When you build a template for your home renovation, you choose the jobs you want to have done to transform your home into the palace you deserve. Many homeowners find it helpful to make a project list, research costs, and then prioritize them based on cost and necessity. This article offers a suggested home and garage estimate template.

1. Prioritizing Repairs and Improvements

The reasoning behind this template is that home stabilization and structural repairs come first. What qualifies as those types of repairs? Any repair to a home’s roof, foundation, or basement. These structural essentials ensure your house protects you from the elements and offers a sturdy place to live.

Trim and siding issues comprise the second most important type of problems to tackle when renovating. Trim does more than keep the house looking pretty; it blocks water from entering the edges of the siding and structural wall boards. Siding protects those structural boards from damage.

The third tier of home repairs consists of electrical, plumbing, and HVAC improvements. Note the word improvements, not repairs. If any of these three vital systems breaks, the repairs belong in tier or level two. Your home would not remain livable without air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter.

The bottom tier consists of projects you want to do to make things prettier. Cosmetic improvements always come last because it won’t matter how lovely the wallpaper looks if the house falls or the roof caves in. Many homeowners focus on cosmetic changes because they come cheap. A few rolls of wallpaper cost less than $50, but lifting a home’s foundation can cost between $1,000 and $20,000, depending on where you live.

2. Repair the Roof

Knowing that now, it shouldn’t surprise you to find roof repairs and replacement at the tip-top of this home and garage estimate template. Patching a roof or replacing asphalt shingles costs less than $1,000, typically. Roof replacement costs more than $10,000, and in most urbanized areas, more than $15,000. Doing it just once while owning the home becomes most homeowner’s goal.

When replacing a roof, consider changing the type of material. To install a new roof, roofers must remove the existing materials. That makes this the ideal time to switch materials and move from asphalt shingles that last 15 years to copper, metal, slate, or cedar shakes. Copper and metal last up to 50 years, making them the top choice in most locations.

3. Repair the Foundation

Patch small foundation cracks of only an inch or two, especially hairline ones. Long cracks, even hairline ones, indicate a larger problem in a cement foundation. If you spot any while walking around the perimeter of your home, phone a foundation repair professional.

Perhaps you noticed no cracks, but your house seems to list to the side or dip a little. It isn’t dancing. Home settling creates problems for the foundation and framing. The adage that all houses settle isn’t true because when homeowners notice the first problems, they hire a foundation professional to lift the house and then reinforce the foundation to keep it at its appropriate level. Keep reading to learn how they lift a house.

You’re probably familiar with small jacks. Most people keep an automotive jack in the trunk of their vehicle, so they can lift the car to change a flat tire. In foundation repair, technicians use larger, stronger jacks to slowly and evenly raise the house – a fraction of an inch at a time – until all four sides remain level.

Once the house sits level, the repair technicians reinforce the framing and foundation. This procedure may involve heavy-duty shims for slight problems or adding to the cement foundation and shoring up the 2″ x 4″ frame of the home. Incidentally, if you ever want to move your home, the relocation crew uses this method to remove the home from its cement foundation, load it on a trailer, and transport it. The process works best with single-story homes.

4. Update the Wiring

Your electrical systems may meet the building code, but consider updating your wiring, adding outlets, and upgrading your breaker box as part of this home and garage estimate template. Unless you own a home constructed in the past ten years and located in a custom home development, it probably does not feature USB outlets or a heavy-load outlet for charging an electric vehicle. This type of upgrade can transform your house into a smart home that lets you control the home’s HVAC, locks, and sprinkler systems from an app on your smartphone. Request quotes from local electricians to determine who offers the best balance of experience, high-quality materials, affordability, and superb customer service.

5. Update the Plumbing

No home and garage estimate template would be complete without plumbing updates. If your sink or shower leaks, move this to tier one issue. Otherwise, make this a mid-level priority. Plumbing updates range from low-flow toilet installation to installation of trenchless liners for sewage pipes or water lines.

Call at least three plumbers in your area for quotes on the work. The plumbing company you choose should have experience in the type of work you need performed and references you can contact. The cost of plumbing work varies by location, but plumbers make between $27 and $30 per hour.

6. Repave the Exterior

Next to the home’s foundation, the hardscapes rank highest in importance for overall property structural integrity. The driveway, carport, and garage floor connect to the home’s foundation, so this appears toward the top of our home and garage estimate template. Rather than trying to patch cracks in these areas yourself, contact commercial concrete services. Driveways and garage floors with many deep cracks or long hairline cracks need replacing.

7. Fix That Garage Door

Place garage door repair pretty high on any home and garage estimate template. Garage doors do double duty as a security measure for your home and part of the trim. This accessory door offers a way to drive in and out of your home and provides a decorative focal point of the home. A dilapidated garage door detracts from your home’s curb appeal, and it creates a dangerous entry point for thieves.

Some doors you can repair, others require replacement. Call a garage door repair service if the springs go out or the door hangs funny. Squealing when you open and shut it or a grinding noise indicates the opener’s motor went bad. Every one of these items a technician can replace.

When the physical door has incurred damage, such as dents, tears, etc. it requires replacing. You would also need to replace a twisted door. These structural malformations create a weakening in the door. Replacement garage doors typically cost between $800 and $3,000, depending on the design.

8. Clean the Drains

Yes, drain cleaning makes this home and garage estimate template. Hire a professional drain and plumbing service to clean the interior and exterior drains of your home. That includes the ones in the garage and laundry room that most people don’t know exist. Unless you moved your laundry room, most homes feature a drain in this room.

Why clean the drains via professional service instead of snaking them yourself? Because the processes and tools used by professionals can spot larger problems. Most of these services now use exploratory camera systems to examine your home’s drains. During these inspections, they may spot tree roots growing in your system or areas of excessive wear that could result in a water main burst.

9. Improve the Water

We’ve reached tier three on our home and garage estimate template. Homeowners can install water treatment systems in their homes to eliminate more particulates than the water treatment plant does. The processes used by these small devices result in near-distilled water flowing from your water taps.

Systems such as these range from Britta filters sold in retail stores to professionally installed complex systems sold only through manufacturer-certified installers. This range means you could spend as little as $50 on water filtration or as much as a few thousand. It depends on what you want to remove from the water and whether you choose a self-installed system or a professionally installed one.

10. Get Rid of Pests

Along with drain cleaning and upgrading the water system to purify it, put pest removal on your home and garage estimate template. Pest removal ranges in cost from a straightforward spray for ants or roaches to a complex application that targets insects, mice, and rats. Expect to pay at least $500 to $1,000 for a serious infestation that requires complex pest treatment.

Some areas offer emergency animal removal as a part of pest treatments. Many service providers in Oklahoma and Texas offer armadillo removal. In Colorado, some pest control businesses offer goat removal. In California, look for coyote removal.

Every region defines pests differently when it comes to emergency pest removal. While these animals may seem innocuous, in the wild, they carry diseases that can be fatal to house pets. They also may carry rabies, so instead of trying to tame it, call a pest removal service, so they can safely capture the animal and relocate it to the wild.

11. Refinish the Floors

Let’s start tier or level four improvements on the house and garage estimate template with refinishing your home’s floors. This fun project renews the appearance of any abode. Your taste decides whether you will use tile, hardwood, Linoleum, or cement. In some cases, like tile, you can have the best of both worlds – the convenience of laying tile with the look of wood by choosing parquet flooring.

Which material works best for your needs? The range of tile materials from vinyl to glass and pebbled to ceramic, means tile comes in a wide price range. Easy to install and versatile in appearance, a tile option exists for every budget.

Linoleum also comes in a cost range. Most people find that installers can most quickly lay a floor of Linoleum sheeting. Tiles take longer to install but offer more options for patterns.

Hardwood floors and laminate flooring offer durability and a luxury appearance. Hardwood offers lasting, heavy-duty performance that needs little maintenance. Many one-hundred-year-old hardwood floors exist, so expect a floor of this material to last.

12. Dress the Windows

Revamp any room by installing new shades and drapes. This item comes last on the home and garage estimate template because of its completely cosmetic function. Shades cost little and help block light, so you can keep your home cooler in spring and summer without turning up the air conditioner. They also add a privacy element to sheer curtains.

Shades range in cost from $5 each to more than $400. Paper and plastic cost less than wood. Try bamboo for a happy medium in expenditure.

Drapes and curtains offer a similar range of materials and costs. Shopping Temu or Amazon offers a range of options, starting at about $7 and ending at about $400. Sheers cost the least, while blackout drapes cost the most. The heaviest curtains use wool or suede leather, but most options use linen or cotton.

13. Adding Your Priorities

This home and garage estimate template offers the list of the most frequently needed maintenance and repairs. If your home has no problems with its roof or foundation, move down the list until you hit something you do need to address. Start there and tick items off the list as you complete them.

Your top repairs depend on your home. Stroll through it, noting anything you want to change in each room. Write down any problems, too, like a leaky basement.

Let’s consider some other typical items to address.

• • Add insulation to the attic or crawlspace.
  • Resurface the kitchen counters.
  • Replace or refinish the kitchen cabinets.
  • Add a deck or patio.

Regardless of which projects you add to your template, follow the prioritization method, so you spend your funds wisely. If you try to sell a house with a bad foundation, it won’t sell. Home buyers frequently overlook scuffed floors that they will probably replace to suit their tastes anyway. Fix what keeps you safe first and cosmetic items last.