Cost & Budget
What Should I Budget for a Major Home Renovation?
How to build a realistic budget for a major renovation — including the costs homeowners most often overlook.
MJM Joinery & Building ·
A realistic budget is the foundation of a successful renovation. It allows you to make confident decisions during design, and it avoids difficult compromises once building has started.
Start with the total, not the build cost
The construction price is only one part of what you will spend. A complete budget should include:
- Construction — the contractor's price for the agreed scope
- Professional fees — architect, structural engineer and other consultants
- Statutory fees — planning permission and building warrant
- VAT — make sure you know which figures include it
- Items bought directly — kitchens, sanitaryware, lighting or flooring you purchase yourself
- Furniture, blinds and soft furnishings
- Temporary accommodation and storage, if you move out
- Contingency
The costs most often overlooked
Temporary accommodation
For a full renovation, many clients move out for some or all of the programme. Rent, storage and removals can add up.
Upgrading services
Older properties often need a full rewire, a new heating system or new drainage. These are not always visible at the outset.
Roofs, chimneys and stonework
Edinburgh's older buildings can need attention to slates, leadwork, chimneys and masonry. Scaffolding for these works is a cost in its own right.
Making good
Joining new and old work — patching floors, matching cornicing, repairing plaster — takes time and skill.
Decisions made during the build
Upgrading finishes or adding items during the build is one of the most common reasons budgets increase. It is far easier to decide early.
How much contingency?
There is no fixed rule, but for older properties we always recommend a meaningful contingency held separately from the build budget. It provides a cushion for genuine unknowns, rather than for upgrades.
Prioritise
If the budget is tight, decide what matters most. Structure, services and the fabric of the building are difficult to change later; some finishes can be upgraded in future.
Ask for an itemised proposal
A clear, itemised proposal shows exactly where the money goes, highlights provisional sums and makes it easier to adjust scope before work begins.
To talk through a renovation, read about our home renovations or start your project.
