If you have money set aside for the project then start with that figure. Next, start getting bids/quotes for labor and materials. Write everything down and make a high & low chart to help estimate. For example, if you're quoted $2500 for labor, consider that the "low" #, and estimate labor from $2500-$3000. If you're picking out materials and buying them yourself, start searching for prices now. Write down what you find. When you think you're all done adding up everything, then add another line item called "MISC" and figure in 10-15% of your total.

Whether you have money set aside or you are taking out some type of loan, compare your estimates with the money you have in mind. This will hopefully help you stay on track (or budget).

What kind of project are you starting?

I just did a small remodel project and in my head I figured it would cost 6-8k, after I spoke to my contractor and started researching materials (and writing everything down), I realized I was looking at 9-10k, when it was all said and done, I spend 12k....

I'm speaking as contractor here.Since you will have the work contracted this may be a good start.This is not how I do my pricing for a job but will get you in the ballpark.

First ,have a plan,figure out what you want .You did not mention what kind of remodel?A whole house,kitchen,bath or front room?It makes a huge difference.Kitchen and bath remodels can be 10 times what a bedroom or front room remodel will be.

More information from you as to the type of remodel would be very helpful?

Your going to have to do some leg work.If you want a new kitchen.Go find some cabinets you like and get a price.Find some countertops you like and get a price,Find some flooring you like and get a price.Figure out the quality you want in the fixtures.Lighting,faucets,sink and accessories.

The contractor you hire can do this all for you but it will come at a cost and his decisions may not match yours.The more information you have for him as far as budget and taste the better.He can make suggestions to you from experience about qual;ity and installation and you can go from there.It makes a lot better partnership from the beginning for both of you.

Expect for the materials you have listed to be roughly,This is very roughly depending on the scope of work and age of the house. and I'm going to catch hell over this but the material will be less than 1/3 of the cost.

hi all, thank you for the feed back. but this was intended for the home owner

im curious how a home owner would go about it. with no, little, or some experience.

don't get me wrong this is not a complain about anyone session.

some times when I ask if they have a budget or what the budget is they kind of stare. then I have to start digging for information.

Similar thread recently on the kitchen forum:

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-process-do-you-follow-to-set-a-budget-dsvw-vd~2932230[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-process-do-you-follow-to-set-a-budget-dsvw-vd~2932230)

I had a number in mind for my kitchen based on what I could afford and what I thought would be reasonable to spend. Once I started talking to contractors, I realized I needed to spend more than double that for a kitchen remodel with permits, so I've had to save more money. With my old house in high cost-of-living area, most of the budget it going towards labor, which I really wouldn't be able to estimate without meeting with contractors.

This is something I'm struggling with too - it's so hard to plan ahead for a future remodel when I have no clue what labor and materials will cost for a full gut and possible small addition. Because who knows what little surprises they will find in my 100+ year old house. Plus, we have to have someone that is lead-safe certified, so that jacks up the price too. It's tough.

hi bry911, that's kinda what im looking for . I had the same thoughts. on this site I find experienced home owners looking for advise on a project they want to do. that is not the norm in the real world.

im looking for input from home owners or should I be on pro to pro. I rarely go to a home that the home owner has realistic expectations.

A homeowner's budget and how much things cost are two completely different animals. A homeowner forms a budget and the cost of the project is deducted from that.

I am a homeowner and not a pro, however, I grew up around construction. Currently, I am an amateur furniture maker with cabinet experience. My brother is a contractor, my father was a partner in a mechanical contracting company. I dabble in some financial advising (I don't specifically do it anymore but I will help out a few CFP's around town from time to time), so I sometimes get tapped to help homeowners through this stuff.

A budget is a plan of likely cash inflows and outflows for a project. In other words, a budget for a project is an expenditure plan for the desired renovations. I don't think homeowners can do it. They simply don't have the necessary knowledge to forecast costs. Instead, they get a spending limit and try to pack in as much stuff as they can under the limit. The two main resources that homeowners have readily at their disposal are the big box stores, who consistently tell homeowners that they can do massive remodels on their own, and the television shows that inspired the remodel to begin with.

Projects never turn out like they do on TV because the remodeling shows don't include the cost of the award winning interior designer that was crucial to the project. Homeowners feel they can get the same look without spending quite so much on the furnishings and treatments, never realizing that it's the furnishings and treatments that turn the often simple renovations into showstoppers. I think it would be great if someone did a follow-up and without any advanced notice just knocked on the door and took pictures of the space after it was lived in.

Now on the flip side there is a flooring store I visited that was staffed by independent installers. The store set some parameters on install costs and the hardwood and/or tile installers would actually help customers pick the material, talk about the pros and cons and help develop realistic budgets. The environment was actually pretty cool. I went in just to check it out, the guy helping me was surprisingly honest. He actually said another installer had more experience with a material than he did and handed off what I inferred was a profitable project to someone better suited to do it. They actually don't do stuff in my area but it was pretty cool experience. Maybe the model will take off, but I doubt it.

Use the Cost vs. Value report for your geographical area to initiate the conversation. Then have the conversation about the project specifics tat can take it above or below the average project costs. If someone has a violently negative reaction to those numbers, they aren't good prospective customers anyway.

Good question! I think it is so hard. First, we personally always look at the cost of the home, resale value, what we'd get out of it and what we are putting in. We will never put in more than we can get out. You have to research local real estate for that. If you've lived in a home for a while, you may be out of the loop of what things are really selling for, especially what you feel they may be worth.

As a homeowner who has done some big (IMO) remodeling projects in the past, I anticipate future projects based on the past costs, and also my DH experience as he is quite handy and has done many hands on projects. Examples of hired work and some DIY: Installing central air and extending ducting into a home, moving a furnace, soffits and drywall for ducting, rebuilding a large cement and brick front porch requiring a structural engineer, redoing a kitchen (DIY via IKEA) and hiring an electrian (good friends' husband) to fix electrical. Painting. Framing and drywalling an office, redoing a small master bath with marble, laying laminate flooring. Laying decking, fencing, gazebos and landscape. Installing and boring out doors. Building decks and boardwalks. Refinishing wood floors. Etc.

These past experiences give us a baseline. Before I had a baseline, I relied on a three quote system to judge what a realistic cost was for what I wanted to achieve.

Most people that I know, have a budget, and then adjust design and materials accordingly. Others with very open pocketbooks may operate differently. Most people I know, if they come into a very outdated situation, come up with a plan for updating immediately. They may save for some big things, but basic cosmetic change up is usually a must.

For most people I know, they either:

1) Save for a project

2) Set a budget, and then shop it out

3) Yes it usually goes over a little due to splurges.

I can only speak for us, we have a set amount of money we want to spend. We prioritized where to spend it based on our past experience of cost, and what was most important. We set a budget for each area (hardwood floors, kitchen, master suite, siding, windows). At this point we play the see saw game of we go over here, so where can we cut, and what can we live with. Just my experience. It's hard. If you have been out of it a while, costs do rise.

A big factor in my budgeting process is that I don't do anything that I don't have cash-in-hand-plus for. I guess I've been lucky enough to not be forced into a necessary project that I had to borrow money for, but if I can't write a check for it or pay my credit card in full at the end of the month out of funds earmarked for renovations, I don't do it.

Successive approximation. I DIY most projects, so first I estimate materials and hours it would take me to do it, figure time at $50/hour, add materials, then multiply that number by 3 (I always horribly underestimate time). I cross-check that with my guesstimate that projects around here are generally going to run $400/sf when all's said and done, more if its a kitchen, less if there are no mechanicals. If it seems that the project is worth the cost based on those guesses I will call a couple contractors for bids. Usually I ask for a rough guess to start with to find out if we're in the ballpark, then if it seems feasible, a formal bid. Once having picked a bid (not always the lowest) I'll discuss scope changes and value engineering with the contractor to bring the number back closer to what I think I can afford (it's always been more!). I make sure at that point I'm still comfortable with a 25% over-run by the end of the project.

With DIY, I figure cost of materials x 2. It's surprisingly accurate and allows you to sometimes upgrade quality of materials or scope of project and allows purchase/replacement of needed tools should that become necessary.

With hiring out, I still figure cost of materials and will buy them myself. Then I look for bids for labor with pre-approval from them on materials and the fact that I am the GC and will be available all day on site and that I will do all demo, any site prep, and cleanup. That's important in that all they will be doing is the actual work. I get some pretty fair bids this way and happy workers, but this method is usually limited to smaller shops with one or two employees. The larger shops operate according to their business model and will not normally be flexible this way.

If the above two fail, I'm at the mercy of the marketplace like everyone else and budget plans go out the window.

The most important thing in figuring budget is to know what the materials will cost and how long the job should take in hours/days/weeks, then depending on the job, add $50-100 hr. to the cost. There are books in the library that chart how long it takes to do just about any facet of construction. It pays to use them.

"With DIY, I figure cost of materials x 2."

The cost of materials is completely irrelevant to the cost of installation. I can install $3,000.00 worth of countertops in four hours. $200.00 worth of crown mold can take a long day.

No doubt as you do counters for a living, but there is no "cost of installation" when doing DIY. However, the cost of materials and time spent fussing over it are directly inverse to skill level. The greater the cost of materials and the lesser the skill level, the greater the time spent planing and fussing over it. I would consider DIY'ing $3000 of countertops to be at the extreme end of DIY projects. Something even I would hesitate to do. If I attempted to install $3000 of countertops, I probably would spend a few weeks practicing on scraps, probably buying some tools I would need, and generally fussing over it to amount to another $3000 worth of my time and out of pocket costs. That is where the x 2 comes in.

The price a customer is willing to pay has zero bearing on my cost to complete a project. Its all about perceived value. A customer who enjoys baking, or one who barely knows how to use a microwave will have different perceptions on what a kitchen remodel is worth to them. The best resource for finding how much to spend is talking to a local, experienced realtor. Some remodel projects have cost pay back in mind, others are done for the enjoyment of the current owner.