Mar 7, 2022
Let’s lift the curtain on renovation costs, shall we? Your renovation will offer an incredible change to your daily life, but what will the hard costs be? Throughout our design process, we consider the budget and costs for each item we recommend. At the completion of our design phase, we gather quotes from our subtrades and then we walk you through your budget line by line to help you understand what things cost and why. Sometimes that conversation can be eye-opening. As you begin to contemplate a renovation, it’s helpful to have a sense of what it might cost. If you are looking for a blog about how to stick to a renovation budget and get an understanding of the timeline, have a peek here.
When you begin to work with a designer, you may or may not have an idea of what your budget should include, let alone your maximum budget. You may just be looking to find out generally what things cost. Do try to come to your designer with a realistic idea of the renovation value you wish to invest, as it’s one of the first things a professional will ask. This helps us understand your priorities, so we can determine how far your budget will stretch toward realizing your dreams.
Design fees including concepts, design development, finish selections and drawings.
Construction costs.
Related construction costs such as consultant fees, permits, site protection, demolition, and waste removal.
Project management and site supervision fees.
A contingency fund (10%).
Hazardous materials testing and remediation.
Final HVAC system cleaning and construction clean.
Alternate living arrangements.
Storage and moving costs.
Everything else we mention in this blog.
We break this down in our next few headings.
Design fees are based on design hours worked, as well as a small percentage to cover incidental costs like large-scale drawings and material samples. The more detailed the design and the more budget-conscious the selections, the more hours will be required. If you’re hiring a designer, you should expect to allocate a portion of your construction costs for design fees. We love our clients dearly and they love us, but as much as HGTV makes it look casual and easy, good design and defining challenging design solutions takes time and has value. HGTV is paying their designers, the TV hosts, and they never include that value in the final budget at the end of the show.
When you hire a designer, you’re benefitting from their education, experience, skills, contacts, and supplier lists. One hour of a designer’s work will save you many hours, or even days, of research time, vetting contractors, and scheduling conflicts.
Costly beginner’s mistakes, typical in most renovations, can be avoided with the use of an experienced professional. You may have sophisticated tastes and an idea of what looks great, but even your design style and knowledge are not at the technical level of a seasoned designer. The more skills, knowledge, and resources, the higher the hourly design rate will be.
This may seem odd, but a tight construction or furniture and décor budget may cost more in design time. Often, more functionally designed elements, with the correct scale and all of the features desired, are more expensive, not to mention easier to locate. Finding a less expensive alternative that matches most of the wish list items, and is also of satisfactory quality, can more time. You must ask yourself, would you prefer to enjoy the end result of your renovation, or would you rather spend more in design time? In the next section we will explain this further.
Consider hiring a designer as self-care and as a wise investment. You’re buying yourself a return on your renovation investment, peace of mind, and the chance to enjoy the design process (without the stress that comes from not knowing what you don’t know and worrying if it will ultimately hurt you). And yes, it probably will hurt you – financially at the very least.
At KHD, we will not put our name on a design that will not last. It takes very little imagination to blindly follow the latest trend. Great design is timeless.
Good design is often a mix of high-ticket and low-ticket items. This is something to consider when your budget is tight, and you would like to hire a designer. Though quality usually has a cost associated with it, this doesn’t mean a designer is only going to select the most expensive option.
To explain this concept, we’ll share a modified version of what, Jenny, our accountant, often says to clients when they ask about this idea. She calls it the 10x rule. This rule goes a little something like this: You can find a product for a cost of $100 and you can find that same product for $1000, but what is the functionality and longevity of these two products? Is there a drastic change between them? KHD will always direct clients to materials that will offer the highest quality and longevity. If the product is high quality at $100, then we will suggest you select that option, but if the required quality can only be achieved by selecting the $1000 option, that is the one we will suggest. We design with long-term thinking in mind, but we don’t select items that are expensive for the sake of them being expensive. It’s always about quality, longevity, and the right pieces for the space and your lifestyle.
A professionally completed set of interior design drawings is your friend! This allows us to get accurate, comparable quotes from several sources which keeps everyone involved appropriately competitive.
When hiring a construction company, or a company that does both design and construction, as KHD does, you benefit from project management of all subtrades. Without a construction company, you will need to hire trades like electricians, plumbers, carpenters, millwrights, tile setters, and painters, and schedule them in the proper order, all on your own. If you confuse the order, it can be costly and extend your completion date.
At KHD we will also ensure that every trade does top-quality work, has appropriate insurance and WCB coverage for all workers, and warranties their work. As the general contractor, we supervise and ensure quality checks are done. KHD has a shortlist of talented trades on speed dial, and from extensive experience, we can verify their work.
Rather than charge an hourly rate, we charge a project management fee. When you consider the benefits associated with this service, the project management fee is a much easier pill to swallow than a renovation nightmare.
Homeowners often only budget for renovation materials and some trade services. They usually omit budgeting for building permits, demolition and removal, and structural assessments. These all have a fee associated with them, not to mention the time to request and have them approved.
If a home was built before 1993, unless it has already had one completed in past renovations, an asbestos test is required, and remediation may be necessary.
During initial assessments, if it is determined that structural issues exist, or structural changes are required for the design vision to be realized, a civil engineer or engineering technologist will be called in to review the existing, and proposed structure. Structural changes can add an additional layer of cost for an engineer’s assessment, recommendations, and drawings, if necessary. Always build a contingency fund of about 10% into your budget to cover possible structural changes required as well as other things that arise during the course of construction.
Some other things that you might find in the budget and may not have considered:
Renovation insurance – Your insurance company needs to be aware that you are renovating your home, additional people will be in your home, it will not be inhabited 24/7, and things are being modified in the home that may change its value. While construction companies have liability insurance for the renovation and parts of the home they touch, you still need to have insurance for your home and its contents. Renovation insurance may or may not incur additional costs, but this is a renovation step many homeowners miss.
Rental home/ hotel – You can live through some renovations, but most renovations are so disruptive that you will need somewhere else to stay for some or all of the construction portion of your renovation.
Storage for furniture and personal items – if your renovation is small, you may be able to push items to the side or into the garage. However, trades will likely need to be able to use power tools in the garage to prepare materials. Your garage may be inaccessible. Many people rent a storage unit for the duration of their renovation.
Site protection – additional materials to protect existing features and finishes of the home that will not be part of the renovation should be part of your construction budget.
Somewhere for workers to relieve themselves – often the water is turned off for long periods of time, and that means indoor plumbing isn’t working either. Trades are working hard at your home for multiple hours a day. Renting a porta-potty should be part of your budget.
Post-construction clean – construction is messy and dusty. Your budget should include professional cleaning. This is far beyond a typical housekeeping clean. This should include a full furnace and vent cleaning. Though this is a detailed, deep clean, you should expect that dust will continue to settle for a few weeks after construction.
We know this information on renovation costs is a lot to take in and we are here to help. When you’re ready, let’s talk. The coffee is always on!
