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Renovation Estimator · Build your project budget
This tool does not price your renovation for you. It is a worksheet that adds up numbers you supply, in three groups — materials, contractor bids and other costs — then applies a contingency and gives you a total. Every line is yours to edit, and the whole sheet auto-saves to your browser so it survives a refresh; nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Each section subtotals on its own. Materials and other costs multiply a quantity by a unit price; contractor bids can be entered as a lump sum or as hours × rate. The summary then sums the three subtotals and adds your chosen contingency on top.
Keeping the three groups separate is deliberate. Materials are the part you can pin down precisely with a takeoff; contractor bids are the part you compare across quotes; and other costs — permits, dumpster, delivery, tool rental — are the part people forget until the bill arrives. Seeing them as distinct subtotals makes it obvious where a budget is really going, and where a surprise has room to hide.
The Import Takeoff button under Materials reads a
.json file saved from any HomeReno calculator — paint,
drywall, concrete, pavers, mulch, gravel, sod, seed, fence or raised-bed
soil. It re-runs that tool's own formulas on the saved dimensions and
drops the resulting quantities straight into your materials list, so a
drywall takeoff arrives as sheets, compound, tape and screws already
counted. Save a project in a calculator, then import it here to build a
budget without re-typing a single measurement.
The dollar figures attached to the quick-add buttons and to imported takeoff lines — paint at $45 a gallon, a permit at $200, a dumpster at $400, and so on — are round placeholders put there so a new line is not blank. They are not researched market prices, they are not sourced, and they date badly. Overwrite every one with a real number from your local supplier or a contractor's bid before you trust the total. Prices vary too much by region, season and store for a built-in figure to mean anything.
Where do the pre-filled prices come from?
They are placeholders, not sourced prices. Each quick-add button and imported line arrives with a round starting number only so the row is not empty. Replace them with your own quotes; the total is only as good as the prices you type in.
How much contingency should I add?
Ten percent covers cosmetic work like paint and flooring. A kitchen or bath remodel, or any older home where you are opening walls, is safer at 15 to 25 percent, because that is where hidden damage and code surprises turn up. The contingency applies to the whole subtotal.
Is my budget saved or sent anywhere?
It stays in your browser. The sheet auto-saves locally so it survives a refresh, and the Save button downloads a JSON file you keep. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
This page describes how the estimator combines figures you enter; it does not publish cost data. For current remodeling cost ranges, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the annual Remodeling Cost vs. Value report are the usual references — always check the report's date, since these figures move year to year. Budgeting method and contingency guidance is in our budgeting guide.