Regardless of whether you are buying a home that needs a few small upgrades or are instead choosing a fixer-upper, it is important to have a good idea of the budget that you want to follow for the work that the home will need. Estimating the costs of this isn’t an easy task, however. There are two points to keep in mind when doing so: things will always cost more than you might expect, and construction will almost always take longer than you expect.
Another factor that is a part of the budget is subjectivity, including personal tastes and aesthetics. Some budgets might allow for more expensive finishes, but some might not, such as in the case of the person who just wants a home that functions well but doesn’t look fancy.
Many Philly homebuyers enjoy putting their personal touches on the home they buy, including floors, bathrooms, kitchens or even the entire property. In this article, we’ll explore the different price ranges of such renovations and how much you should budget for each one.
What is a gut renovation?
A gut renovation means a thorough renovation project. Sometimes, it can mean rebuilding a home almost entirely, starting from the inside out. Sometimes, you may also hear this referred to as “down to the studs,” meaning that almost everything is ripped out of a property, which can sometimes include the walls. This leaves behind only the floorboards. This is a good plan for those who want to undergo a complete rebuild. It also may take any surprises out of the renovation process, making it easier for you to get a good idea of the costs. Surprises can be really expensive. Some homeowners sell their home to a local investor, like us at FastCashAnyHome — for as-is, cash, not having to do any renovations or inspections.
The price you can expect tends to fall around $75 to $100 per square foot for the hard costs of the renovation depending on the quality and level that you want. Hard costs include items like lumber, appliances, drywall, fixtures and so on. You should include another 20 percent for contractor and labor fees as well to be safe. You’ll also want to factor in any permits, architectural fees, licenses, mortgage interest, insurance and other fees.
All of this can quickly knock your budget up to around $100 to $150 per square foot, and this can climb up even higher if you are putting in high-end finishes. If your home is 1,500 square feet, a gut renovation might end up costing between $150,000 and $200,000. It is also important to have a Contingency Line item in your budget. This means it would be safe to have another $25,000 to $50,000 saved up in case something goes wrong.
Construction and renovation projects typically cost more than you imagine and will take longer than expected. Keep in mind you’ll need to pay your mortgage at the same time, as well as insurance, taxes and more, so keep that in the budget.
Average Budget For a Home Renovation in Philadelphia
Most Philly homebuyers that want to do a simple renovation will put aside between $25,000 and $50,000. This is usually enough for upgrading a bathroom, kitchen or for adding cosmetic finishing touches like refinishing floors, painting or sanding.
Kitchen
Few other spaces in the home are as valuable and important as the kitchen. Homebuyers like to have a luxurious kitchen complete with premium appliances, plenty of space in the cabinets, an island, beautiful countertops and other nice touches. A beautiful kitchen will increase the value of the home straight away and is also just a nice feature to have given how often the kitchen is used.
The cost for a kitchen can vary widely depending on various factors like appliances, cabinetry, backsplash materials and designs, the quality of the countertops and tile, plumbing work, electrical upgrades and more. It is a good idea to figure in at least $15,000 to $20,000 for a basic kitchen. Even so, you can also spend $15,000 on appliances alone, so be sure that you are budgeting that in accordingly and make sure you work with professionals to ensure you are keeping within the budget.
Bathroom
A bathroom can cost $7,000 for a simple powder room or as much as $30,000 for a bathroom with a spa-like design including items such as a soaking tub, a rain or steam shower, high-end marble floors and more.
Flooring
New floors or even a professional restoration of old floors can increase the value of a home. This type of project is usually best to undertake when a home is vacant, so you can still walk on the floors and keep your furnishings there. If you are refinishing existing hardwood floors, expect a lot of dust to be kicked up from sanding; it’s best to just do this when no one is living there.
New hardwood floors can cost between $4 to $10 per foot for the materials alone depending on the quality. Installation could be another $4 to $8 per foot for the labor. In order for the flooring job to be completed properly, the edge molding between the walls and floor, which is usually wood, will most likely need to be taken off and reinstalled or replaced, which can add to the cost. For a home that has $1,000 feet of hardwood flooring, you can expect to budget between $8,000 to $18,000 depending on the quality of the materials that you choose.
In order to properly refinish a floor, a technician will have to first sand the floor and usually add either a layer of polyurethane or stain to the floor to seal it. This is often a less expensive option compared to putting in a brand new floor. You can assume that this will cost around $3 to $8 per foot for both the materials and the labor. This means that for 1,000 feet of hardwood flooring, you can expect to spend somewhere in the range of $3,000 to $8,000.
Finishing a Basement in Philly
Many of the basements in the city have a low ceiling and poor illumination. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t try to complete the space in order to improve upon it and make it both more valuable and useable. Basements that have more square footage and a higher ceiling will be better suited than a small basement with a low ceiling, so it’s a good idea to decide on whether this potentially expensive renovation is important to you.
Basements are also usually damp, so you’ll need to install a dehumidifier. The best ones, in this case, are the ones that automatically pump the extra water into any drain pipes. This helps to keep moisture-related growth away while also preventing a “basement smell.” Water might be a bigger issue that necessitates extra drainage, such as a French drain. This can get expensive quickly.
After the moisture issue has been taken care of, adding vinyl or ceramic flooring to the basement will make it look better. This is only true if the basement is cement and plumb. If it isn’t plumb, you’ll need to level the floor.
Framing off areas of the basement, if applicable, and installing drywall will help you to hide the mechanical features of the basement and turn it into a nice space as an extra living room, for storage or both. You may also want to budget extra money for a bathroom in the basement for comfort and convenience. All of these projects will add up, so it’s best to talk about this with a quality contractor. If you want to add a window in the basement, you can also expect another $5,000 to $10,000 tacked on.
It can be difficult to estimate the cost for a standard basement in Philly as there are a lot of variables, but a basic-looking project will likely start at around $20,000. It is also important not to assume you can finish your basement at all, so it’s important to discuss this with your contractor.
Planning a Renovation
No matter what type of project you’re taking on, it’s important to keep the scope of the work appropriate for the type of home you have. This is, of course, unless you have a lot of money to burn and intend to use these upgrades for many years to come. This is all to say that you may not get the value back should you end up overdoing it and need to sell the home a few years later.