Home remodeling budget estimator

How to use the home remodeling budget estimator

Estimate a typical US remodeling cost range for a bathroom, kitchen, basement, garage, flooring, painting, or roof project. Choose the project type, enter its size, and adjust the finish, regional index, and optional scope items.

1. Choose a room or project type.
2. Enter the project Size in square feet or roofing squares.
3. Select Economy, Mid-range, or Premium finish level.
4. Enter a Regional index if local costs differ from the national typical; leave it at 1.0 when unsure.
5. Check any optional scope items that apply.
6. Review the low, midpoint, and high estimates and the itemized breakdown.

What to enter

Room / project type

Choose a preset such as Full bathroom remodel, Kitchen — mid-range remodel, flooring, painting, or roof replacement. Changing the preset loads its default size.

Size

Enter the applicable area in sq ft, or roofing squares for roof projects. The default depends on the selected preset. The allowed range is 0.1 to 100,000.

Regional index (optional)

Enter your own factor compared with the national typical. The default is 1.0. For example, 1.25 represents local quotes running 25% higher. Values are limited to 0.3–3.

Finish level

Choose Economy ×0.8, Mid-range ×1.0, or Premium ×1.4. The multiplier applies to finish-scaled materials and labor, not demolition, tear-off, permits, or access.

Layout change (moving walls, reconfiguring the room)

Optional. Adds 10–25% of the base construction estimate.

Move plumbing (drains, supply lines, venting)

Optional. Adds $1,500–$5,000, adjusted by the regional index.

Electrical upgrade (new circuits, code updates)

Optional. Adds $1,000–$4,000, adjusted by the regional index.

Permits and inspections

Optional and selected by default. Adds $300–$2,500. This item is not adjusted by the regional index.

Design fees (designer or architect)

Optional. Adds 5–15% of construction, including selected layout, plumbing, and electrical scope items.

Example: default full bathroom remodel

Using the default Full bathroom remodel, the tool starts with 50 sq ft, Mid-range finish, a 1.0 regional index, and Permits and inspections selected. The base low estimate is: $1,000 + $2,000 + $1,000 + $3,000 + $800 + (50 × $40 = $2,000) + (50 × $80 = $4,000) = $13,800. The base high estimate is: $3,000 + $6,000 + $3,000 + $10,000 + $4,000 + (50 × $120 = $6,000) + (50 × $200 = $10,000) = $42,000. The permit range adds $300–$2,500, so the total is $13,800 + $300 = $14,100 low and $42,000 + $2,500 = $44,500 high. The midpoint is ($14,100 + $44,500) ÷ 2 = $29,300.

How the estimate is calculated

Each preset contains fixed components and per-unit components. Fixed components are included once. Per-unit components are multiplied by Size. Finish-scaled components are multiplied by 0.8 for Economy, 1.0 for Mid-range, or 1.4 for Premium. Demolition, tear-off, permits, and access components are not finish-scaled. The Regional index multiplies the preset estimate and most fixed scope additions. The base estimate is then adjusted for selected scope items: layout change adds 10–25% of base construction, plumbing adds $1,500–$5,000, electrical adds $1,000–$4,000, and permits add $300–$2,500. Plumbing and electrical use the regional index; permits do not. Design fees add 5–15% of construction after layout, plumbing, and electrical additions. Low and high values are calculated separately, and each total is rounded to whole cents during the calculation. The displayed midpoint is the rounded midpoint of the final low and high totals.

Reading the results

The Estimated range shows the low and high planning range. Midpoint is the mathematical midpoint of those two values, not a most-likely price. The breakdown lists each base component and selected scope item with low, mid, and high amounts. Use the range for early planning and verify it with local quotes.

Limitations and common mistakes

• These are editable planning defaults labeled as a typical US range for 2026, not contractor quotes. Costs vary by region and finish.
• The estimator excludes contingency, sales tax, furniture, hidden damage such as rot, mold, asbestos, or knob-and-tube wiring, and financing costs.
• Size scales per-unit components only. Fixed items do not increase with room size.
• Preset notes and project exclusions still apply. For example, waterproofing is excluded from the basement finish preset, and roof decking replacement is extra.

Frequently asked questions