DEVELOPING A BUDGET
The cost of labor often accounts for half of the overall renovation expenses, and even more if the work ends up being more complex than anticipated. That said, don’t go thinking that you can do it all yourself: Some tasks are better left to the professionals. A general rule of thumb is to keep around 10% of your renovation budget for unexpected expenses. That way, if you’re renovating your kitchen and you discover that you need to redo all of the electrical work, you have the wiggle room in your budget to do it.