What’s the Hidden Extra Costs People Forget When Renovating?
When it comes to working on your next renovation, do you have a general idea of what the costs are? Why this question? Well, there’s this moment that happens to almost everyone doing a renovation. You know, that exact second when the quote comes in and you’re brain is trying to calculate like that Confused Math Lady meme? Well, you better believe that being surprised by renovation invoices is far more common than you’d expect. Now, why is this even a problem, though? Simply put, here it’s because so many people only budget for the pretty stuff.
It’s the nice things, like the paint, the flooring, the furniture, the Pinterest-worthy lighting, and all the décor that make the space feel cute and finished. Which, yeah, these are the things you’re obviously excited for. But the not-so-cute parts of a renovation, the parts you don’t see, those are the ones that eat the budget alive.
Yeah, it’s like the iceberg effect. Alright, so everyone sees the part above the water that looks gorgeous, but under the surface, there’s a mountain of things holding it all together, and that part isn’t cheap.
The Boring Stuff that Costs the Most
Yeah, sure, people love to talk about picking paint colors, backsplash tiles, and faucets. Again, it’s all understandable. When you watch TV, or look at TikToks or whatever else of people renovating, these are the fun things that are shown. Basically, the things that people don’t bother bragging about are the expensive things, like structural checks, electrical upgrades, plumbing fixes, having to get concrete pumping so your foundation actually has proper support, and the kind of work that doesn’t show, but if it’s not done, the whole renovation falls apart.
It’s honestly kind of wild how often people budget for a kitchen makeover and forget that their home might need wiring updates, so the cute new appliances don’t overload the system, or they plan a bathroom refresh and don’t leave room in the budget for installation and plumbing (such as for a new bathtub).
Labor Adds Up Fast
Alright, so here’s another thing: people also forget that professionals cost money, and honestly, paying for skill is worth it. Seriously, some things quite literally shouldn’t be DIYed, and chances are, homeowner’s insurance probably won’t cover faults from DIYs either. So yeah, it’s so easy to underestimate how long a job takes. Anyone who has ever thought “oh, this will only take a couple of days” has probably had that timeline doubled, if not tripled.
Besides, labor isn’t something you want to cheap out on, because it affects the quality of the work and the future of your home.
Those Finishing Touches Still Need a Budget
Okay, so in all honesty here, this is where things get a bit tricky. After spending on all the boring behind-the-scenes work, people get frustrated because there’s not as much left for décor. Now, yeah, that makes total sense. You were most likely thinking about decor and the overall aesthetics of your home when you planned this renovation in the first place, right? And yeah, by all means, those finishing touches matter too.
They make the home feel complete. So it’s better to plan for them early rather than scraping for pennies at the end. Usually, the whole point of working on the home is for these fund things, those little things (and big ones too, like a couch). But it helps to just maybe have two separate budgets, one for the fun things, and one for the not-so-fun things (and maybe have extra money in it for wiggle room, too).
