Everything You Need to Know Before Renovating Your Home

Today we're going to be discussing all things renovation—what you should be doing, questions you should be asking, how much it will cost and things you should consider. Let’s dive in!

Should I Renovate My Existing Home or Build a New One?

At Springhouse, as we’ve been receiving more and more calls about renovation, many of the questions center around this general theme: Should I stay, or should I go? A lot of work can be done to existing structures, and many times, it does make sense to stay and renovate—especially right now.

How do you decide? How can you make a confident move one way or another? Should you stay or should you go? With the harsh realities of today’s market, you have four big decisions to consider…

1. What is your heart telling you?

Do you love where you are? Do you love the neighborhood you're in? Are you friends with your neighbors? Do you have lovely memories you don’t want to leave behind? Do you enjoy the setting? Let the answers to these questions be your guide.

2. Is it economical to renovate your existing home?

What does your budget look like at the moment? Will your location hold the appraisal value after renovation? Are you already the largest or most expensive home on your street? How long will you be in the home? How long will you have to recoup the money? You will never get every dollar back from a renovation. However, the day-to-day value—aka, the enjoyment you get from your renovations—may be more important than the dollar-to-dollar value.

3. Is the structure and infrastructure of my house in good condition?

Before making your decision to renovate or build, you’ll want to investigate the structure and infrastructure of your house. Is it solid? Is it in good condition? Do you have to replace all the electrical in your house? Is the plumbing old or made of bad material that you’ll need to redo? Will you be replacing HVAC systems or separating them and running new ductwork? People don't usually think about these considerations, but they will certainly suck up your budget quickly.

4. What level of disruption can you stand?

Kitchens are obviously going to be a huge disruption, as well as a master bath. During the renovation process, there are people trekking in and out of your house during work hours. So, if you're working at home, and kids are in school at home, then you need to consider how much disruption that is, how loud it is, which parts of your home could be closed off, etc. Plus, you need to consider that delays, cost overruns and unknowns happen in every single renovation project.

How Much Will It Cost to Renovate My Home?

How much does it really cost to renovate your home? What’s the most expensive part of the process? True, watching HGTV is fun, but many of the shows project unrealistic timelines and budgets. Let’s pull back the veil and discover what it’s really like to renovate your home.

Before we dive in, these numbers do not account for DIY projects—we’re talking mid- to high-end finishes, full renovations and a professional team with Project Management. We’ll also be discussing square footage costs. Currently, new construction here in the Midwest is averaging around $200 to $250 per square foot.

Expense #1: Consider the type of room and space.

Renovation costs depend on the spaces you’re choosing to renovate, and whether you’re renovating a space you already have or adding a new space altogether—the latter being way more expensive than renovating what you already have. Let’s break this down by room:

KITCHEN: Kitchens are the most expensive room to renovate. Currently, we are quoting around $200 per square foot for a renovation, including mid- to high-end cabinets, gorgeous countertops, beautiful flooring, and new lighting.
MASTER BATHROOM: Master baths are the second most expensive renovation, sitting around $150 per square foot. This includes high-end finishes, a big tub, expensive tile, and more. To add on an entirely new master bath, the bathroom space alone will cost you around $300 per square foot, while a master addition will be closer to $250 per square foot.
SHARED BATHROOM: Shared bathrooms, like a half bath or kid’s bathroom, are typically anywhere from $12,000 to $20,000. This includes plumbing fixtures, tile, light fixtures, etc.
OPEN SPACE: Open space is the easiest renovation, as it doesn’t pack a lot of expenses into one room. This project usually includes flooring, painting, a couple of light fixtures, and maybe new windows. This puts you around $75-$100 per square foot on average. If you’re redoing a big family room, this would also include a new face and mantel for your fireplace or running new electric.

Expense #2: Prepare for the unknown.

You also need to factor in the unknowns of a renovation—especially the unknowns of your house’s structure and infrastructure. Are you moving plumbing, electric, or HVAC? How much of it do you need? Is any of it outdated? Does it need to be replaced? This could be an additional $10,000! To avoid this surprise cost, you need to hire a professional to conduct a full investigation of the structure and infrastructure. Plan to do this before you spend a cent on anything else.

Expense #3: Control your finishes and selections.

You do have some control over your expenses when it comes to finishes and selections. During this process, you’ll be choosing appliances, countertops, and flooring one at a time. Until you see everything added up in your spreadsheet, you won’t fully understand where everything is fitting into your budget. Once you have this number, make some decisions and prioritize what’s important to you.

Your Renovation Responsibilities as a Homeowner

Many times, a project will fall off track, lose traction or go in the wrong direction. This usually happens because your responsibilities haven’t been properly communicated to you. To avoid this from happening, let’s walk through four of the homeowner’s responsibilities during a renovation project.

Hire Your Team

Your first responsibility is to hire the best team for your particular project and your particular personality. This takes a lot of research and asking a lot of questions.

ARCHITECT-BUILDER-INTERIOR DESIGNER: Although it sounds difficult to transfer information from one person to the other, this can be a very successful process if you have a good team that’s used to working with other collaborators.
DESIGN-BUILD FIRM: This means you could find an architect that's also a builder, or a builder who has a draft person either on staff or a partnership with an outside designer.
DO IT YOURSELF (DIY): Make your own selections and hire a contractor on your own.

Understand Your Financing

Be sure to call your banker if you’re financing a renovation to see what kind of loan you’re getting. If you’re doing a HELOC loan, how long will the appraisal process take? How long is the application process? Unfortunately, it’s not the same as getting pre-approval for a home loan. A construction loan for a renovation is different and requires more individualized steps.

Make Your Selections

The selections are a huge part of the homeowner’s process and responsibilities—however, you don’t have to work through it alone. If you work with Springhouse, we select all materials with our clients during our design development phase. That being said, you also have the option to do all of the selections on your own. If you’re talented at this and know exactly what you want your kitchen or master bathroom to look like, make sure you choose a design team that will allow you to do this.

Be Prepared

Have a plan to move possessions out of your home and into the garage or a storage unit, if necessary. Will you be living in your house during the renovation? If not, where will you stay? Will you rent somewhere? Stay with a friend or family member? Create boundaries inside of your home. Is there a certain bathroom you want people to use or not use? Are there times that you want people out of the house? This will make the process much more pleasant for you!

The Biggest Mistake You Will Make in a Renovation Contract

Negotiating a fair renovation contract can minimize the stress of your project. Even the smoothest, speediest projects disrupt your daily life. Protect yourself with a solid contract. The biggest mistake I see made over and over is when final construction documents aren’t included as part of the contract.

Your construction contract will reference the drawings as an attachment or addendum. Make sure the final construction documents are the ones referenced. One easy way to define the correct set of plans is to reference the issue date.

Why Is This Important?

Most times in a project we get contractors involved prior to final drawings being complete. We do this on purpose because we want to have a check on price. Nobody (especially a good architect) wants to get through the entire design process only to find they are way over budget. An easy way to head this off is to ask a trusted contractor to take a look and give you a ballpark price. Easy, right?

The problem is your contractor—who is just trying to be thorough—passes out the preliminary drawings to his sub contractors. Here’s the catch: The contract is written based on the price quoted from the preliminary drawings. If the newly issued final construction documents are not re-bid to the sub contractors, you are hiring the contractor based on old drawings.

Change Orders

If your final construction documents are not part of your contract and the contract is based on preliminary design—all of the time, money, hard decisions and revisions you made with your architect in the final push of construction documents goes up in smoke. Each change from the preliminary drawings the contractor based his price on becomes a change order. Those cost you money and heartache.

Bonus Tip

Don’t let your construction contract be one-sided. If it’s important to you, put it in the contract and make it the contractor’s responsibility. Want the new floor level to match existing? Write it down. Want new materials to match existing? Write it down. You are not a jerk for stating these things. Assuming is not safe. Write it all down.

Introducing “Create A Home You Love”

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Together, we’ll determine your real long-term goals and internal motivators that drive your steps to build a house. Plus, you’ll learn how to set priorities early, establish a budget (and stick to it!), find the perfect location, and choose your team of professionals. By the end of this course, you’ll feel confident, organized, and equipped with everything you need to turn your vision into a reality. Learn more!

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Sheri ScottApril 28, 2023