How to manage your budget

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Are you contemplating extending or renovating your home in 2023? We discuss why costs could increase and give our tips on how to keep costs down and what to expect throughout the build. Renovating or adding an extension is a fantastic way of providing additional space or re-purposing existing space. This can have a significant impact on how your house performs as a home.

However costs remain a concern for extenders/renovators in 2023. Unfortunately you may need to allow for a reasonable contingency fund in order to complete the project. With a trades shortage and substantial increases in material prices, the past few years have been challenging for anyone building an extension. 

Despite the challenges the demand to renovate/extend is likely to increase in 2023. Here is our view on the key factors influencing these building costs and a few ideas of what may be done to reduce the costs of your own build.

Big ticket items

Reducing kitchen improvement costs is one method. One consideration to reduce the costs of a new kitchen could be to choose a quality laminate worktop rather than the more expensive granite or quartz.

 

To reduce a kitchen cost even further, you can inspect the condition of your existing cupboard carcasses. If they were installed in recent years it is likely they will be in good condition and can be re-used. Replacing just the door or drawer front,  may mean only needing to buy a few additional units depending on the layout of the new space. 
 
Replacing the doors with a new contemporary look option will mean you have a great looking kitchen at a fraction of the cost. 
 

Increased material costs

Material costs have recently increased for a variety of reasons. The impact of Brexit on the supply chains, demand while the world recovers from a global pandemic, subsequent impacts to inflation and the cost of products. 
 
One method of managing price increases, if you have the space to store items, could be to ‘buy ahead’ in bathroom and kitchen promotional sales. Another useful exercise is to itemise the main elements of your project and assign an approximate cost to them. As the project develops you should be able to more accurately refine these costs. 
 

Shortage of skilled labour

Builders are now busier. Many EU workers left the UK following Brexit and we haven’t fully recovered. Meaning skilled tradespeople are in high demand but in short supply. This often means the better ones are putting their rates up. With less tradespeople available at short notice, this means that the quality tradespeople are booked up well in advance. 

Our advice would be that, like anything in life you get what you pay for. Therefore it may be worth waiting for the better contractor to ensure that quality work is done. This is much better than getting the cheaper trade who delivers an unsatisfactory outcome that may lead to further costs to rectify issues in the future. Builders who are good and value their worth will be charging for it. To target the better builders always ensure you obtain references and check a builders previous work before discussing contracts etc.
 
Other options to lower extension costs
Home renovation and extension costs depend on many factors that may influence the overall cost. Even before additional fees and potential hidden costs are added. If you look at costs on a cost/m2 basis this will at least provide an estimate figure to ascertain if the project is viable on your budget. 
 
You may also want to consider the build route of your home project. One option could be the builder constructs the ‘shell and core’ of the extension. Then you directly employ trades yourself to complete the finishes and bathroom/kitchen installation. This can substantially reduce the costs.
 
At first glance the use of sustainable materials might seem more costly than the traditional concrete, steel etc. Greener options may be more expensive at the outset but investing in them can save money long term. Not to mention the good it does for the environment.

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