Remodeling Cost Calculator

Using a remodeling cost calculator to get the facts about your planned renovation will help take some of the mystery and hassle out of the process. If your dream upgrade is outside even your most liberal budget, it's better to know that sooner than later.

When you plan a remodel, there are lots of things that can impact your budget. One major factor is materials. There's a big difference between entry level and high-end materials in flooring, fixtures and building materials. One way to avoid surprises in the cost department is to use a remodeling cost calculator to put together some comparisons. These tools can be invaluable in helping you to get a good idea of how much you'll be spending on your remodel and where the bulk of the money will be going.

First up, let's take a look at the online project payoff calculator from CNN Money. This ingenious little tool will allow you to get an idea of the cost of a particular remodel, say a kitchen, and let you specify a minor, major or upscale treatment. After you make your selection, it will calculate the average cost of the remodel and how much you'll be likely to recover when you sell your home.

This is a broad stroke approach, but if the choice is between an attic bedroom addition and a roll away bed, the estimated cost you get may settle the matter without any additional research.

Any number of online sites have cost calculators designed to give you an idea of the costs involved in a specific remodel. These are often marketing tools for contractors and others in your area. The downside is that you may be contacted by companies that want your business whether you're really interested in their services or not. The upside is that you can get pretty accurate numbers for your proposed remodel, depending of course on how accurately you filled in the information. One factor contributing to the success of this method is that, armed with your zip code, these calculators key in costs that are consistent with your part of the country. The costs of materials and labor can vary from area to area, and having accurate information for your region will help get you more reliable numbers.

Some home remodeling programs have modules that will allow you to estimate the costs of your remodel. If you're computer literate, this can be a great way to get your ideas into an organized format and then use that information to evaluate your costs. Although you can probably find shareware programs or trial software that will do the job, the more you pay for a program, the more sophisticated its features will be.

Another way to go is to try an add-on for your existing software. If you have Microsoft Excel, there are forms you can download from Microsoft's site that have cost calculators in them for figuring things like flooring, roofing materials and kitchen remodeling. They're pretty basic, but you've got to start somewhere, and if you'd use Excel anyway, the forms save you from having to do the research and create the formulas yourself.

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Remember, the market for materials and finished goods is fluid, so no estimator will give you absolutely accurate numbers. Before you break your piggy bank and start making calls, build a ten to fifteen percent margin for error into your calculations, and always try to double check your figures using two or more sources.

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