Planning a remodel and trying to work out what it should cost? This home renovation cost calculator gives you a realistic range built on 2026 US pricing — no email, no sign-up, no contractor callback.
Pick the project, set the finish level and size, and the estimate updates as you go.
Renovation is the hardest home cost to pin down, because the same words describe wildly different jobs. "Kitchen remodel" covers a $14,000 cabinet refacing and a $70,000 gut with moved plumbing. Finish level moves the number more than square footage does, which is why this tool asks about it before anything else.
The number every other calculator leaves out
Ask anyone who has finished a renovation what went wrong and you'll get the same answer: it wasn't the quote, it was what turned up behind the wall.
Rotten subfloor. Undersized joists. A vent stack exactly where the new island goes. Wiring that fails inspection the moment a permit is pulled. None of it is in the bid, because nobody can see it when the bid is written.
Contractors budget for this with a contingency — a reserve of 10 to 20% held back for what the demolition reveals. Homeowners routinely don't, which is how a $40,000 project becomes a $48,000 project and a stressful conversation about a bridging loan.
This calculator adds a contingency line automatically, sized to how invasive the work is and how old the house is, and gives you a true budget — the figure you want available before you sign, not the figure on the bid. If the job finishes clean, that money stays yours.
How to use it
Pick the project. Cosmetic refreshes, full guts, additions and system replacements are priced completely differently, so start here.
Set the finish level. Budget means stock cabinets, laminate counters, builder-grade fixtures. Mid-range is semi-custom cabinetry, quartz, quality tile — where most remodels land. High-end is custom millwork, stone, designer fixtures, and it can double the same footprint.
Set the project size. Not your whole house — the area being worked on. A galley kitchen and an open-plan kitchen-diner are different jobs at the same finish level.
Set the home's age. This drives the contingency rather than the base price. Pre-1960 homes routinely hide knob-and-tube wiring, cast-iron drains, lead paint and asbestos in floor tile or pipe insulation, and any of those can stop a job for a week.
Home renovation cost calculator
2026 US pricing, with contingency built in so you get the real budget. No email needed.
Estimated project cost
$30,000 – $75,000
Ballpark planning figures compiled from 2026 national averages published by HomeGuide and Angi. Renovation pricing varies enormously by region, structural condition and specification. Get two or three itemised bids from licensed contractors before committing to anything.
Where renovation budgets actually break
Four things account for most overruns, and none of them are the contractor being dishonest.
Discovery. What's behind the wall. Rot, pests, undersized framing, failed waterproofing. On a bathroom, water damage under the tub is close to a coin flip in an older home.
Code triggers. Once a permit is pulled, the inspector looks at more than the new work. Opening a wall can oblige you to bring wiring, egress windows, or smoke alarm interconnection up to current code. That's not the contractor upselling you — it's the condition of getting a final sign-off.
Change orders. Every decision made after work starts costs more than the same decision made before. Moving a single outlet is trivial on a drawing and a half-day once the drywall is up. This is the overrun homeowners have the most control over, and the fix is boring: finalise selections before demolition.
Living costs. Six weeks without a kitchen means takeaway. A month without a bathroom might mean somewhere else to stay. These are real numbers and they belong in the budget rather than the credit card.
The three questions that separate a real bid from a number
"What's your allowance for tile, fixtures and cabinetry, and what happens if I pick something above it?" Low bids are often low because the allowances are low.
"What's the change order process and hourly rate?" You want this in writing before you need it.
"What's your payment schedule tied to?" Milestones tied to completed work, not to the calendar. A contractor asking for a large sum upfront before materials are ordered is a risk regardless of how good the reviews are.
Renovation costs by project
National 2026 ranges at a mid-range finish level. Budget finishes typically run 25 to 30% below these; high-end can be double or more.
| Project | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchens & bathrooms | ||
| Kitchen refresh (cosmetic) | $12,000 – $28,000 | Refacing, counters, appliances, paint |
| Kitchen remodel (full gut) | $30,000 – $75,000 | New layout, cabinetry, services moved |
| Guest or hall bathroom | $8,000 – $20,000 | Standard 5×8 footprint |
| Primary bathroom | $20,000 – $45,000 | Larger footprint, double vanity, tiled shower |
| Powder room | $4,000 – $10,000 | No shower or bath |
| Rooms & whole home | ||
| Bedroom or living room refresh | $2,500 – $10,000 | Paint, flooring, trim, lighting |
| Basement finishing | $25,000 – $60,000 | Egress and waterproofing often extra |
| Attic conversion | $25,000 – $75,000 | Structural and headroom checks first |
| Whole-home cosmetic renovation | $15 – $60 / sq ft | Finishes only, no structural change |
| Full gut to studs | $60 – $150 / sq ft | Everything replaced, services included |
| Additions & structure | ||
| Room addition | $200 – $350 / sq ft | Foundation, framing, roof, services |
| Second-storey addition | $250 – $450 / sq ft | Structural engineering required |
| Garage conversion or ADU | $40,000 – $120,000 | Zoning approval is the first hurdle |
| Removing a load-bearing wall | $3,000 – $12,000 | Beam, columns, engineer's letter |
| Deck build | $30 – $60 / sq ft | By material and height |
| Systems & envelope | ||
| HVAC replacement | $6,000 – $14,000 | Ductwork changes add more |
| Panel upgrade & partial rewire | $4,000 – $12,000 | Common trigger during a gut |
| Whole-house repipe | $4,000 – $15,000 | Galvanised or polybutylene replacement |
| Roof replacement | $8,000 – $18,000 | See the roof calculator for detail |
| Siding replacement | $10,000 – $25,000 | By material and home size |
| Insulation & air sealing | $2,000 – $8,000 | Often the best value in the list |
| Finishes & openings | ||
| Flooring replacement | $6 – $20 / sq ft | Installed, by material |
| Interior painting | $2 – $6 / sq ft | Per floor area, two coats |
| Window replacement | $550 – $1,200 each | Installed, standard sizes |
| Interior doors | $350 – $900 each | Installed, including trim |
| Exterior painting | $4,000 – $12,000 | Prep is most of the labour |
Whole-home and per-room figures follow HomeGuide's 2026 house remodelling cost data. Room-level breakdowns cross-checked against Angi's remodel cost estimator.
Which renovations return money at resale
Worth being blunt: most renovations do not return what you spend. HomeGuide puts typical recoup at 50 to 85%, which means even a good project usually gives back less than it cost.
The pattern is consistent, though. Exterior and envelope work tends to recoup best — siding, entry doors, garage doors, roofing. It's visible from the kerb, buyers price it, and it reads as maintenance rather than taste.
Kitchens and bathrooms sit in the middle, and modest versions beat lavish ones. A $20,000 kitchen refresh often returns a larger share than a $70,000 gut in the same house, because buyers pay for "not dated" long before they pay for "custom".
Highly personal work recoups least — pools, wine rooms, converted garages, elaborate landscaping. That's not a reason to avoid them. It's a reason to buy them for yourself rather than as an investment.
The honest framing: if you're renovating to sell within a year, be conservative and stay near the neighbourhood's ceiling. If you're renovating to live there for a decade, build what you actually want and treat resale value as a bonus rather than the point.
Permits, contracts and the boring things that protect you
Permits. Structural changes, additions, new circuits, plumbing relocation, egress windows and most conversions require them. Your contractor should pull them; a contractor who suggests skipping is telling you something about how they work. Unpermitted work surfaces at sale, and lenders and insurers both care.
Licence and insurance. Verify the licence through your state board rather than taking a photo of a card. Ask for a certificate of insurance sent directly from the insurer, listing general liability and workers' compensation. If a worker is injured on an uninsured job at your home, that can become your problem.
Lien waivers. On larger jobs, subcontractors and suppliers can place a lien on your property if the general contractor doesn't pay them — even if you've paid the contractor in full. Ask for signed lien waivers with each payment. Most homeowners have never heard of this until it happens.
Older homes. If the house predates 1978, the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires firms disturbing painted surfaces to be certified and to use lead-safe work practices. Ask for the certification. Asbestos in older floor tile, pipe lagging and textured ceilings needs testing before demolition rather than after.
Renovation cost questions, answered
What homeowners ask most before starting a project.
How much does a home renovation cost in 2026?
It depends entirely on scope. A cosmetic whole-home refresh runs roughly $15 to $60 per square foot; a full gut to studs runs $60 to $150. By room, a kitchen gut is typically $30,000 to $75,000, a guest bathroom $8,000 to $20,000, and a finished basement $25,000 to $60,000. HomeGuide's 2026 data puts a typical whole-house remodel between $20,000 and $100,000 depending on how far you go.
How much contingency should I budget?
Ten per cent on cosmetic work in a newer home, fifteen on most mid-scope projects, and twenty or more on anything involving demolition, plumbing relocation, or a house built before 1960. Contingency isn't padding — it's the reserve for what the demolition reveals, which nobody can price in advance. Hold it as available funds rather than folding it into the bid, and if the job runs clean you keep it.
Why are contractor bids so different for the same job?
Usually allowances and scope, not markup. One bid may allow $4,000 for tile and fixtures while another allows $12,000, producing a large gap for what looks like the same kitchen. Others differ on whether permits, disposal, painting and finish carpentry are included. Ask every contractor to itemise labour, materials, allowances and exclusions on the same scope. Once you normalise those, the spread usually narrows to something reasonable — and any bid still far below the rest deserves suspicion rather than celebration.
Should I renovate or move?
Compare the full cost of both rather than the renovation against the sticker price of a new house. Moving carries agent commission, closing costs, moving expenses and, in most current markets, a different mortgage rate on the new loan. Renovating carries the project cost, the contingency, and the disruption of living through it. Renovation tends to win when you like the location and the house has good bones; moving tends to win when the problem is the plot, the layout, or the neighbourhood, since no budget fixes those.
How long does a renovation take?
A bathroom is typically three to five weeks, a kitchen six to twelve, a finished basement six to ten, and a room addition three to six months from permit to completion. Add design and permitting ahead of that — often another one to three months, longer in busy jurisdictions. Realistic scheduling matters because rushing decisions to keep a crew moving is how change orders multiply. If a contractor promises a kitchen in two weeks, ask which trades they're planning to skip.
Can I live in the house during the work?
For a single-bathroom or single-room project in a house with alternatives, usually yes. For a kitchen, expect six to twelve weeks of a temporary setup — a microwave, a kettle and a lot of takeaway, which is a real line in the budget. For a whole-home gut, no. Dust containment helps but doesn't eliminate the problem, and if anyone in the household has asthma or a respiratory condition, plan to be elsewhere during demolition regardless of how contained the site looks.
What renovations add the most value?
Exterior and envelope work generally recoups best — siding, entry and garage doors, roofing — because it's visible, priced by buyers, and reads as maintenance rather than personal taste. Kitchens and bathrooms sit mid-table, with modest updates typically returning a higher share than lavish ones. Highly personal projects like pools and converted garages recoup least. Overall, typical recoup runs 50 to 85%, so treat resale value as a partial offset rather than a return.
Do I need permits for a renovation?
For structural changes, additions, new electrical circuits, plumbing relocation, egress windows and most conversions, yes. Purely cosmetic work — paint, flooring, cabinet refacing without moving services — usually doesn't. Your contractor should pull the permits and schedule inspections, and the cost belongs in the bid. Unpermitted work is discovered at sale, can complicate a mortgage or insurance claim, and retroactive permitting often means opening finished walls to prove what's behind them.
How should payments be structured?
Tied to completed milestones, never to the calendar. A common shape is a modest deposit to secure the slot and order long-lead materials, then payments at defined stages — demolition complete, rough-in inspected, drywall finished — with a final payment held back until the punch list is closed and the permit is signed off. Be cautious about large upfront sums before materials are ordered, and get signed lien waivers with each payment on bigger jobs so a subcontractor can't claim against your property later.
What should I do before demolition starts?
Finalise every selection — tile, fixtures, cabinetry, paint, hardware — and get them in writing with model numbers. Decisions made after work begins cost more and slow everything down. Confirm the working hours, where materials will be stored, where the skip goes, and which bathroom the crew will use. Photograph the space beforehand. If the house predates 1978, confirm the firm is EPA lead-safe certified before anyone touches painted surfaces.
Is it cheaper to do several projects at once?
Often, yes — meaningfully so. Mobilisation, permits, dust containment and skip hire get shared, and trades already on site cost less than trades brought back. Rewiring during a gut is far cheaper than rewiring a finished house, and flooring is cheaper laid continuously than in sections. The counterweight is cash flow and disruption: a bigger simultaneous project means a larger contingency and a longer stretch of living around it. Sequencing works too, as long as you don't finish a surface you'll have to open again later.
How do I avoid renovation scams?
The classic patterns are consistent: door-to-door offers, pressure to decide today, a demand for a large cash deposit, no written contract, a licence number that doesn't check out, and a reluctance to pull permits. Verify the licence through your state board directly and ask the insurer to send the certificate of insurance. Pay by traceable method, never cash. And be wary of a bid dramatically below the others — that gap usually reappears later as change orders, or as an unfinished job and an unreachable phone number.