What to Know About Budgeting for Your Home Remodel

August 30, 2020April 9, 2014

Article by: Jeffrey Veffer, B. Arch, MBA

The budget conversation — it’s sometimes awkward, often slightly uncomfortable and usually comes with a bit of anxiety. Because of the nature of construction, things often cost more than what homeowners think. There are endless debates on why that is, but the result is that we designers often have conversations with clients that end with an awkward silence. The silence usually means that certain aspects of their project might be out of their reach. And truth be told, we really don’t like being the messenger in these conversations. We want our clients to be satisfied with the process and get what they really want.

But the flip side of that conversation is that budget constraints can make a project better. Just hear me out. What we find is that financial considerations make our team and clients focus on what’s really important. That pressure helps edit down the myriad choices and allows a more coherent story to emerge. And it all comes back to sticking to that budget. Here’s how.

Establish Your Budget Early

We have been in situations where clients have not told us their budget until we have completed some of the initial phases of work. This, no surprise, can slow down the process. It’s like going to a personal trainer but not telling them how much weight you can lift, and so you spend time trying a few exercises to figure out what the proper weights are.

There are situations where homeowners generally don’t know what a new custom home or addition will cost, but a key part of the process is considering how much you would be comfortable spending on the project. Obviously spending $50,000 will produce a dramatically different result than if you spent $500,000. And what you spend will be influenced by a wide variety of factors, including neighborhood, type of project and level of finishes.

Without knowing a budget range, we could get through the first few meetings with clients and then give them a rough ballpark figure, which is sometimes double or triple what they thought it would be.

Don’t try to second-guess your design team by holding your cards close to your chest. Help us work with you to get the most value for your hard-earned dollars. Most designers don’t look for opportunities to waste money just for the sake of it. Sure we all want a great project at the end of the process, but we also want to make sure our clients are happy. So establishing your budget early in the process will be helpful to your team, as it will give them one of the key ingredients that will go into making a design you can live with.

Ensure Your Budget Is Realistic

It’s easy to look at TV shows and get the wrong idea about what things cost. In most cases those budgets are not realistic for a bunch of reasons, most of which revolve around how suppliers and trades price their services to be included on the show. There is an old project management saying that goes, “Price, speed, quality — pick any two.”

It’s not totally untrue, and it underscores that there are no easy trade-offs in a construction project. It would be problematic for me to suggest pricing in this article, as it varies substantially based on a number of factors, including location, number of trades in the area, level of finish, complexity of construction etc.

The budget number that most clients care about is the “all-in” number. That includes everything they will write a check for including moving expenses, fees and construction. (More about that later.)

Your design team can help you get a sense of what a realistic budget might be for your project; you can also ask friends who have done projects in the recent past, or check the Houzz Real Cost Finder.

Pricing tip: Pricing can change substantially in certain areas over as little as a few years, so be sure that the projects were completed recently for the best idea of pricing.

After you create your budget, subtract 20 percent. Construction being what it is, there are always situations that arise that will increase the cost, and those are hard to foresee at the beginning of construction. It’s a very complicated process involving many people and a lot of communication, so there usually are things that happen that will eat into that 20 percent contingency. The contingency should not be used for upgrades to counters or splashy fixtures.

On a recent project, our clients had to spend thousands of dollars to get their utilities hooked up again, as the electrical feed from the street was torn up by mistake. On top of that, since the utility’s own drawings said that the feed still existed, there was a three-month delay on top of the reconnection order so that the utility could update its drawings. Even though this these will never be seen, they were absolutely critical and had to be completed before construction could be completed.

Keeping a 20 percent contingency allows our clients to end up spending what they thought they would spend initially, and they can sleep at night.

Understand What You’re Paying For

Hard costs, fees, furniture — what is in the contract? Your design team will also help you understand what is in those budget numbers. Hard costs include the costs of the construction materials and fixtures required to actually build the structure. Soft costs generally include fees for permits, consultants and designers.

It’s important to establish what your team is referring to in conversation to make sure everyone is on the same page about budget numbers. For example, construction is often expressed in dollars per square foot to give a rough guide during planning. Generally this does not include appliances or soft costs. So it’s important to know that if your contractor says your new house can be built for $750,000, there are soft costs likely not covered in that estimate. Work with your design team to understand the costs and how they relate to a schedule, and how there are items you might not have thought about, to get an overall sense of what is required.

What if You Run Out of Money?

We have had this conversation with clients on more than one occasion, and truly it’s not easy for either the clients or us. It’s frustrating to hear how something that you’ve been planning for is out of your reach.

There may be opportunities to reduce costs by changing the scope of the project. For example, instead of fully constructing a basement bathroom in a new house, you might just rough in the plumbing so it could be finished at a later date. Or it could be possible to reduce the cost of fixtures and finishes such as flooring or faucets.

During a recent conversation with clients, we recommended that they wait before starting the project so they could gather more resources before proceeding. In the discussion we realized that it wouldn’t be possible to “de-scope” or redesign the project to fit their needs, so the best course of action was to delay. Was this difficult for all involved? Absolutely, but we felt strongly that starting a project that didn’t address their needs wouldn’t serve their overall best interests.

Whenever you are dealing with money, there is the potential for some uncomfortable conversations. But if you understand what you are dealing with early in the process, those conversations will be less stressful than if you’re standing in the middle of a half-completed project in the middle of winter wondering where all your hard-earned money has gone.

Top 10 Reasons to Remodel Your Kitchen

August 30, 2020March 31, 2014

Article by: Ann Johnson

For many households the kitchen is the center of the home and the hub of activity. Remodeling the kitchen can be a major undertaking. It is not just the expense, but also the inconvenience to the household that gives many homeowners pause when considering such an undertaking. In spite of this, homeowners continue to find good reasons to proceed with a kitchen remodel. Reasons for remodeling vary, and your neighbor may not share your top reason for the project.

1. Deterioration

The kitchen might simply be falling apart. Cracked tiles, peeling countertops, broken or missing cabinet doors and outdated appliances don’t inspire gourmet cooking or family gatherings. The deteriorated kitchen has simply outlived its usefulness and needs a remodel.

2. Value

Homeowners often remodel their kitchens to increase the value or marketability of a property. A remodeled and attractive kitchen will appeal to prospective home buyers more than a boring and outdated one. The homeowner may or may not recoup the investment of the remodel; this will depend on a variety of factors, such as the degree of the remodel and current market prices.

3. Energy Savings

Energy savings might be the prime motivation for a kitchen remodel. Adding skylights brings in more sunshine, reducing the need for artificial light. Energy-efficient appliances and solar water heaters cut the utility bill and place less stress on the environment.

4. Modernity

The kitchen can be pristine yet outdated. If the kitchen says 1950s, but you want to live in the here and now, it is time to transform your retro kitchen environment into a room for the 21st century.

5. Lifestyle

The kitchen layout may have worked great for the previous homeowner, but not for you. Perhaps it lacks a breakfast bar, and your family wants to gather informally in the kitchen to enjoy coffee or grab a quick meal without going to the dining room table. Whatever the reason, one motivation for a kitchen remodel is to arrange the room to best suit the family’s needs.

6. Special Needs

It is sometimes necessary to remodel the kitchen to better accommodate the needs of disabled family members. For example, if one of the family is in a wheelchair or no longer able to reach high cupboards, a remodel can make the room more usable.

7. Financial Incentives

The prime motivation behind a remodel might simply be financial incentives, such as energy-saving rebates offered by government entities or vendors. Financial incentives include sales at home improvement centers, cash rebates for trading in outdated appliances, remodeling grants and low- or no-interest loans.

8. Change

Some homeowners simply want change. The current kitchen might be functional, updated and attractive, yet no longer appeal to the homeowner.

9. Home Improvement TV

Watching home improvement shows on cable television inspires many homeowners to remodel their kitchens. They may never have considered such a project until a home improvement program showed them the possibilities for their kitchen.

10. Gourmet Kitchen

For a homeowner who enjoys preparing fancy meals and considers himself a gourmet cook, the prime reason for a remodel is the desire to create a dream kitchen. A gourmet kitchen with fancier amenities than most accommodates the cook’s needs.

Planning Multicook Kitchens

August 30, 2020August 10, 2012

There Are Ways to Accommodate Multiple Cooks Without Causing Accidents

Pictured Above: This kitchen has a third prep area visible beyond the island with access to the prep sink, microwave and island.We have been crowding into kitchens to enjoy the camaraderie of friends and family since house parties were invented. Candice Olson, in the the introduction to her book, Candice Olson Kitchens and Baths, puts it this way: “Today’s kitchen is all about a well-planned space that makes cooking a completely interactive experience between family and friends.”

Regardless of a kitchen’s size, there are ways we can modify spaces to encourage socializing and helping.

Average – to smaller – sized kitchens can be enhanced by incorporating a pass-through opening into the kitchen. An extended counter will encourage conversation and can hold hors d’oeuvres. A slight adjustment in the positioning of the available counter space adjacent to the sink or cooking surface could provide enough space to act as a secondary prep area.

Duality or redundancy of appliances can be beneficial in medium to large kitchens by creating additional activity centers. Still, each work center should have its own work triangle if possible. The primary work triangle is defined by the large refrigerator, corner sink/cleanup area and the range top. Microwaves, drawer dishwashers and refrigerators can anchor the work triangle along with a hospitality sink. Sharing a major appliance also works well as long as individual work triangles do not cross paths.

Islands and opposing countertops should be a minimum of 48-inches apart to allow for crossing traffic. The perfectly designed multicook kitchen will have very few occasions when preparers would need to cross paths. However, this minimum spacing will accommodate persons crossing paths while carrying plates or trays.

Avoid positioning major appliances directly across a walkway from each other. A secondary sink should be far enough from the primary sink so it defines a discrete work center, and the addition of an under-counter refrigerator and the extra countertop space it provides will make an excellent salad or baking prep area.

Not all multicook kitchens will be this inclusive while some might duplicate each appliance – specifically, an additional cooking surface. Two-burner cooktops, fastcook ovens, steam ovens or another secondary device might be incorporated.

Getting the Most Out of a Kitchen Remodel

January 13, 2023August 2, 2012

Hey, have you heard the one about the 36-inch pro-style range that ripped the molding off the back door on its way into the house? Or the poured-on-site concrete countertop that cracked three months after installation? Or maybe it was the contractor who was paid in advance, promptly skipped town, and was never heard from again.

Well, misery may love company, but what we all crave is a happy ending – a smart – looking, functional workspace that is a source of comfort and efficiency. To help you get there, we’ve complied this handy guide to some common kitchen-remodeling disasters and offer expert strategies for steering clear of them.

For each major phase of the job: – hiring, planning, budgeting, and living through it – we’ve got an easy plan to follow. Take our advice, and your biggest regret when your dream kitchen is complete will be that you didn’t do it sooner.

Finding the Best Pros

Kitchen remodeling is at the top of homeowner’s wish lists. It is also, according to attorneys general across the country, a leading source of consumer complaints. Recommendations from friends are the best place to start your search for a qualified contractor. But before you make a decision, keep these caveats in mind:

They’re only as good as their last job. “General contractors often win jobs based on their good reputations,” explains architect Dennis Wedlick, author of “Good House Hunting: 20 Steps to Your Dream Home.” “But circumstances can change. When the contractor switches subcontractors or laborers, quality can be affected.” Ask your top three candidates to supply references, and follow up with the most recent ones.
What you see is what you get. In addition to completed renovations, try to visit a job in progress. You can learn a lot about a contractor’s commitment to quality and safety by seeing for yourself how clean the site is and how carefully the drywall is hung and taped.
The best ones are worth waiting for. The best contractors tend to be the busiest ones. Build your schedule around the GC of your dreams, not vice versa. Keep the crew happy by following the three R’s:
- Refreshments – you don’t have to cater three squares a day, but at least offer a thermos of coffee or a cooler with soft drinks and some snacks. They’ll appreciate it.
- Responsibility – the crew can’t work efficiently if you’re in the way. Ask questions, but don’t overwhelm them with your TOH-taught (This Old House) smarts. And teach kids and pets the meaning of KEEP OUT.
- Respect – say good morning, good night, and good job when appropriate. And please: don’t ask if they’ve met any desperate housewives lately. The appliances can be top-of-the-line, the finishes the most expensive around, but if the space doesn’t work, it’s money down the brand-new In-Sink-Erator.

Plan, Plan, Plan the Smartest Layout

An experienced designer can save you time and money by heading off potential problems. Kitchen planners know all the tricks: how to maximize storage, smart substitutions for high-end materials, even the best local contractors for the job. But first, they need a few things from you. Here are a few things that’ll help on your first meeting.

20/20 Design Proposal Drawing by Designer Ed Sheats

An architectural rendering or to-scale drawing of your existing kitchen, showing the location of windows, doors, heating, plumbing lines, and electrical outlets. If you’re not working with an architect, you can do it yourself with 3-D kitchen design software.
A detailed wish list indicating your goals for remodeling. Do you want more space? More storage? More style? A built-in dog bed? Organize by priority, from the “must haves” to the “in our dreams.”
An idea folder: pictures of rooms, products, materials, and architectural details that appeal to you; notes on what you like about friend’s kitchens (and hate about your own); and general concepts translated from other areas of your life. Are you a neat freak? Glass-front cabinets are sleek, but you may be happier with painted doors that conceal clutter.

Cut Costs Without Cutting Corners

One of the surest ways to shave costs is to do more with what you’ve got. So before taking the sledgehammer to your existing kitchen, try this: empty every drawer and cupboard. Revisit where you’ve been putting things. Is there an organizational scheme that makes more sense? Think in zones, storing items closest to where they are used.

“In the end,” says architect Dennis Wedlick, “you may like the reconfiguration so well that you’ll decide to just paint and stick with the kitchen you’ve got.” And if you do go forward, you’ll have a clearer sense of how you really use the kitchen, which will help save time and money on the redesign. But if you kind of need to cut corners, here are a few budget-balancing scenarios:

Problem #1: You really need more storage space, but you plan to move in a few years and would rather not invest in custom cabinets. Custom-crafting every nook and cranny for the way you cook may not be the most economical use of your dollars when someone else – with different cooking and lifestyle habits – will be living in your kitchen before the home-equity loan is paid off.

Affordable alternative: Consider working a walk-in pantry into your plan. It’s a remarkably economical way to upgrade your kitchen – a pantry can supply as much storage as a wall or more of custom built-ins.

Problem #2: You want granite countertops, but they’ll bust the budget. Granite’s resistance to moisture, scratching, and high heat makes it a perennially popular (if pricey) choice.

Affordable alternative: If you love the look of granite – or soapstone or marble or handcrafted tile for that matter – work it into your plan. But instead of using it for every countertop, try limiting it to a high-visibility island or to the areas flanking the range. Elsewhere, use less expensive options like plastic laminate or ceramic tile. Mixing also adds visual interest.

Problem #3: You want a lighter, brighter kitchen, but knocking down walls just isn’t an option. The space may be drab and dingy, but it gets the job done, and a major overhaul isn’t in the budget right now.

Affordable alternative: Sometimes a well-planned lighting scheme is all it takes to brighten a kitchen. Spend the bucks for the services of a professional planner or lighting designer. That plus simple cosmetic upgrades, such as a fresh paint job, new cabinet hardware, upgraded countertops or flooring, and a couple of new appliances can totally transform the space. Save untold thousands by sticking to the original layout.

Increase Your Home’s Value

January 13, 2023July 6, 2012

Three Remodeling Projects That Will Increase Your Home’s Value

Most people start a remodeling project to improve an area of their home, but they also hope the finished project will add real value.

Remodeling your house can vary from small improvements to the addition of an entirely new room. But not all remodels will create the same amount of value.

For example, the installation of a sauna might improve the quality of life for a homeowner, but it’s not going to have a big effect on the home’s overall value. On the other hand, adding a brand-new kitchen or master bath could increase a home’s value by thousands of dollars.

If you’re planning a home remodel with the intention of adding value to your home, you should consult with a highly rated remodeling company and talk to local realtors or appraisers to see if your project will meet your perceived goals.

“I like to always say that you want to concentrate on what people like to look for the most,” says Alessandro Ferreguetti, owner of the highly rated United Remodeling in Brighton, Mass. “It’s usually the areas of comfort and areas where people hangout the most.”

Ferreguetti says those areas usually include kitchens and bathrooms because they are the places where people envision they will spend the most time.

Nick Reynolds, owner of Eye 4 Design and Renovation in Eagle Rock, CA., offers his top three remodeling projects to add value to a home:

The #1 value project is definitely the bathroom. A bathroom can be remodeled for less than a kitchen and give added value to the same extent.
A kitchen is the first place people go when they are looking to buy a house. The trick with the kitchen is to not go overboard because a $20,000 remodel might get you the same value as a $75,000 remodel.
Exterior improvements and landscaping. The exterior of the house is as crucial as the kitchen. A new fence and exterior paint are relatively inexpensive and both and immediate value. Similarly, a well-designed landscape will have the same result.