[updated on 31-Oct-2019 by Nitin, founder – Contractorbhai.com]

In Last article we spoke about Home Renovation of a 1 BHK in a Economic way (Bedroom Hall Kitchen). Spending 1000 1500 rupees per SQ. Ft. you get many basic necessary things inside your house.

However in this article, we will talk about going step further. A good Contractor will give you suggestions about where you can save money and still get your house renovated in a economic way. You can work with a contractor and decide if you wish to spend more money and choose to get higher quality material and expensive furnishing.

Depending upon what option you choose in materials you will end up spending 1200 to 1800 1500 to 2000 rupees per Sq. Ft. A usual 1BHK House in prime city like Mumbai Delhi Pune (or any big and medium city across country) is 500 Sq. ft. in area.

Economic Home renovation estimate in Mumbai
1000 rupees/ Sq. Ft. 1500 rupees/ Sq. Ft.
Hence 1 BHK(500 Sq. Ft.) = 5 Lakhs 7.5 Lakhs

Deluxe Home renovation estimate in Mumbai
1200 to 1800 rupees/ Sq. Ft. 1500 to 2000 rupees/ Sq. Ft.
Hence 1 BHK(500 Sq. Ft.) Deluxe renovation can cost 6 lakhs to 9 Lakhs 7.5 lakhs to 10 Lakhs

So depending upon what level of amenities and interior you choose you will end up spending anywhere between 5 Lakhs to 9 lakhs 7.5 Lakhs to 10 lakhs in your 1 bedroom hall Kitchen.

Some of the example where a House owner gets to choose better material or interior are:

  •  Expensive Plywood
  •  Expensive Tiles
  •  Sanitary & bathroom equipments
  •  Shower unit
  •  Make to order color coating for taps etc
  •  WC & all sanitaryware items

So economic Home renovation starts at at the range of 5 lakhs and can go upto 9 Lakhs 7.5 lakhs and can go upto 10 Lakhs if we choose to have deluxe features inside our house.

All above figures are rough numbers. When you start working with Contractors you will know the actual figure. A good Contractor will make you aware that even after giving a Final estimate or quotation sometimes material prices go up or down or you end up buying a different product for some reason, hence a home owner should always be prepared for 5-10% plus or minus in the estimates.

[updated on 17-Feb-2023 by Nitin, founder of Contractorbhai.com]

For the same project, why do some Contractors charge less & others charge more?

Why do Contractors have different rates. If you are in the process of selecting a contractor for your Home renovation project, you must have spoken to 3-4 contractors. You must have received several estimates. No two estimates will be same.

WHY?

Very first thing you have to know is that each contractor is seeing the project differently.

Each contractor is visualising his way of executing your project. Each contractor is making his own assumptions about design & material.

Each contractor is thinking about your expectations in a different manner.

Contractorbhai design service eliminates this problem.

When you have a detailed design of your house. Now for example let’s say TV Unit or false ceiling of your house or wardrobe in your bedroom.

Now when you have 2D, 3D & material specifications. All detailed dimensions. Contractor has to calculate the cost of making that specific item. Now most assumptions are eliminated.

This will help you compare each contractor correctly.

Now even after getting all the detailed designs & plan of action, if you still get a wide varying estimate there are possibility that there were either some assumptions or the contractor is charging differently..

Below are some random points where cost differs amongst contractors…

Material Quality

Estimates vary depending upon the quality of material used. Brand of material & quality makes cost differ… Laminate, Plywood, cement, hardware.. for each product, there are 100s of companies available. If the contractor is using a low cost brand, the estimate will have a smaller figure.

home interior design

Over here, I don’t mean to say low cost brand means.. low quality. There are many less popular brands, which are less costly but provide materials which are extremely superior.

We know a Faucet company which is 25 years old. They use high quality copper material, very good product. But this brand is not very popular. Cost is less.

Hidden charges

Many contractors who win projects, do not mention certain tasks inside the estimate. Breaking charges are one popular item. They will not mention this task, later in the middle of the project, they will inform you that your house needs major breaking. Now you have already paid lakh or two & work has started, now you cannot back off…

Incorrect measurement

Some contractor might use incorrect method of calculating area. Or might use incorrect dimension. This could be due to his oversight or it could be an unethical way..

Lump Sum Estimate

There are contractors who will not give detailed estimates, they will just mention the total final figure. This can be dangerous.

Location matters

A contractor is already doing a project inside a society. In the same society a new project comes up. This is very efficient for contractors to handle project management. Labour can be easily moved between projects. In such cases, contractors might be able to charge less & still be profitable.

Outsourcing Departments

There are few contractors who will complete civil work themself. Earn enough project & revenue.

For remaining works/department – it will be outsourced in a very competitive way to other sub-contractor. This happens with or without your knowledge. If things go wrong, he will walk out of the situation. Blame of any unexpected situation will be put on the sub-contractor.

Cost & Money are two biggest challenges to control during renovation. Contractorbhai provides affordable “ContractorbhaiDesign Service” it gives you complete plan of action.