When people write or call us for free estimate, we ask them couple of questions, which includes two important questions:
1) On what floor is your place ?
2) Is there some work timing restriction.

These are important factors in deciding cost of Home Renovation. Let me explain how doing home Renovation on lower floors is less costlier then doing work on higher floors in high rise towers.

The equipment or material which has to be carried to the 7 or 8 or any floor that is higher adds up in labour’s cost. Heavy things may damage the lift, hence many society don’t permit you to use lift. Again the common area (staircase) which is used needs to be cleaned everyday. So all such additional items adds up to the cost of project. This is the only difference between the work done on ground or lower floors and the top floors.

Places where people are already staying in the society and you have to do your house work, first you have to inform the society about it and take permission if they can work in afternoons. Some places the society does not permit you to work in afternoon as it causes disturbance to the people who want to take rest.

[updated on 13-Feb-2023 by Nitin, founder of Contractorbhai.com]

Every contractor has a range of rates for all work activities. There are various factors which can make contractors change these rates.

Increase in Material Cost

For example civil work rates go up, if sand rates go up. There is a limit to which the Contractor can absorb this increase in price, after this he will inform the homeowner about the increase in rate if work has already started.

Many times homeowners start work almost a few months after receiving an estimate. In this period there are possibility rates have changed.

Summer months are convenient for homeowners to start renovation work, as kids have holidays. However in Mumbai and many other parts of India many team members are from northern states like UP etc.. In the summer season they take holidays as well. They go to their hometown in summer for farm & wedding seasons. Once gone they don’t come back for months.

So for contractors it becomes difficult to handle the site. There are few workers available & they may ask for higher wages..

Plywood rates & wood rates go up in market when raw material price goes up, this causes an increase in cost for contractors.

Homeowner has to work with Contractor & support him if there is a drastic increase in rates. Because in the worst case scenario, the contractor will start taking shortcuts in other work to reduce his losses, so eventually project quality will suffer.

Scope of Work

If you are calling a contractor for a very small scope of work, say just fixing one wall or flooring in a room or making/repairing some furniture. In such cases cost will be higher compared to if this same task was part of a bigger project. A Special worker has to be appointed, maybe the whole day wage has to be paid. Materials have to be bought without any major discounts.

Uniform Material

If you are using the same laminate or same tiles or same paint in a major part of the house this will help contractors to work at better rates. Using less variation in material or using the same material in the whole house, reduces wastage of material. Contractor is able to utilise materials more efficiently. Purchasing material will get some discounts. All this increases the profitability of the contractor & hence he will be able to give you better rates. Thus making the project more affordable to homeowners.

Tile size

Bigger tile size incurs more waste of material. Flooring with Bigger tiles is costlier. If there is any breakage, loss is bigger for the contractor. Requires more specialised mason workers to fix & handle bigger tiles. In all it increases the cost of flooring / wall tiling. And ofcourse tiles are also costlier.

Designer work

Simple design & finishing is easy on the contractor & his team. It can be finished in less time. Chances of error & wastage of material is less. Hence contractors can offer you better rates.

home interior design

For example you wanted to make a Corian (Solid surface) Panel behind the TV Unit. More elaborate the design is, the more costly the work will be.

Floor Level

If your house is on the 1st floor, rates are less. If your house is on the 10th floor, rates go up. Higher the floor, more time & labour efforts will go in moving materials. This increases rates for every activity.
For example – Grill work for the 1st floor is very easy, but for the 10th floor, requires more safety measures & efforts.

Working Hours

If your society has restrictions on working house, no work on sunday policy. Rates will be higher. Contractor hires the whole team on daily wages. If there are limited hours of working, he will require more team members (labour) to complete the same job. Thus rates will be higher…

Natural Materials

Natural stones, veneer, wood, copper pipes etc..require specialised team members. There are extra steps to completing a job. Thus rates are higher..For example flooring with tiles is quick & easy. But dame floor with Marble, requires a lot of extra steps, efforts & time…

Living in house while it gets renovated

If you are living in the house while it gets renovated, rates will go up. You will live in one part of the house while work happens in other rooms. This way work happens in phases. This reduces the speed of work. Thus rates go up..