How to draw up a budget for an apartment renovation
A budget is drawn up stage by stage: for each renovation stage you list the work and materials, then separately the appliances, furniture and lighting, and on top a margin for the unexpected - the app route recommends 10-15%. Prices come from the crew's and shops' quotes on the date you calculate, not from other people's budgets. Then you keep the budget up to date during the renovation: record every expense and compare it with the plan, so that overspending shows up straight away rather than at the end.
Where a budget starts
You can't calculate a budget before the decisions are made. Until it's clear where the kitchen goes, how many sockets there are and which tiles you'll use, any figure is a guess. That's why in the app route the budget is set during the “Planning” stage, along with the renovation goal, the layout, furniture placement, appliances and building systems. The goal comes first: for yourself, to rent out or to sell - both the budget and the choice of materials depend on it. What to decide in advance is listed in Renovation planning.
Budget sections
It's convenient to split the budget into large sections, and within them by stage:
- Labour - what the crew and specialist trades do: demolition, partitions, plumbing, electrical, air conditioning, ventilation, plastering, screed, waterproofing, ceilings, tiling, wall finishing, flooring, final installation, furniture assembly.
- Rough materials - mixes, primer, profiles, drywall, cable, pipes, waterproofing. The crew often buys these: agree who buys and with which receipts.
- Finishing materials - tiles, paint, wallpaper, floor covering, doors, skirting.
- Building equipment - installation frames, concealed mixers, manifolds, leak protection, a water heater, air conditioners, underfloor heating, the panel and breakers.
- Lighting and electrical fittings - light fittings, tracks, sockets and switches.
- Furniture and appliances - kitchen, wardrobes, built-in and freestanding appliances, curtains.
- Other - waste removal, protection of the lift and entrance, post-construction cleaning, delivery and carrying up.
- Margin - for the unexpected.
If you work with a designer, they usually have a specification: finishes, plumbing, lighting and furniture with quantities. That's a ready basis for sections 3-6.
How to calculate stage by stage
Go through the renovation route from start to finish and for each stage answer: what work, how much, from what. For example:
- Electrical: the number of points on the plan, metres of cable, the panel, breakers, RCDs, dedicated lines for appliances;
- Rough finishing: the wall area to plaster, reveals, boxing;
- Screed: the area, the thickness based on the finished floor level, sound insulation, underfloor heating;
- Tiling: the area plus an allowance for cutting; the route gives a 10-15% margin and a single batch.
The full list of stages and items is in Renovation stages in order. Just cross out the items you won't have.
What people often forget
- Preparation for the finish you want. If the walls will be checked under side lighting, the level of preparation has to be agreed with the contractor in advance and written into the contract: ordinary preparation will show unevenness under such a check, and redoing it costs money.
- Dark colours. Dark shades often need more coats of paint - more material and more labour.
- Small final-installation items - hatches, grilles, thresholds, sealants, switch frames.
- Built-in furniture and the worktop - a stone worktop is made from a template after the base units are installed.
- A glass shower screen - measured on the finished tiles.
- Leftover materials - it's worth keeping a few whole tiles and some paint for future repairs.
Order lead times are part of the budget too
The money isn't needed all on one day. The app route flags items ordered in advance:
- built-in plumbing - before the plumbing work: outlets are marked out for the fixtures you've bought;
- tiles - right after the layout is approved, before rough work;
- concealed doors and frames - during planning, interior doors - after plastering, from measurements of the openings;
- the kitchen and wardrobes - from check measurements after plastering and the screed;
- stretch ceilings, finishing plumbing, lighting, curtains - in time for final installation.
Spread the budget across months using these points: you'll see when large sums will be needed.
Margin
A renovation almost always brings surprises: hidden defects, changes along the way, rising prices. The app route recommends a reserve of 10-15% of the budget. Don't spend the margin on “upgrades” halfway through - it's for what couldn't be foreseen.
How to keep the budget during the renovation
A budget is only useful if you compare it with reality. The rules are simple:
- record every expense on the day of purchase, with the receipt;
- assign expenses to the same categories as in the plan;
- once a week, look at how much has been spent and how much is left;
- before the last payment to the crew, check the completed work against the budget - in the route this is a separate item of the final acceptance.
How to keep the budget in the Doma app
On the “Budget” tab, tap “Set the property budget” - after that you can see how much has been spent and how much is left. Add your own sections in “Expense categories”. An expense is recorded with “Add expense”, and a till receipt with “Scan receipt”: point the camera at the QR code, the amount and date fill in automatically, and the receipt photo is saved. The “Excel” button exports the budget as a file: budget, spent, categories and expenses by month. The budget is visible to the owner and designer; it's closed to contractors and foremen. Button by button: Budget, expenses and receipts. Which receipts and contracts to keep after the renovation: Which documents to keep after a renovation.