Reno Diary #4: Building the Master Renovation Plan and Budget

16 Days Before Closing

Before I could build the house I wanted, I needed a plan that could survive reality.

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Building the Master Home Renovation Planning List

I had already created a spreadsheet with all the home inspection recommendations sorted by Pre-Move, Post-Move, and Monitor.

As I gathered additional information, the spreadsheet evolved.

After identifying my personal reno priorities, I added them to the spreadsheet.

Now I had a master list of all the projects I wanted to compete to renovate my home, sorted by Pre-Move, Post-Move, and Monitor. I also added my physical move to the list so I wouldn’t lose sight of it with everything else going on.

I then added a column to the spreadsheet to identify and sort the project location by room.

That allowed me to focus on the most important rooms to complete before I moved in—the kitchen, office, and bathroom.

I wanted to be comfortable in my new home starting on Day One.

Exterior projects went into their own category, all to be completed Pre-Move, i.e., before Portland’s rainy winter kicked in.

Finally, I added two columns so I could add the cost for services and materials to each task as I gathered estimates.

My first-pass renovation budget. I intentionally omitted the dollar amounts because labor and material costs vary dramatically by location and change over time. The structure of the spreadsheet—not my specific numbers—is the important part.

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Installation Order

I then scanned the list.

• What renovations had to be done before I moved in?

• How long would each project take?

• What renovations could wait until after I moved in?

• Could I group some post-move-in projects together so I could take a break between major projects to keep chaos to a minimum for six months after I moved in?

The other element I had to consider was the most efficient order of installation for all the new reno components.

Why? I wanted to take advantage of my clean slate and do everything once. All my condo RTTPYO projects worked out well and ultimately made my condo a better place to live. But I lived in chaos much of the time and didn’t want to repeat that experience if I didn’t have to.

For example, the home's electrical work should get done before new drywall and paint. Lighting gets installed after painting. On the exterior, fascia need to be replaced before the house is painted.

Years ago, I lived in a community where a major commercial surface road was torn up and then repaved, causing considerable aggravation to local drivers for well over a year.

Everyone in the community breathed a sigh of relief when the smooth and beautiful new road finally opened.

Imagine our collective disappointment, rage, and inconvenience when, less than a year later, that new road was dug up to upgrade water and sewer pipes.

Disappointment, rage, and inconvenience. That’s what I wanted to avoid.

First Pass at the Pre-Move Task List

Here’s what ended up making the list for items that had to be done before move-in, including my personal priorities and the Hot Mess items from the inspection report.

Note that this list is not in exact execution order. I just wanted to understand what I was letting myself in for financially if I did go ahead and buy the house.

While I wanted my reno plan to be as efficient as possible, what was important now was to understand the full scope and cost of the reno before I committed.

I wanted to let the insanity roll over me before I went all-in.

Living Room

• Replace paneling on two walls with wallboard

• Remove fireplace insert

• Replace coat closet door

• Partial wall removal and rewiring

• Install outlet next to fireplace for the TV

• Remove the landline phone jack on the hallway wall

• Do something with the phone niche in the hallway

• Replace hearth tile

Kitchen and Laundry

• Demo old cabinets; replace with new cabinets and countertops

• Add framing and wallboard on inside wall

• Purchase and install stacked washer/dryer

• Purchase and install kitchen appliances (stove, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher)

• New wiring and outlets

Bath

• Replace toilet, lighting, fan, and shower curtain rod

• Add towel bars, toilet roll holder, wall hook

• Install bidet seat (best thing ever)

• Do something about the Formica-clad shower walls

• Recoat the bathtub

• Install new outlets above sink and next to toilet

Garage

• Replace door—install door opener

• Add an outlet for treadmill and beer refrigerator

• Add shelving for storage

Whole House

• Remove mold in the attic

• Replace all fascia and front porch posts

• Replace front door

• Replace gas furnace with electric heat pump and A/C

• Replace electrical panel

• Remove existing carpet and baseboards; add hardwood and new baseboards

• Replace HVAC vent covers

• Replace all wall outlets (currently two-prong) with 3-prong outlets

• Repaint entire house, inside and out

• Replace all switch covers

• Replace interior doors (3)

• Install new closet doors (2 sets)

• Replace all window coverings

• Replace all ceiling lighting

New Furniture

• Bed (added after taking room measurements and realizing that my current headboard would not fit in my new bedroom)

Yes. It’s a long list.

Estimating Costs

Next I estimated what each project would cost. I didn’t have quotes yet from actual tradespeople, so I used online resources (like bobvila.com, thisoldhouse.com, and hgtv.com) to estimate what the services I needed would cost. For all the estimated services costs, I added 10% for unforeseen circumstances.

I found that labor costs vary based on what part of the U.S. you are in. If you can, find a local resource for services pricing to avoid possible sticker shock later. Some websites will ask for your zip code in order to give you pricing based on your area.

It was relatively easy to gather pricing online for new kitchen appliances, lighting, window coverings, interior and exterior doors, etc. Some of the stuff I needed to buy also had a service cost component for delivery and installation, but that is usually covered as part of the listed price. (NOTE: be sure to ask for specifics if installation costs and terms are not clear to you.)

I set to work, adding costs to the appropriate column (services or materials), and in a couple of days I had an estimate. I also set aside $10K for unforeseen issues.

A working budget evolves as estimates come in, purchases are made, and plans change.

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Big breath. Was it doable? Yes, it was—barring horrific disaster.

HOWEVER. I’ve watched enough home improvement shows to know that when renovating an old house, horrific disasters are common. I needed more insurance than $10K. If I ran out of time or money, what could I do without in the initial reno and still get a comfortable, beautiful, safe home at move-in?

Preparing for Disaster by Building a Postponement List

I went back to the to-do list to identify the services and items that I could postpone until after move-in to give me some monetary breathing room.

I wanted to make sure that the items I postponed wouldn’t come back and bite me in the ass during the reno, so I imposed three rules for deciding what could wait.

One, postponed items should not negatively impact the condition of the house—so, for example, exterior painting and repairs were a must-have to protect the home from the elements.

Two, postponed items should not impact my quality of life in the house or prevent me from unpacking after move-in—so painting the interior had to stay on the to-do list.

Three, as already noted, I wanted to keep the reno installation order intact to avoid “do-overs”.

Here's what went from Pre-Move to Post-Move:

• Do something with the phone niche in the hallway

• Replace front door

• Replace gas furnace with electric heat pump and A/C

• Replace HVAC vent covers

• Replace all wall outlets (currently two-prong) with 3-prong outlets

• Replace all switch covers

• Replace interior doors (3)

• Install new closet doors (2 sets)

The postponement list consisted primarily of non-mission-critical projects—things I could live without for a few months.

Since I had a functional gas furnace, I would stay warm over the winter. The heat pump and A/C could wait until spring.

Not having closet or interior doors for a few months didn’t affect my quality of life.

Waiting for both would give me peace of mind during the pre-move phase of the reno.

I got another break a week later when I asked the electrical estimator about postponing the upgrade of all the wall outlets. Leaving the existing wall outlets alone would not impact the electrical upgrade timing. All I had to do was specify where new outlets needed to be installed.

From a budgeting perspective, I saved $2K overall. I could get the non-essential old outlets upgraded at any reno phase, or never.

Also, if actual reno costs came in lower than my estimates, I could add some of the postponement items back in to the reno without losing momentum.

The postponement list removed a lot of monetary pressure. But what would I do if my postponement list didn’t cover a super-horrific disaster? Where else could I go for funds?

Duh! Part of the plan was to sell my condo while the reno was underway. There was my monetary resource for a super-horrific disaster.

I knew that I would get a nice return when I sold my condo. After 12 years of living there, I had built great equity. Additionally, home prices had soared since I bought the condo, and I figured I would make a decent profit from the sale. I needed to have a conversation with my real estate agent to get a realistic idea of how much to finally put my mind at rest.

More importantly, now that it was pretty clear I had the funds for the house and the reno, the sales and closing process could continue moving forward.

With postponement decisions made, I could work on the reno schedule tomorrow.

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Up Next

I build the execution timeline and plug actual estimates in the budget.

Things get real.