By George DeMare, Vice President Business Development–
Many times homeowners do not comprehend how much home updates actually cost.
A survey from Porch found 69 percent of homeowners want to do a major home improvement project in the next year and they plan to spend an average of $3,911 on those repairs/improvements; 83 percent plan to spend less than $5,000 total on their remodeling.
What is a realistic $5,000-$10,000 remodel?
Kitchen
Kitchen remodels are the most popular home renovation and can be incredibly expensive. A good rule for kitchen renovation budgeting is to spend at least 5 percent of the home’s value on a kitchen upgrade. The average cost for refinishing kitchen cabinets is $2,456 compared to a $6,000-plus new set of cabinets.
A budget-savvy homeowner could get new appliances, too, and still finish the kitchen remodel for less than $5,000. The average cost to install a countertop is $2,909 depending on kitchen size and surface choice. Smaller kitchen updates are often more affordable often coming in for much less than $5,000. As material costs rise, so does the incentive to make these improvements sooner than later.
Bathroom
Bathroom renovations are the second-most popular home remodeling project. The national average cost to remodel a bathroom is between $9,000 and $15,000. Budget remodels can cost as little as $2,000 or $3,000. Small bathroom remodels can help or limiting a project to one or two features at a time helps to avoid high-cost changes like relocating plumbing and window openings. Some bathroom renovations are more cosmetic and have a lower cost associated with them.
Flooring
The average national cost to install flooring is $2,886. This puts new floor installation directly within the $5,000 remodel range many homeowners plan for. Factors like home size, type of flooring, installation quality, removal of old flooring, and unexpected problems can also add to the price. Hardwood flooring costs are highest, followed by laminate, stone, and tile. There can also be a large difference in price between having a flooring contractor install your floors vs. a DIY solution.
Painting
For other rooms in a house, true remodeling options are minimal when not making structural changes. A new coat of paint can change an entire room for a relatively low cost.
On average, the price to professionally paint the interior of a house is $1,750 with the cost of individual rooms ranging between $380 and $790. Exterior paint jobs average between $2,500 and $3,000. Many homeowners opt to do their painting themselves rather than hiring a painting contractor in order to lower costs. Just make sure that you take your time and do it right. A high quality paint contractor will almost always provide a better looking end result.