San Francisco Home Renovation: What does it really cost?
Our “What does it really cost” series sheds light on how much different women across the country spend on the big life events: having a baby, taking a sabbatical year, moving, getting a master’s degree, buying a house, etc. This week’s feature is highlighting one woman’s cost to renovate her 2000 sq. ft. San Francisco home built in the 1940s.
Location: SF Bay Area
Age: 34
What was your total San Francisco home renovation cost?
We made the house open concept and updated it, which involved everything from replacing knob-and-tube wiring, knocking down a structural wall, updating the kitchen, totally remodeling the bathroom, installing recessed lighting, and replacing the floors and plumbing. Basically, this was a total gut reno to the interior of the home which hadn’t really been updated since it was built.
We also did 90% of the renovation ourselves. We brought in subcontractors to install an LVL beam (to replace our structural wall), drywall, paint and install the kitchen cabinets. Everything else we did after work and on weekends, while living in the house!
We paid $128K on an (originally) $60K budget (yikes). The vast majority of that was on materials. We paid $6K for architectural/engineering drawings and permits, $20K in labor and dump fees for the structural wall removal, $8K in labor for the drywall/paint and $5K in labor for the countertop and slab backsplash installation.
The budget doubling was due to a host of factors. Things get more expensive once you start and discover surprises hidden in the walls. In addition, the project expanded because once you start something, you say “well, if we’re doing the lighting now we may as well do the upgraded switch system…). Finally, COVID materials increases hit us hard.
The engineered hardwood floors we were looking at tripled in price within the six weeks in between when we researched and when we bought. The renovations also took about a year longer than we expected. This was primarily due to having to fit in the work around our jobs and parenting our kids.
Final Costs: About $128k.
Was this more or less than you were expecting?
Were there other options that you considered? What are the pros and cons of this compared to other options?
What do you wish you would have known?
A couple of things. First, I wish we had done a little more thinking about the right way to finance it. We had cash so we paid in cash without thinking about it, but it meant (for example) we couldn’t refinance with historically low COVID interest rates because our house, which didn’t have a kitchen, wasn’t financeable!
I also was shocked at how dramatically different quotes were depending on who requested them, me or my husband. For our countertop installation, I got 3 quotes that ranged from $12K to $28K. My husband got three quotes that ranged from $5K to $8K. After that, I requested all quotes for materials or labor from his email address, which really sucks.
I also wish I had prepared for the emotional turmoil of living in an unfinished house. We should have built therapy bills into the reno budget!
In conclusion, this woman’s San Francisco home renovation costs were about $128k.
Do these costs surprise you?
This post was created as part of the “What does it really cost series?” Her Personal Finance’s mission is to help high-earning women take charge of their finances. As an MBA, our founder has a particular passion for supporting this community. Here is a link to a Q&A with Harvard Business School students about finances in school. You can also learn more about our founder and our classes on our website.
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