Planning ranges, with the assumptions visible.
RoomRenovation's cost pages are designed for early-stage scope comparison. They are modeled estimates—not contractor quotes, appraisals or promises about what a specific project will cost.
Published and reviewed:
Each estimate begins with a room-and-scope baseline in US dollars, applies a broad local-market factor and, for Canada, Australia or the UK, applies a rounded planning currency factor. Results are rounded to the nearest 100. The model cannot inspect the property, so users should replace it with measured, itemized local quotes before making a financial commitment.
How a city estimate is calculated.
| Input | What it represents | What it does not represent |
|---|---|---|
| Room baseline | Four broad 2026 scope levels: cosmetic, mid-range, full renovation and premium/custom. | A bill of quantities, measured floor area or contractor proposal. |
| Location factor | A relative planning bracket for labour and market conditions. Published factors currently range from 0.90 to 1.40. | A worker's wage, an hourly contractor rate or a guarantee for one postcode. |
| Currency factor | A deliberately rounded planning conversion: 1.35 CAD, 1.55 AUD or 0.80 GBP per baseline USD. | A live foreign-exchange quote. Small daily FX movements are immaterial at the model's level of precision. |
| Rounding | Every displayed result is rounded to the nearest 100 in the local currency. | Precision to the dollar or pound. |
What the ranges try to capture.
- Typical differences between a cosmetic refresh and work involving replacement, trades or structural complexity.
- Broad material, labour and contractor-overhead pressure.
- Relative differences between selected metropolitan markets.
- A low, middle and high planning point for comparing scope.
What must be priced locally.
- Exact dimensions, demolition and hidden damage.
- Building access, disposal, asbestos or remediation.
- Permits, taxes, professional design and engineering.
- Chosen products, lead times and specialist trades.
- Temporary accommodation and contingency.
Sources used to check market direction.
Official statistics help us review whether labour and construction-price direction remains plausible. They do not publish a turnkey price for every room and city, so RoomRenovation does not present them as direct contractor quotes.
National wage context for construction and extraction occupations, released May 15, 2026. Wage data is not the same as a consumer contractor billing rate.
Explains how quarterly contractor-price change is measured across Canadian metropolitan areas. The index covers building construction and is context, not a renovation quote.
Tracks UK construction output-price change, including repair and maintenance aggregates. It is an index of change rather than a room-level estimate.
Documents construction-industry input and output price indexes. The ABS explicitly notes that the house-construction input index does not directly cover renovations and repairs.
Turn the range into a real budget.
- Choose the nearest scope band and write down what is included.
- Measure the room and identify structural, electrical, plumbing and access constraints.
- Request at least three itemized quotes based on the same written scope.
- Separate allowances for permits, design, disposal, taxes and temporary accommodation.
- Add a contingency appropriate to the property's age and the uncertainty uncovered during inspection.
Start with the renovation cost guide index, then replace every assumption with local evidence before purchasing or signing.
When the model changes.
We review source availability, baseline logic, city factors and currency assumptions when the cost template changes. The page and XML sitemap use the real template modification date so crawlers can distinguish an actual update from an unchanged daily timestamp. If an assumption or source link is outdated, email [email protected] with the affected URL.