The remodel budget worksheet

A remodel budget is not a number. It is a set of decisions about what you will spend before you know what the room will ask for. The worksheet below makes those decisions visible: line items, a subtotal, a contingency percentage and a total you can defend.

It starts blank on purpose. Print it, fill it in by hand, or type into the fields and let the total update as you go.

How to fill it in

Start with the total you can spend without touching emergency savings. Not the amount a lender will approve, and not the amount you hope to spend. The number that lets you sleep.

Then work down the page. Put a real number against every line you expect to pay for, and a zero against the ones that do not apply. A zero is information; a blank is a decision you have not made yet.

The contingency line is not optional. It is the part of the budget that pays for what the walls hide, what the schedule changes, and what you decide differently once you see the room without cabinets. Ten to fifteen percent is a common starting point for a first remodel; older homes and structural work deserve more.

About the example figures

The button above loads a set of example numbers so you can see how the worksheet behaves. Every one of those figures is an example, not a quote, a market rate or a recommendation. They are deliberately round and deliberately generic.

If you want a quick sense of how an all-in budget splits, use the sliders at the bottom of the worksheet. That split is also an example: a planning starting point, not a rule. Your region, scope and finishes will move it, sometimes by a lot.

Where budgets actually break

The invisible scope. Permits, dumpsters, delivery fees, temporary storage and the cost of eating out for six weeks are real line items. They are boring, which is why they get left out.

The allowance gap. A contractor’s allowance for tile is a placeholder, not a promise. If you choose tile that costs three times the allowance, the difference arrives later as a change order.

The contingency you spend twice. If you use the contingency for an upgrade, it is gone. Keep it labelled and keep it separate, and decide in writing who can release it.

What to do with the total

Compare it to the estimates you collect. If the bids come in above your number, the answer is usually scope, not negotiation: remove a line, phase the work, or wait. A contractor who cuts the price to match a budget you invented is a contractor who will find the difference later.

When the numbers are ready, take the worksheet to your timeline and your permit questions. And if you want the longer explanation of contingency, read how to build a remodel budget with a real contingency.