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Renovations overrun on decisions made late. This forces the specification and the budget to be settled first, with a contingency written down as a number, then runs the work itself as the second project.

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Goal

Finished, close to budget Month 6

Every decision made before anyone starts, and a contingency written as a number.

Decide everything first Month 2

On paper, where changing your mind is free.

  • Write the specification down, room by roomDo firstWeek 2
  • Get three quotes against that same specificationDo firstWeek 6
  • Set the budget and write the contingency as a numberDo firstWeek 8

Run the work Month 6

Once it starts, the job is decisions and payments on time.

  • Agree the schedule and the payment stages in writingDo firstMonth 2
  • Walk the site weekly and write down what changedMonth 4
  • Snag it properly before the final paymentMonth 6

Routines

  • Site walk and notesweekly
  • Update the spend against budgetweekly
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Late decisions are the expensive ones

A decision made mid-build costs a change order and a delay; the same decision on paper costs nothing. Most renovation overruns are a sequence of small late choices rather than one large surprise.\n\nThree quotes against one written specification. Quotes against a vague description are three different jobs at three different prices.

Questions

Home renovation, answered.

Enough that discovering something behind a wall is annoying rather than catastrophic — commonly a substantial fraction of the quote. The number matters less than writing it down before the work starts, when it is still a decision.
Because a decision made mid-build costs a change order and a delay, and a decision made on paper costs nothing. Most renovation overruns are a sequence of small late choices rather than one large surprise.
Three, against a written specification so they are comparable. Quotes against a vague description are three different jobs at three different prices, which tells you nothing about who is good or expensive.
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