Home additions are notoriously known for being very expensive. When you try to build one without a fixed budget, you will find yourself buried under a mountain of bills. For a smooth home improvement project, you need to have one in place. Learn how to build your home addition on a budget.
Why Should You Set a Budget?
Budgets are all about setting limits. You assess your current financial position and estimate your future costs. By knowing what you have and what you need to spend, you can plan how to use your money.
You can create a budget for just about anything from your daily expenses to your occasional projects. They are especially helpful with home improvement projects and their hidden costs. A budget can save you from overpriced builds and put your money to better use.
So when you ask yourself, “Why should I set a budget?” It is because it helps you maximize your value for money.
How to Stick to Your Home Addition Budget
It can be very challenging to stay on budget while you are building your home addition. Here are 4 steps you can take to help you stick to your budget:
Set A Realistic Budget
The first thing you should do is set a realistic budget. All home improvement projects are expensive, and an addition is in the upper end of that. You need to make sure you have enough money set aside to see the project through.
Home additions can range from $20,707 and $71,840. The general average is around $46,000. While you can have home additions for less, that would mean more compromise. Smaller crews, tight schedules, cheaper materials – you would have to whittle everything down to the bare minimum. It would be difficult to stick to a sparse budget.
If you want custom designs and high-end finishes, work them into your budget. After you calculate the costs, make sure to pad your budget for emergencies. Add a month or two to your projected timeline and keep that fund for emergencies. Poor weather conditions, unexpected repairs, changes in design – the emergency fund offers you more wiggle room.
There are plenty of ways you can get additional funding to help make your home addition a reality. Find out what best suits your situation. If you don’t, you’ll make the same mistakes as many other inexperienced homeowners – the ones who quickly make changes without having the appropriate budget needed.
Settling for a “low” budget doesn’t always mean you can get the job done cheaply. Most of the time, it means a premature home addition that will exceed the low budget or will need extra work. If you want to stick to your budget, create one that is worth following.
Hire Experienced Home Addition Contractors
The second thing you should do is find an experienced team like the home addition contractors at Paragonemodeling.com. You’ll want to work with one company for the whole duration of the project for several reasons:
- You can better negotiate rates since it is a long-term project.
- You can avoid paying additional fees.
- You can continuously work on the build.
- You can avoid finger-pointing during complications.
- You can ensure a high-quality build.
Nothing kills a budget other than having one company stop mid-job. Whether you fire them or they quit, it puts you in a precarious financial position. You end up losing whatever downpayment you initially had with them. You need to add more working days to the timeline. And this is assuming everything they have done is correct.
What if it wasn’t? You have to spend more money correcting their mistakes. You should always hire skilled, experienced, professional contractors. They might be pricey at first, but they save you from a lot of costly work down the line.
Select Affordable Products and Materials
The third thing you should do is research the products and materials for your build. Get a good idea of the industry standards and the prices of each material. Use this as a reference.
When you meet up with your home addition contractors, discuss your options. Talk about your budget concerns at length and figure out what areas you can and cannot compromise.
Besides the materials used in the build, you should also be very careful with the finishes. Flooring, paint, wallpaper, light fixtures, and hardware can all be very expensive. It might not look like much at first. The price tag of an individual item will seem very reasonable, but as soon as you scale the purchase for your build – it would be a different story.
There are two ways you can avoid overspending on finishes:
- Create a mood board and only look for items on the list. When you know what you want to get, you can avoid more expensive items.
- Know how many of each item you need and find out the total cost. Always add it up and subtract from your budget. Sometimes a visual reminder of how much money you have left can help.
Considering all the options available – staying on budget in this department can be very hard. But it is worth it.
Avoid Last-Minute Changes
If you want to stick to the budget, you have to stick to the plans. Creating customizations you didn’t plan for means you have to come up with more money. More materials, working hours, and sometimes expertise – it can add another $500 to $1,000 to your bottom line. It would be best if it were it’s own home improvement project.
By following these 4 steps, you are sure to build a beautiful home addition on a budget! If all goes well, you can use leftover cash to buy plants and furniture and make the new section feel more like home. So what are you waiting for? Build your home addition!