Renovators - what surprised you as being signifantly cheaper or more expensive than you expected?

[Anonymous]

We're preparing for our architect meeting and trying to get an idea of changes that significantly impact budget. For example, we expect that opening up the kitchen will be expensive because of the load bearing wall, and that will still be a priority. But we also are trying to think of smaller changes throughout the house that may be cheaper but impactful. Did any changes end up being surprisingly "cheap"/ relatively inexpensive? Adding a moulding/ wood detail to a dining room, adding a built-in desk to a bedroom, replacing bathroom floor and wall tile etc?

[Anonymous]

whether the wall is loadbearing may be less a concern than plumbing, electrical, and HVAC that runs through the wall. That can go expensive real quick. Tile can go north real quick if you get anything beyond basic stuff like Home Depot sells. If you have a competent builder, you will be surprised at how expensive some materials are that you will never see (e.g. when you tile, are they using an appropriate waterproofing membrane? That is a lot of $ compared to throwing up durock and calling it a day (unless they put durock up and redguard it and detail it properly!). Windows and doors. You will be surprised how expensive those are.

[Anonymous]

Custom woodwork. We have an older house, and matching the molding and installing real bead board was eye wateringly expensive. It’s gorgeous and I’m glad we did it. In comparison, the custom cabinetry seemed reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Well this might not matter much with a project as expensive as yours, but for me, I was surprised at how much prices vary on tile. I know really nice tile is a priority to a lot of people, but I just wanted basic porcelain tile in classic shapes so floor And decor worked fine for us.

And we all know that moving fixtures is expensive and I am so proud of myself for getting creative with the layout and making the bathrooms really functional without having to reconfigure plumbing.

I was surprised at how much painting and good quality paint costs.

[Anonymous]

Windows were expensive but not nearly as expensive as I expected. Paint, doors, and drywall were more expensive than I expected. Some things were weirdly expensive in the showroom (a $700 bar sink?) so I sourced them myself from other places.

I'd always heard window treatments were expensive, but I was shocked when the salesperson said I would likely need custom drapes because I have nonstandard sized windows. I am not convinced I actually do (and we're getting other proposals for the treatments) but if so that's really something that should have come up at the design phase because the windows could have been literally any size.

Mostly I was surprised that I could pay so much for a contractor whose job it is to know and oversee everything, and still have to stand over people to make sure things get done correctly or at all. For example I have had two separate bathroom remodels where the tile guy used the wrong color grout after we bought the grout and provided it to him. Electrician will say all the lights and plugs work, but then you go around and test and they don't work. You have to be on top of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Custom woodwork. We have an older house, and matching the molding and installing real bead board was eye wateringly expensive. It’s gorgeous and I’m glad we did it. In comparison, the custom cabinetry seemed reasonable.

Who did you go with for this? Trying to find someone to do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:whether the wall is loadbearing may be less a concern than plumbing, electrical, and HVAC that runs through the wall. That can go expensive real quick. Tile can go north real quick if you get anything beyond basic stuff like Home Depot sells. If you have a competent builder, you will be surprised at how expensive some materials are that you will never see (e.g. when you tile, are they using an appropriate waterproofing membrane? That is a lot of $ compared to throwing up durock and calling it a day (unless they put durock up and redguard it and detail it properly!). Windows and doors. You will be surprised how expensive those are.

This is helpful, the walls we need to get rid of actually don't seem to have electrical or plumbing. We are struggling with windows because we have some nice ones but it also would be good to redo the kitchen layout, and that would require replacing them.

[Anonymous]

Everything was pretty expensive, IMO, and cost more than it seemed it “should.” But I’d advise really thinking about your joy to price ratio for particular items. I got a less expensive faucet and sink because neither thrill me that much. The new ones are already so much nicer than what we had before. It’s hard not to keep getting fancier when you see what is available in the showrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Windows were expensive but not nearly as expensive as I expected. Paint, doors, and drywall were more expensive than I expected. Some things were weirdly expensive in the showroom (a $700 bar sink?) so I sourced them myself from other places.

I'd always heard window treatments were expensive, but I was shocked when the salesperson said I would likely need custom drapes because I have nonstandard sized windows. I am not convinced I actually do (and we're getting other proposals for the treatments) but if so that's really something that should have come up at the design phase because the windows could have been literally any size.

Mostly I was surprised that I could pay so much for a contractor whose job it is to know and oversee everything, and still have to stand over people to make sure things get done correctly or at all. For example I have had two separate bathroom remodels where the tile guy used the wrong color grout after we bought the grout and provided it to him. Electrician will say all the lights and plugs work, but then you go around and test and they don't work. You have to be on top of it.

Drapes don’t need to be custom depending on the size of the window. You might need a double width or to hang the rod higher or lower, but that’s available off the rack. One thing to note though is that if you buy pleated, interlined and lined drapery panels with a reasonably nice face fabric, they cost almost the same as having them made. So there might be no point. If you are okay with no interlining or pleats, you don’t need to have them made most likely.

[Anonymous]

It pays to focus on the things that are easy when the walls are open and hard when they’re closed. Running wiring for sconces, outlets for lamps, outlets for bedrooms that won’t be blocked by the bed, switches in the right places. Lighting like step lights and art lights. Hardwiring for automated blinds. Some of that is becoming less important because of batteries and remotes but it’s still really important and not expensive to do when you’re already down to the studs.

[Anonymous]

Any wood that is going to be stained. So much more expensive than paint grade.

[Anonymous]

Nothing at all was cheaper than expected.

[Anonymous]

Cabinet hardware was cheaper than I thought because I’d always heard it’s $$$. Backsplash tile was also cheaper than I thought (we got marble).

Otherwise everything is constantly like “WHAT?!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Custom woodwork. We have an older house, and matching the molding and installing real bead board was eye wateringly expensive. It’s gorgeous and I’m glad we did it. In comparison, the custom cabinetry seemed reasonable.

Who did you go with for this? Trying to find someone to do the same.

NP: We decided against matching the moulding in an addition, as we were already up to our eye sockets in costs. We decided to go with the philosophy that historic preservation takes: don't match in an addition, make each clearly separate so you know which part is original.

[Anonymous]

Each time the biggest surprise for me has been how much we spend after the renovation on items like window shades, pieces of furniture that work in the new space, work to fix issues the renovation created or made more evident, organizers, accessories. I guess it’s partly that by then having spent so much already it feels like too much.