How to Turn a Remodeling Cost Range Into a Real Budget

A cost range tells you roughly what a project costs in your area. A budget tells you what your project will cost you. Getting from one to the other takes a few decisions, and most of them can be made before you talk to a contractor.

The ranges below come from Fin Home’s DFW remodeling cost guide, which was covered by Digital Journal when we released it. The full set, plus a free PDF version, is on our cost guide page.

Step 1: Match your project to a tier

Start by deciding how much of the room you are changing. The scope moves the number more than anything else.

For a kitchen in Dallas-Fort Worth:

• Cosmetic, $15,000 to $30,000. Cabinet repainting, new countertops, basic fixtures.
• Mid-range, $30,000 to $60,000. New cabinets, quartz or granite counters, appliances, flooring and lighting.
• High-end, $60,000 to $120,000+. Custom cabinetry, layout changes, premium appliances and finishes.

For a bathroom, a cosmetic refresh runs $3,000 to $10,000, a mid-range remodel $12,000 to $25,000, a full renovation with a tile shower $25,000 to $50,000, and a luxury primary bathroom $50,000 to $90,000 or more.

For the whole house, a light update runs $75,000 to $150,000, a mid-range full remodel $150,000 to $300,000, and a high-end renovation $300,000 to $500,000 or more.

If your plan moves walls, plumbing or electrical, expect to land in the top tier. Keeping the existing layout is the cheapest way through a remodel.

Step 2: Adjust for the size of the room

Size changes the total inside each tier. A mid-range kitchen remodel in DFW runs about $250 to $400 per square foot, so a 120 square foot kitchen typically lands between $30,000 and $48,000. A 200 square foot kitchen with higher-end finishes can pass $80,000.

Bathrooms follow the same logic. An 80 square foot bathroom at $300 per square foot comes to about $24,000.

Step 3: Adjust for your city

Labor rates and permit fees vary across the metro, so the same kitchen costs more in some cities than others.

Step 4: Add a contingency

On roughly half of the renovations we take on, we find something behind the walls that needs fixing. A contingency keeps that kind of surprise from becoming a crisis.

Older homes belong at the higher end. Most remodels in DFW are on houses built between the 1950s and the 1990s, and building practices for piping, breakers and framing have changed a lot since then.

Step 5: Know how the price will be set

There are two common ways a remodel gets priced. With a fixed price, you agree to one number with the contingencies built in. That fits when the scope is well defined up front. With cost-plus, you pay for actual materials and labor plus a set margin. That keeps things transparent when the scope may shift, which is common once an older home is opened up.

Most of our work is cost-plus, and we tell each client which approach suits their project. Read more in cost-plus vs fixed pricing.

A worked example

Say you are planning a full mid-range kitchen remodel in a Dallas house built in the 1960s.

1. Tier: mid-range, new cabinets, counters, appliances and flooring.
2. City: Dallas, $40,000 to $70,000. Pick a working number of $55,000.
3. Contingency: an older house, so use 15%, which adds $8,250.
4. Budget to plan around: about $63,000.

That number is still an estimate, but it is close enough to plan with and to compare against the written prices you get.

Step 6: Get a written price

A range helps you plan. A written price is what you can actually sign. We put a written price together after we see your space, because the real number depends on your home, your selections and what we find once we look.

If your project covers more than one room, our whole-home remodeling page shows the kind of work involved. You can also contact us or call (214) 972-6402 to talk through your plans.