We’re back with another round of the FAQ’s of Renovation!
If you haven’t read the rest of our posts in this series, make sure to go back and read them here: Contractors and Designers 101 + Getting started + Working with a designer, Reality Check & Estimate and Budget.
We even had a small recap with all of them, here!
We’ve loved hearing from you and answering some of your questions – we’re slowly but surely whittling away and can’t wait to address them all as we go.
Today we thought we’d continue with a little clarifying of past statements. We’ve had a few more questions in the realm of money, cost and expectations.
So to kick us off, we want to repeat our mantra that you should live by when undertaking any major work on your home: “Do not pick your designer or contractor based on who is the cheapest.” DO NOT LET MONEY BE THE DECIDING FACTOR. I know – easier said than done. But this is something people just don’t think about. Everyone wants to get the best deal. We get it. But it’s better to wait and save a little more, scale back the project or {not so simply} spend more, than it is to pick your person because they had the lowest bid.
Mama was right, YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
Now that we have that out of the way, here’s something else that must be said: One that we were literally on the fence about discussing, but for the love of everyone truly feel it’s necessary:
TV is fake.
I know, shocker right?
You’d be surprised by how many people verbally acknowledge this. But when the time comes to start their project, they’re shocked by:
a. the amount of money it actually costs and b. the time it will take.
Yes, there are a lot of varying principles here. {A lot of it can be based on where you live – more on that below.} But we’re laying this out there today, because we speak from first hand experience from three different sides.
1. as people who took on their own house, 2. as professionals who help others with their homes, and 3…
We’ve now worked with a certain large network a few times. On one occasion, a project was filmed that we were working on. When it was time to lay out the cost, they {said large network} literally asked us to half it. Or to put it another way, they simply wanted us to lie on camera about real cost.
We didn’t feel comfortable with this. But they said, “this is the way we do it” because “we’ve tested the market and this is what people want to hear, so it’s what we give them.”
Let that sink in.
So all those shows that you watch are less reality and more market-tested. I think we all know this deep down, but no one ever really thinks about it. Reality TV is all scripted. All of it. And even when it’s not, it can be edited to tell a different story. And this, my friends, is one of the biggest issues we encounter all the time: a renovation is going to cost a whole lot more than what you see on the good ole’ tele.
And you know what else lies? The internet.
It really does. Sorry not sorry to pop this bubble.
We’ve seen reputable realtor sites tell us a certain renovation will only cost X, but the reality is, it costs more. I wonder why they would do that? Oh that’s right, they want you to buy a house thinking you can renovate it on the cheap. Cha-Ching!
Pinterest is a pathological liar.
Instagram is a narcissist.
Websites can be full of white lies that don’t always give you the full story.
Everyone is putting their best foot forward, showing their highlight reels. And we think it can be so easy to forget that when it becomes the accepted norm.
So everyone together in unision say it to the television and the internets with me…
You sit on a throne of lies!
I know, right? It’s tricky. It really is. We always try to be transparent. We can play the game or we can call it for what it is. And we’re not sure if we’re jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, but we think it’s important to address this. Both professionally, and personally. Because we’ve been on both {all three, really} sides, and this is what we do for a living: At the end of the day, we just want to help people with their homes.
Unfortunately, we believe the deck is stacked against everyone wanting to take on a renovation, from the beginning. A lot of it has become all about cost and real estate. We’ve all been sold something that isn’t real. Media has escalated to a point of no return with saturation in the past few years. We’re all pre-programmed with expectations that are harmful, if we’re not careful.
It can be really easy to get really excited about the new {insert your favorite show here} and when the numbers hit the paper you’re all like $&*^##@$$% did that happen?!?!?!
We never want to perpetuate that. Bottom line.
So let’s look at the reasons why this happens.
• It’s always more than what you see on TV.
You’re not going to gut and put back together an entire house for $75,000, unless you do all the work yourself and get some freebies along the way.
And you’re not going to renovate a kitchen for $15K. Unless that renovation doesn’t include a whole lot, or your kitchen is on the small side. We find ourselves rolling our eyes at the television more often than not, as of late. We saw a thread on a very well-known site the other day, where people were all up in arms over a kitchen that cost more than 12K. They literally roasted the person who took on the renovation. They simply couldn’t believe someone would spend that much.
Why do people care so much? Since when is it okay to freak out over someone else’s life decisions? That’s an entirely different topic, but mostly, it’s because we’ve all been given false expectations.
For what it’s worth, yes, it can vary by location. But if you read the national average to do something is “X”, that’s pretty useless info. Because there isn’t a town called “National Average”, and you don’t live there.
So, if you want to know the cost of your project, don’t go to the TV or the internet. We actually stopped sharing cost here because it can be so different. Our biggest piece of advice, is to lay out what you want to do, and the labor cost of doing it, where you live. Your guess will probably still be too low, but it’ll be better than what the TV is selling you.
But for the sake of argument, if I have a kitchen overhaul, this is what it would probably look like: {This is the legitimate cost of labor and materials in our area.}
• Demo : $1000
• Counter tops : $2,500
• Counter top fabrication and install: $2,000
• Cabinets and install : $8,000
• Flooring : $1,500
• Flooring install : $450
• Tile : $1,500
• Tile install :$1,500
• Fixtures (lights/faucets) :$1,500
• Appliances :$8,000
• Plumbing labor : $900
• Electrical Labor : $600
• Paint : $250
• Painting labor : $500
Grand total : $29,150
A little higher than that national average of 15K. And it’s still off from what it will cost you, where you live.
*In full disclosure, these are custom cabinets, not insert-your-big-box-store here. We paid more for our own kitchen. And when we give quotes, if you’ve read our posts before, we tend to lean away from the lower end stuff. You’re not comparing apples to apples when it comes to quotes from different contractors, so ask for clarification. As we said above, it’s better to wait and save your money to get what you really want, than do it cheaper the first time.
• You can’t always get what you want.
Once upon a time there was a young couple who saw something on Pinterest, and they wanted their space look like that as well. They suddenly had a lot of architectural and design knowledge because Pinterest. The only problem is that they lived in a stacked 2 story mass-developed neighborhood kinda house. But they wanted their house to be a fixer-upper open-plan ranch. Because Pinterest. They weren’t open to any other ideas, or what the floorpan dictated they do, only what they’d seen on TV. Magical fairies would support the floors above the open level, and by the way, they wouldn’t be spending more than 10,000 on the entire thing.
They also wanted to short all the professionals who came their way, telling them otherwise.
As Mick Jager sang, “You can’t always get what you want…” Your house has limitations and you are working with what you purchased, so not everything you’ve seen is possible for your house unless you want to throw a pot of gold at it. This is why we say hire a good designer and contractor, not a cheap one. And use their guidance.
Because if you do, then as the lyrics go, “though you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need…”
• It’s not in real time.
Did you know that TV isn’t in real time, and neither is the internet?
Yeah, most people say they know that, but at the risk of sounding sarcastic, when their project starts they wonder why it takes more than a week.
Once upon a time there was a man who wanted to gut an entire level of their house and after talking through everything he said, “So we will be on vacation for a week. That will be a good week for you to complete most of it while we are out of town.”
Design shows have fooled us into thinking that renovations can happen during commercial breaks while the family is on vacay in Disney World {because they took the 7k vacay with all their leftover cash – their reno was so cheap} …and with as little inconvenience as possible. The truth is, it takes weeks and months depending on the size of the project. If you’re redoing the entire house, expect 4-6 months. A kitchen, 1-2 months.
It takes time to do it right y’all.
• It doesn’t come with all new furniture
Your old furniture won’t be magically replaced like on the TV shows. Have you ever thought about what really makes a space that you love? It’s the accessories. Even in a space like a kitchen, it’s the little things, in the right places. Did you also know that those TV shows you love with those awesome spaces, don’t get to keep all the extras that make it look amazing? You know why? It costs money.
Same with the internet.
A lot of those pretty pictures you see are staged, which is the nice way to say faked.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: every time you see a pretty photo on our site, there was a bunch of crap shoved out of the way to make it happen. We live there. There is no such thing as perfection. A lot of hard work went into that shot. We’re fooling no one.
This is why we advocate for two things:
1) Hire a designer, and they can help you shop your house, or find those things via sources you don’t know about. If you’re buying new, they can often save you more money through their sources than what it costs to hire them.
This is the case with us. True story.
2) Have a budget for furnishings, or lower your expectations to realize it probably won’t all happen at once, and that’s okay. It takes time. ;}
So really to sum this all up at the risk of sounding like dream-ruiners:
Remember that renovations are totally worth it, but what they aren’t is quick, easy, or cheap.
We believe that your home can be beautiful. Each home is different and that’s a good thing.
There’s a process to it, and it’s important to embrace that process.
It’s important to adjust your expectations a little before going in.
Don’t buy into the false world of TV and the internet, because we’re all doing this, without even realizing it.
And for the love of all things holy, trust your designer and contractor.
We truly hope this helps clear up any questions you may have. We know this is a lot of info, and just felt the need to recap, before we moved on.
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To see all the posts we have so far on one page, just start at the bottom and move on up. Check them all out in thumbnail format, here.
As always, let us know if you have any questions. Have an inspired day!
Marian@CMShawStudios says
That you for this. I have been working on finishing all the design projects in my house with all my free time for almost 4 years. That doesn’t include the projects I did one at a time, since we bought the house 11 years ago. I do all my own painting, re-upholstery, furniture refinishing, sewing, gardening, landscaping, and furniture building. My budget has only been bigger than Craigslist 4 times: a copper table (8 yrs ago), a new couch (10 yrs ago), a new chair and a half (also 10 yrs ago), and a new bed frame for the master (11 yrs ago). Every other piece of furniture in my 3200 sq ft house comes from Craigslist, a neighbor, my parent’s hand me downs, a garage sale, a thrift shop. or was built by me. It takes time. it takes enormous effort. And it takes hope and vision. I am almost done. It is a wonderful feeling. But this post has reminded me that it’s not just me. One of the biggest things people need when forming their own environment, be it DIY or with a pro, is PATIENCE. Good things take time. And money. Save it up. Wait for what you want most. The you of 5 -10 years in the future will thank you.
This made me feel so much better Ashley! I think we all get hypnotized by the glittering screens. And I was feeling a little sad and lame. Now I just feel insanely validated. And yes, I will be posting and having a huge party when it is all done.
All the best,
The Other Marian
ashley @ the handmade home says
NO, THAK YOU!!! It cracks us up, because it’s either one extreme or the other, {and we’re writing more about this}: people are either afraid to dive in, or when they do, it’s like, where’s the fire?! People don’t want to deal with it. They want to snap their fingers and have it done. And I get that. But then they also want it for only 10k a-la the cost of the entire house. We get it. Been there. But for the LOVE. It’s not just you. Media is lying and everyone is buying into it. HUGS and I can not WAIT to see your beautiful HOME!
MC says
One of our neighbors is having their second story redone. They had a bathroom that had some major issues and to do the proper job it needed, they thought, ‘let’s expand it – it’s too small for our needs anyway and the bedrooms next to the bathrooms are large anyway’. Well, they moved their family of four into the first floor while the whole second floor is being redone for a few months. The number I heard was a $150k for this effort – that’s not an HGTV number! And this is in an area of 1970’s homes, not upscale at all. They just didn’t want to move.
I asked a friend who was able to get rid of her 1950’s trim in her house what she paid as we are wanting to do the same. Well, she did the removal of the trim herself, bought all the trim and materials herself, and just paid a carpenter for his labor on the three rooms worth of trim: $2000. Again, not an HGTV number! This was a good reality check for me to prep/save money.
I think we all need a reality check – things cost more these days than we remember or are familiar with. Labor is expensive. And we need to get used to that! Contractors deserve a fair wage too and have all the tools, materials, licenses, insurance, etc. that need to be paid for somehow as well!
Susan says
True on all of that! We just complete, well mostly completed our home renovation and it took way longer and cost a lot more. Which we knew cost would be more going in but the extra time was unexpected. We thought about 3-5 and it took 9 months.
Question… Did you use an interior designer? I fancy myself as someone who is very good at interior design( and am always helping others) but I am having so much trouble decorating this house! I feel like a failure. I recently heard a podcaster say that somtimes you have to hire out certian things, even if it’s what you do for others everyday, because you can’t always use your superpower on yourself. Because perfectionisim. I am just curious if I read that right in your blog today.
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey Susan! We are totally with you on the cost + time frame of things!
No, we did not use an interior designer, that was all me with this house. Though I will admit, I froze up a lot more with decisions than I would have if it were someone else’s house. I don’t know why but choices were harder to make. I can pick things all day long for others but have a harder time overthinking when it comes to myself. So I’m with you on that, too!
Ginger says
We had an upper kitchen cabinet above a peninsula, removed, ceiling- new sheet rock, completely redone and painted, new lights installed.Crown molding removed and reinstalled after the ceiling was completed, Cost about 5000 dollars. We did the primer and painting for the kitchen walls ourselves. The price seemed high but considering the workers hours and cost of supplies it was in line. My motto now is figure out what you think it should cost and double it. You’ll be pretty close.
These workers were meticulous ceiling sheet rock is flawless.