RENOVATION COST CALCULATOR

There are countless motives to renovate your household; an improvement for your quality of life, increasing the value of your home, or even just to simply update as its getting old. But the main difficulty to renovating, for most people is cost.

These are the usual expenses related with remodelling, and we’ll provide some hot tips on how to save money on your renovation.

How much does a home renovation cost?

There are a lot of influences that contribute to your renovation’s total cost. Minor renovations can cost as little as $15,000, but you can easily spend over $500,000 for a complete alteration. Most of these expenses are in the labour, while the next major expense is materials.

Aspects that affect the price of your home renovation

The range of renovation costs is huge. Particularly in New Zealand, that’s because no two renovations are ever exactly the same with our unique housing.

Below are the considerations that can affect your home renovation costs.

Renovation Size

Perhaps one of the biggest contributing components is size. Remodelling a studio apartment will be significantly cheaper than renovating a 5-bed, 4-bath townhouse. According to Interest.co.nz , the average square meter cost to build a house in New Zealand was $2337 per square meter (excluding non-construction costs such the cost of land and marketing expenses). However, when it comes to renovations, the average cost to renovate per square meter is $4000. This is because you generally need demolish what is already there in preparation for the new works, and work around framing, pipes and other household items during the build.

Materials

Quality materials come at a higher cost. You’ll also need to consider maintenance and how long the product is expected to last.

Renovation Complexity

Renovations might only involve some basic home improvement, like revamping fixtures and painting. However, if you are totally changing the layout of your home (including the kitchen & bathroom location and requires electrical upgrades), assume you will have to calculate more into the renovation costs.

Where You Live

Where you live can influence your cost of renovations. One of the biggest costs is labour and hourly wages which vary from area to area, and Auckland in particular, site access and traffic can be contributors to cost. Can you put a big bin onsite for rubbish, or does it have to be manually removed and taken to the dump? Is there adequate parking for the army of tradies coming to site? Do they need parking permits? Can gear be offloaded trucks safely? These things can impact cost.

If you are renovating on the outskirts of the city, you will want a local builder as you don’t want to have pay for the tradies sitting on the motorway in the daily traffic jams.

Tradies

Contractors can quote your renovation at different rates and ways for the same job. Make sure they are all quoting from the same plans and scope so you can compare ‘Apples with Apples’. While it can be appealing to accept the lowest offer, consider what has been left out of the quote, what allowances are there, and what experience does the contractor have. Paying a bit more for experience could be worth it.

Kitchen

Kitchen renovations are likely the most intensive in terms of time spent and labour per square metre with electrical, plumbing & gas, stonework, cabinetry, tiling, appliance techs, plastering and painting – all trades can be involved. Kitchens can also be the most expensive of renovations if you consider all of the appliances and associated items you might want to purchase. 

Kitchen Renovation cost;  $18,000 – $80,000+

Bathroom

Bathrooms can also be quite labour-intensive. The main costs are tiling or adding brand new bathroom fixtures. Tiles can cost as low as $20 per square metre or as much as $500 per square metre, but then you have to have them laid, and you will need waterproofing if its going to be a wet area like a shower. The less plumbing fittings you move or add, the lower the cost will be.

Bathroom Renovation cost; $15000 – $35,000+

Bedrooms

Bedroom improvements can be cost effective or cost a fortune, depending on what you have currently and what you want it to be. The most cost effective way to improve a bedroom is to simply paint it to bring it back to life. Custom wardrobes can create more storage, but don’t significantly add value unless its walk-in. Adding an ensuite will increase the value of your home, but it also increases the cost to renovate.

The average cost for bedroom renovation is: $3,000-$40,000

Lounge

The lounge is one of the most used and most visible areas in your home, so any improvements here will be noticed by all. From simply painting to knocking out walls for more space or adding bifold doors onto a deck, sky is the limit when it comes to options and costs.

The average cost of living room renovation is: $5,000-$15,000

Outdoor Area

From a simple grass garden to a patio, deck, landscaping and pools, your garden renovations push your renovation cost calculations up significantly.

The average cost of doing up your garden and adding a deck is: $3,000-$15,000

How to calculate the cost of your home renovation as an estimation; How do you estimate how much your renovation project will cost?

Make a comprehensive list of everything that needs to be done, room by room. Be as specific as possible.

Check with your local council to see any consents are required for the work you are thinking of. Some have a simple online consent tool.

Find out the cost of the hourly rates in your area, as well as the cost of the materials, fixtures and fitting – you can find much of the pricing online from suppliers, or just give them a call and ask what the cost is.

Budget 10-15% on top of your calculated estimate for things you have missed or ‘surprises’.

Talk to your local renovators to get a quote.

How to save money on your home renovation

Allow plenty of time for your builders to finish the project. Rushed jobs can increase costs and increase the likelihood mistakes.
Compare quotes from multiple contractors before making a choice.
Leave the work to the professionals, but DIY when you can. If you have the time, doing your own painting or gardening will cut down on your costs.
Work with the layout you already have. Changing walls, electrical or plumbing locations always costs more

Home renovations can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but they can add value to your home.