Free planning tool
Remodel budget calculator.
Plan your remodel using your own quotes. Put in the materials, labor and other costs you've been quoted, your budget and a reserve for surprises, and see in one line whether the job fits. It will not tell you what your remodel costs; for that, Brad comes out and writes a fixed price.
Where you stand
Fits, with $1,075 to spare.
- Project total
- $9,500
- Reserve (15%)
- $1,425
- Money you need
- $10,925
- Your budget
- $12,000
- Headroom
- $1,075
Brad's estimate is a written, itemized fixed price after a visit. This planner uses your own quotes; it does not tell you what your remodel will cost.
How the math works
Four lines, nothing hidden.
The calculator adds your quotes, sets aside a reserve, and compares the result with your budget.
- Project total = materials + labor + other costs, plus the upgrade when it's switched on
- Reserve = project total × the reserve percentage you set
- Money you need = project total + reserve
- Headroom = budget − money you need. A negative number is the shortfall.
The details
Reserve is rounded to the nearest dollar. Every figure is a whole dollar; cents don't change a remodel decision.
The sample numbers
The planner opens with a worked example so you can see it move before you type.
It's a tub-to-shower conversion in the middle of our published range, not a quote for any real bathroom.
- Sample materials $3,900, labor $5,100, other $500
- Budget $12,000, reserve 15%
- Without the upgrade: $1,075 of headroom
- With the $1,400 glass door: $535 short
The details
Materials $3,900 (tile, pan, valve and trim, glass), labor $5,100, other costs $500 (haul-away, permit help, patch and paint). Project total $9,500. A 15% reserve adds $1,425, so the money you need is $10,925. Against a $12,000 budget that leaves $1,075 of headroom.
Switch on the upgrade, a frameless glass door at $1,400, and the total becomes $10,900, the reserve $1,635 and the money you need $12,535. Now the same budget is $535 short. That flip, from fits to short, is the whole point of the tool: you see what one choice does before you make it.
Why a reserve
Something is usually waiting behind the tile.
In older South Florida houses it's a soft subfloor, a corroded valve or a drain that isn't where the plan says. A reserve is the money that keeps a surprise from stopping the job.
- Newer house, surfaces only: 10%
- Older house or a first-time gut: 15% to 20%
- Known leaks, termite or settling history: 20% to 30%
- On our jobs, changes are priced and dated before they happen, so the reserve is spent on paper first
The details
Ten percent is reasonable in a house built this century. Fifteen to twenty percent fits an older house, a bathroom that has never been opened up, or a layout change. Thirty percent is the top of the slider, for a house with known water history.
Where the quotes come from
Use written numbers, not guesses.
A materials quote from the tile shop, a labor quote from the contractor, and the small costs people forget: the dumpster, a permit, the painter. Our cost guides give typical South Florida ranges if you're starting from zero.
The details
When you're ready for a real number, Brad visits, measures and writes an itemized fixed price. Put that estimate in the labor line and the materials he lists in the materials line, and the planner tells you where you stand with the reserve included. Request a free estimate when you want that number.
More free tools.
Questions about this tool
Something else on your mind? Call or text (954) 242-5924.
Does the calculator send my numbers anywhere?
No. The math runs in your browser and nothing you type is stored or sent. Our analytics only records that the tool was used, the summary copied or the estimate link clicked, never the amounts.
Does this tell me what my remodel will cost?
No. It plans with the quotes you already have. For a number you can hold us to, Brad visits and writes a fixed price. Typical ranges are on the cost guides and the service pages.
What reserve should I use?
Ten percent for a newer house where you're changing surfaces only, 15% to 20% for an older house or a bathroom that has never been opened, more if the house has a water history. If your reserve goes unspent, you keep it.
Can I use it for a kitchen or a whole-house project?
Yes. The lines are the same for any job: materials, labor, other costs, a budget and a reserve. For a kitchen, put the cabinets and counters in materials and the trades in labor.
Get a free estimate.
Have the quotes but not a fixed price yet? I come look, you get a written number to put in the planner.
- Mon to Fri
- 8 to 5
- Sat
- 9 to 4
- Sun
- closed
I usually reply the same day.
Ready to turn the plan into a number?
A free visit, a written fixed price, a real start date.