Dollars & change

Pinning down a budget is the hardest, least fun, but most important, part of any remodeling job. After all, it’s a lot more fun to talk countertops than cash. But correct budgeting ensures you’ll end up with what you want minus unpleasant surprises. To help you plan, we picked five common remodeling projects and applied them to a very hypothetical but realistic example: a 2,500-square-foot ranch house, with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths. We then asked pros to estimate the cost range for these projects, as well as any typical pitfalls you might expect. Keep in mind these are very broad ranges for an imaginary example and regional construction and labor costs will vary, including installation. Houses of any age are rarely square and ideal – and as with any remodeling project, there’s no telling what you’ll find behind the walls.

Project 1: Change your kitchen countertops

Estimate: Granites, solid surfaces and synthetic granites, $50 to $80 per square foot installed; custom laminates, $30-plus per linear foot.

Replacing your countertops is a quick way to visibly change your kitchen. It’s also an upgrade that makes a difference when it comes to resale.

It’s a good time to make the change: Granite prices have fallen from their heights of several years ago and there are many alternative countertop choices in the marketplace, says Miles Steenbergen, supervisor of design services for a (Home Depot) Expo Design Center.

Make sure that you compare apples to apples when evaluating countertop materials. Some are by the linear (running) foot, installed, and some are by the square foot.

Keep in mind specialty edges (anything beyond a softened square edge for granite, solid surfaces or quartz products) and formed edges (for laminates) will add up to $30 per linear foot to your costs.

For granite, Steenbergen says to expect to pay anywhere from $61 to $78 per square foot, with sales sometimes dropping specific types into the $50s. “The pricing actually even rivals solid surface,” he says.

For solid surfaces (Corian and Avonite are two well-known brands), expect to pay anywhere from $48 to $66 per square foot.

For the new breed of quartz-based, man-made granites (common brand names are Silestone and Zodiaq), you’re looking at anywhere from $49 to $64 per square foot.

If you’re choosing custom laminate, expect to pay $29 to $38 per linear foot, depending on color, edge treatment and finish.

The trend when it comes to countertops? Exotic granites that everyone else isn’t using and also mixing materials, such as granite on the island and another surface for the surrounding counters, says Steenbergen.

One of his other tips: If you love a special edge and want to splurge a bit but not on all of your countertops, just do the special edge on your island’s top.

Project 2: Add hardwood flooring to a 180-square-foot living room

Estimate: About $1,742 to $2,465, depending on wood choice.

Hardwood flooring is another instant upgrade that adds resale cachet. (This is the reason that the descriptions in real estate advertisements often shout “hardwood floors!”)

Assuming we’re in our carpeted living room in the ranch house, the typical living room is going to be about 12 feet by 15 feet, or about 180 square feet.

According to flooring expert Charles Armour of Nashville, Tenn., expect to pay approximately $1,652 for the flooring itself (assuming about $8 per square foot plus a few square feet for waste), and about $90 for removing the old carpet, padding, tack strips and staples.

For a better quality hardwood or an exotic, including Brazilian cherry or bamboo, which sells for about $11.50 per square foot, you’re looking at about $2,375 for materials and installation total, plus the approximately $90 for removing old carpet.

Keep in mind that if the installer has to remove five-eighths inch plywood sheets in order to make the floor level with the rest of the house, count on a cost of about $35 per sheet. For our hypothetical living room, that would mean about five and one-half sheets, for a total extra cost of about $192.50.

Project 3: Tile a bathroom floor

Estimate: About $1,300 to $2,400, depending on tile choice.

In our hypothetical remodeling example, the master bathroom is only about 100 to 120 square feet.

Allison Marshall, a tile design consultant, says that in this size space, a basic, stone-look ceramic tile might run $3 to $5 per square foot (material only; not installed) while a midrange porcelain tile might run $4 to $6 per square foot. Natural stone such as limestone, for instance, might range from $8 to $12 per square foot.

If you’re adding special mosaics on the floor, including glass or metal tiles in your design or doing intricate patterns, expect the cost to increase.

Likewise, if your floor is damaged or your joists need repair, you’ll pay more for installation. The reason: It’s easiest to tile over an existing tile floor that’s in good condition.

For installation, expect to pay $10 to $12 per square foot for a typical remodeling job. In new houses, the installation cost is less, perhaps $8 to $10 per square foot, because everything is in place, straight, and the jobs take less time.

Project 4: Convert a two-car garage into a finished living space

Estimate: $12,000 to $55,000.

Done correctly, this project is a lot more expensive than you might think.

Sure, you are starting with four walls, a roof and some kind of flooring (probably concrete). It’s a lot more involved than just buying some windows or French doors to replace the garage doors, says contractor and custom home builder Craig Huseby of Nashville.

You’ll want the contractor to add insulation to the walls if they’re not already insulated, and perhaps add some recessed lighting. This, of course, costs money. You’ll also have to factor in the cost of a small, separate heating and air conditioning unit. If the ceiling joists are in good shape, your framing costs will be minimized.

Assuming a basic, clean conversion with no bathroom, no interior walls, no drainage remediation (no need to correct drainage problems), minimal interior framing, midrange windows and $22 per square foot carpet, expect to pay $12,000 to $14,000. It’s easy to get into the $20,000-plus range if you are adding a half bath, hardwood flooring and additional windows.

A nice conversion in an older home that includes drainage remediation, better windows, a half-bath and a laundry room with ceramic tile would run approximately $40,000. A conversion from garage to higher-end master suite (with stone flooring, vanities, shower, etc.) could be $55,000-plus.

Project 5: Add recessed lighting to a dining room with an existing central fixture

Estimate: About $1,600, not including sconces.

Many dining rooms have a central light fixture over the table and that’s it.

Maybe you’re looking for a change and want to add some recessed lighting – say, four low-voltage (3.5-inch opening, not the bigger, 6-inch “can” lights) recessed lights in the room (one in each corner) and two low-voltage accent lights that flank your central light fixture and focus on the table. And let’s add in a pair of sconces (wall-mounted lights) that flank a sideboard or a painting on the wall. Everything gets a dimmer switch.

“Putting those four cans in the corners makes those 1970s dining rooms look so much bigger,” says certified lighting consultant Susan Trim.

She estimates recessed fixtures would run less than $100 per fixture, including the lamp, or bulb, for a midrange product. That’s under $600 for your recessed lighting, not including the cost of the sconce or chandelier, which could be anywhere from several hundred dollars to several thousand depending on your taste.

Labor and installation for the six recessed fixtures plus the sconce and all the wall controls would be about $1,000.

That is assuming in our hypothetical ranch house that there’s a shallow attic the electrician can access, and that the home’s wiring is in good condition.

Still, for probably under $2,000, this type of project (a lighting upgrade) makes a major difference in how your house looks and functions.