Renovation times and budgets get blown out

Jul 17, 2013

Not surprisingly, when it comes to renovating, things don’t always go to plan.

A survey of 1000 Australians, who had recently undertaken a renovation, found the majority underestimated the cost and timing of their project.

The survey, commissioned by CommBank, found that the average home renovation goes over budget by nearly $3000, largely due to unexpected material (48 per cent) and labour (47 per cent) costs, and takes almost 58 per cent longer than expected.

The majority estimated it would take them nearly six weeks (5.6 weeks) to undertake the renovation but the reality was closer to 9 weeks (8.8 weeks).

The longer time required is likely to have been particularly inconvenient for the 76 per cent of renovators who lived in their home during the renovations.

Furthermore, the unexpected delays and costs meant 58 per cent of the renovators were forced to make compromises to their projects, including postponing renovating parts of the house and progressing with a less grand design.

Clive van Horen, Commonwealth Bank Acting Executive General Manager Retail Products & Customers, says, “The research has shown that for many home owners renovation projects haven’t been as straight forward as they’d hoped and in the majority of cases resulted in unexpected costs. We know that keeping renovation projects on track can be challenging, which is why I would urge anyone planning to undertake renovations to get sound financial advice and do thorough research before knocking down any walls!”

“That said, some renovation projects are destined to be problematic no matter how rigorous the preparation, which is where a contingency plan comes into play.”

Unlike the costs associated with unexpected materials and labour, storing your belongings with Containaway during the renovation won’t break your budget. Our mobile self storage solution is not only more efficient than traditional storage rental; it is far more cost effective. Because we bring the storage unit to you, you don’t need to hire a rental truck to take your goods to a storage facility. You also save money by packing the storage unit yourself.