodeling contractor the ability to ask questions, gain information, and make sure that everything in your design is able to be done.
While this might not be the same for all remodeling contractors, I’ve implemented this process in our work and have found it to be valuable for clients who want to know the details of their build. Similarly, it allows remodeling contractors like us to validate all choices before we start your project. In most cases, this cost runs anywhere from $1-3k depending on the type of remodeling project you are working on.
Estimated Cost
Once you’ve walked through both of the costs I’ve shared above, it’s time to move into your estimated cost. This cost outlines all of the different components of your remodeling project and summarizes it in a final estimated cost. This will be the total cost for your entire project. As I’ve mentioned before, every remodeling contractor is different and how they share this cost might look different as well.
For our business, we like to outline all the different elements of your build–materials, labor, timeline, etc—so that you can see where your dollars are going from start to finish. This estimated cost reflects the total cost to complete your project. I’ve found it helpful for clients to see this broken down next to a timeline of the project so that we can set incremental payment dates and everyone knows what parts of the project are happening at what dates.
What Does A Typical Remodeling Project Deposit Cost?
In most cases, the deposit for your remodeling project will run somewhere between 25-30% of the estimated cost. This deposit secures your project and puts the wheels in motion for it to start.
Bear in mind that there are a lot of different ways to pay for your remodeling project depending on the scope of the work and how you want to fund this effort. In many cases, clients will take out a loan for these projects and use that to pay over the course of the project. If that’s the route you’re looking to go, we partner with a great company called Acorn, that can walk you through the process of getting a loan and have you set up for success.
A Breakdown Of Home Remodeling Costs By Project
This is what you came here for. I’m going to walk you through the range of different remodeling projects and give you a rough estimate of the range in which these types of projects can run you.
Remember that costs vary depending on your state and city, so what you see here is what it typically costs clients in North Carolina to make these projects a reality.
Another thing to note is that certain projects come with certain costs. For instance, kitchens and bathrooms are naturally going to cost more because there are more factors to take into consideration such as plumbing, electrical, etc.
Let’s take a look…
Kitchen Remodel
Range: $50-79k+
Kitchen remodels can range in cost but generally, you will find them somewhere between $50-80k. This depends on the square footage of your kitchen and your specific needs. If you’re looking to completely remodel the space, you need to take into account whether you want new cabinets, flooring, and surfaces. You’ll also need to consider fixtures such as faucets, lights, and other appliance-related items. Remember, you spend more time in the kitchen than you realize—surveys show that Americans spend over 400 hours in their kitchens every single year. That said, as you make decisions for this space, make sure that you are thinking about how the kitchen serves you and how you want it to function for your lifestyle.
Bathroom Remodel
Range: $25-$75k+
Bathrooms are another higher-cost space for a multitude of reasons. One is the plumbing and electrical. Say for instance you want to add another sink to your master bathroom, you’re looking at routing your plumbing to another outlet and potentially other outlets to serve that spot. Also finishes can impact your budget based on the choices that you make. Maybe you’re looking to get a full tile installation in your shower instead of an insert. These different factors can impact the overall cost of a bathroom remodel.
Bedroom/Office Remodel
Range: $10-20k+
I’m putting bedrooms and offices in the same category here because often you’ll find that many clients like to use a bedroom space as a functional office. Whether the space is for sleeping or working, most of the cost associated with this kind of remodel comes from elements like flooring, trim, wall, light fixtures, accent walls, electric, and built-ins. One thing to note is that if you’re doing a remodeling project on a space like this, making it multi-purpose can help increase your home value if the space can be considered a bedroom.
Living Room Remodel
Range: $10-20k+
Living room remodels tend to come on the shoulders of another remodeling project. What I’ve found is that most clients doing a kitchen remodel will opt to also do the living room because they usually want the spaces to match. Similar to that of a bedroom or office, the cost for these spaces comes from selections on flooring, trim, light fixtures, wall paint, etc.
Additions
Range: $100-220k+
Additions are considered anything that is new construction. This means creating new spaces that do not currently exist in your home. With that in mind, these remodeling projects are going to cost the most for a few reasons.
The first is that your remodeling contractor will have to lay a new foundation and build new walls for the space. This takes time and planning that will often require breaking down other walls to make room for the new addition. The second reason is that sourcing for this project is going to cost more because there are more materials involved compared to a smaller remodeling project.
That said, it truly depends on what kind of space this addition is going to be. If you’re simply adding a mudroom that has built-ins, that will cost you less than if you are doing a master suite with an entirely new bathroom.
On that note, additions can have an impact on your home’s value over time. One question I encourage clients to answer is “is this going to provide value?” Not just value for sale, but value to you as you live in the home. If the answer is yes to both of those questions, an addition can be a great investment.
Are There Ways To Save Money On My Remodeling Project?
There are always ways to save money on a remodeling project but one thing I stick to firmly is not cutting corners. You might find that some contractors out there can spare you a few dollars here and there, but it can come at the compensation of your project. The goal with your remodeling project should be to make your home serve you, not you serve it. So in the case of cutting costs, we’ll always help clients explore ways to save, but never at the expense of doing quality work.
That being said, one thing I’ve learned from my experience in the industry is that people like to keep up with the Jones’s. You’ve heard this many times before, but I cannot emphasize how often it comes up in a project. Through conversations, I’ll find that clients are making decisions based on the impression of others, leading to decisions that might not necessarily serve them best in the long run.
This can look like choosing certain countertops because they think the in-laws are going to love them or getting specific fixtures because every house on the street has them. Don’t get me wrong, inspiration is great, but we want to serve you—this is your home and we want it to be the best for you and your needs.
In that vein, I’ve found it helpful to pose this question to clients. “How can you save today to serve tomorrow?” What I mean by this is how can you make decisions about your project that will save you money upfront and serve you in the long term?
For example, maybe you’ve got your heart set on a spectacular faucet for a kitchen remodel but this faucet costs significantly more than a majority of the other options. Instead of forking over the extra cash to get it immediately, you can go a more cost-friendly route and get the standard faucet installed in your initial build. Then as time goes on and you’ve saved, you can come back to that faucet you love and install it at a later date when costs aren’t the biggest factor.
Nothing is going to change about where the water comes out or how the plumbing works, almost all faucets function the same way. So when the time is right, you can purchase that faucet of your dreams and install it with ease, knowing that you saved for it during the initial project.
Ready To Bring Your Dream Home To Life?
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