Delays and unexpected problems often mean that final costs exceed the builder's quote
Planning a home improvement project? Got your quotes in? Excellent. Before you proceed, you might want to pore over the results of a recent survey by ToolStation, which reveals some of the biggest regrets of homeowners who have gone before you.
READ MORE: How to renovate an old house
Toolstation surveyed 1,000 people who have completed large-scale home renovations over the past five years to see how they found the process and what they would change with the benefit of hindsight, and the results are illuminating.
According to 49% of respondents, the most stressful area of the house to overhaul is the kitchen—with a whopping 70% of residents in Brighton saying that their kitchen renovation stressed them out more than projects in any other room.
Unanticipated costs
The survey also revealed that the biggest regret (31%) among homeowners was "underestimating the likelihood of problems arising that require more time and more money"—a worrying 60% of those surveyed said that their finances were the most affected during the renovation process, along with their general well-being.
Over half of those surveyed (55%) said their home improvement project went over budget, by an average of £3,024—in London, homeowners had to fork out an extra £4,378 than planned (though 16% of those surveyed in the capital spent even more: between £7,001 and £10,000).
Surprisingly, it was the residents of Cardiff whose budgets were blown the most after London, with the average renovation project going £3,041 over budget.
Kitchen woes aside, Brighton homeowners managed to keep costs most in line with expectations, overspending by a relatively small £1,070.
How much the average renovation went over budget around the UK
| City | Average months over deadline | Average cost over budget |
| London | 3 | £4,378 |
| Cardiff | 2 | £3,041 |
| Liverpool | 3 | £2,944 |
| Birmingham | 2 | £2,889 |
| Leeds | 4 | £2,859 |
| Newcastle | 3 | £2,834 |
| Norwich | 6 | £2,647 |
| Manchester | 3 | £2,559 |
| Nottingham | 2 | £2,408 |
| Bristol | 1 | £2,183 |
| Sheffield | 1 | £2,143 |
| Southampton | 4 | £2,059 |
| Belfast | 1 | £1,972 |
| Plymouth | 3 | £1,938 |
| Glasgow | 3 | £1,735 |
| Edinburgh | 2 | £1,561 |
| Brighton | 2 | £1,070 |
Of course, not everyone has thousands of pounds to spare, and over a quarter of those surveyed (26.12%) said they had to borrow money from family or friends to complete the work.
Lessons learned
According to the survey, work often took longer than expected too, with almost a quarter of those surveyed saying work was not completed on time, with projects going over by an average of three months—though spare a thought for residents in Norwich, where on average, renovations took six months longer than planned.
However, with almost 50% of respondents admitting they changed aspects of their work during the build process, this could account for the increase in cost and time.
The second-biggest regret of those surveyed was deciding to live at home during the renovation (27%), while 16% of people said they’d focused too much on aesthetics and not enough on functionality and durability.
Other regrets include completing the work themselves and picking the cheapest quote rather than going with the most capable tradesperson or company.
READ MORE: Home renovation mistakes you should avoid
Image: Zivica Kerkez / Shutterstock