Remodeling a home is a major undertaking that requires a considerable amount of money. A moderate upgrade of a small area of the home may cost $5,000 or more, and a full renovation of the home may cost $50,000 or more. With this in mind, it is important to have all of the cash on hand to complete the project before you get started. After all, the last thing you may want is to get halfway through the project and run out of funds. Creating a budget for a home remodeling project can be completed in a few simple steps.

Define the Scope of Your Project 

The first thing you should do is clearly define the scope of your home remodeling project. This means that you need to outline each room that you want to renovate or remodel and specify what you want to be done to the space. For example, a kitchen remodel may include new flooring, plumbing services to relocate pipes to a new location, drywall services, new countertops, new cabinets, hardware for the cabinets, lighting, appliances, and the backsplash. The scope of your project should be this detailed, accounting for all of the sub-projects you want to complete in the space.

Select Your Materials 

Then, you will need to price out the materials that need to be used for each sub-project. This can be a labor-intensive aspect of budgeting to endure, but it is critical because materials account for a large portion of the budget. This will also help you to decide on the style of the kitchen because it requires you to make tough decisions up-front.

Get Labor Quotes 

Labor is the other major component of a home remodeling budget, and there are two different ways to get quotes for labor. One idea is to contact each subcontractor individually to get quotes, and this may take more time, but it may also save you money. Another idea is to use a general contractor to assist with your project, and you can get a general labor quote from him or her.

Account for Unexpected Events 

After you have accounted for labor and materials for your project, you can add up the figures to get a close approximation of the total cost of your project. However, you also need to account for the unexpected. Add a few thousand extra dollars into your budget for contingencies. It is better to have extra money on hand that you do not use than to go over budget and not have funds available to fix a surprise problem that arises during the remodel.

Remodeling your home can be a fun project, but it also can be an expensive one. Budgeting properly is the best way to ensure that you covered all of the bases financially.