Home owners have lot of thoughts and concerns when they start thinking about Home Renovation. Of all the biggest one is “How much will it Cost?

Frankly, there is no easy way to know exact numbers until you show your place to Contractor or Interior Designer, who works out a plan and then starts making Estimate.

It depends on the requirement and options Home Owners select. There is more then one way to do certain thing. Choose POP on wall; create False ceiling; Plane corners of POP; Flooring can be done in several style. How many Electric points are needed in all. In kitchen same idea applies for platform , Tiles; Bathroom you select items of different price range, some of these are commode seats, taps , cocks; In bedroom again Flooring and Ceiling.

Also read previous post where we explained that approximate cost could be Rs 2000 per sft in Economic Home Renovation and then same thing if done in Deluxe way would cost Rs 3000 per sft.

These prices are for city like Mumbai but any other city Pune Bangalore Delhi Chennai etc would fall somewhere near same price. Only thing that differs is labour cost. Cost of Building material mostly stays within small range.

(Updated on 29-jan-2023 by Nitin – founder of Contractorbhai)

This is a special case where the client does not have enough budget to do complete work required. We came across a situation where due to some unexpected situation the homeowner just couldn’t afford to complete the Home interior project.

Our interior designer worked with this homeowner, we designed the whole house, and prepared detailed estimates for all rooms. However later we categorised all tasks/requirements in to 3 types :

Necessary requirements – requirements without which you simply cannot live in the house. For example – you cannot live in a house if there is no water in the tap, no electricity in the house tec..

Important requirements – there are requirements which are important but you can still survive for a few months without it.

Nice to have – there are requirements which are nice to have. It will complete your house, however if you drop it completely, it will not matter your day to day living…

No homeowner is the same. Every family has a different set of priorities. So you can never have a standard list for each category.

However I am trying to jod down random points for each type..

NECESSARY REQUIREMENTS

Water inlet & outlet working
You just cannot live in the house if there is no water in the tap, shower, sink bathrooms etc…Similarly proper drainage of waste water is equally essential..

Major Water Leakage
If there are major water leakage issues, you have to solve it to whatever level possible. You simply cannot ignore it.

Major faults in civil
If there is a very old ceiling plaster which can break and fall on your head anytime, this is dangerous. Get it fixed.

Kitchen
Kitchen must have requirements fulfilled so that you can cook comfortably and take care of your family. Safely store food items. Some sought of Water purifier solution is must for drinking water..

Doors & Grills
Safety matters. Grills if your house is on lower floors. Doors are important. If you feel extra security/safety is required then Safety door (additional grill door) also becomes important to have..

Electrical essentials
Lights, fans, charging points, geyser, AC(depending on local weather) are must…

Painting
Clean Painted walls are important for the good health of a family. If the budget is less go for distemper paint, but walls should be neat & clean..

Civil vs Carpentry
If you are in a situation that budget allows only civil work or carpentry work, consider civil work as essential. Because civil work is permanent, it will stay lifelong, it is not replaceable.. For example you can delay buying sofa or buy a cheap second hand sofa, but instead getting fix flooring or wall tiles if you buy luxury sofa chairs…Thats not good decision…

Curtains
For privacy curtains are a must..

IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS

Windows
If your house is old & you have old traditional type windows, changing it to SLiding windows with mosquito net is important. It saves space, gives access to more light & fresh air. Incases safety of the house..

False ceiling
You can either drop false ceiling completely or get minimal false ceiling (just strips around edges)

Furniture
Make a list of furniture for each room. Decide which one you can live without for a few months or few years… additional storage, tv unit, study table, bed etc… You may decide to make a bed & wardrobe for one bedroom only..

NICE TO HAVE REQUIREMENTS

Decor
Decor lighting, extra lighting, wall highlighter, paneling between rooms, additional storage/furniture, wallpapers, dining table, wall hangings etc..glass partitions. accessories…