Mark Sheppard says a good renovation company will be as invested in getting a good outcome as you are — and won’t cut corners. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Getting multiple quotes for your home renovations is smart — but making sense of them is where many homeowners come unstuck.
With different companies listing different elements and wide price variations, even a simple reno job can become a crash course in decoding jargon, estimating quality and figuring out if that cheaper price hides nasty surprises. (Spoiler alert — it often does!)
“Some builders have extremely detailed quotes, which can be a problem in itself. Not every client understands what it all means. At the other end of the spectrum, you have the tradies who go ‘This is what we’re doing, here’s the price’, and you have no idea what’s covered,” says Mark Sheppard from Mark Sheppard Bathrooms and Renovations.
“It’s like comparing apples and oranges, but if you take a step back, the things listed in your quotes will fit into two categories: tangibles and intangibles.”
Tangibles, Mark explains, are things like price, materials and quantities — things you can measure.
Intangibles cover everything from the quality of building materials to the expertise and experience of your labourers.
“The skill of a person a few years out of their trade versus that of someone doing it 30 years is like chalk and cheese,” Mark says.
“You can buy the finest Australian-made materials, but if your labourer installs them incorrectly — uses indoor materials outdoors or methods that fail to meet Australian standards — it won’t matter.
“Intangibles can be really hard to pull out of a quote, but they’re critical.”
When the numbers start swirling, it’s tempting to use price as the tiebreaker.
Mark, whose business handles a lot of rectification work, says there’s one key piece of maths to consider.
“Material costs have gone up 50 per cent in the past four years, and operational costs like labour and insurance even more. The traditional notion of a tradie earning 15 or 20 per cent of the job is no longer a thing. Most builders are earning 6 per cent of the job,” he says.
“Companies doing the right things — following codes, using qualified tradies, high-quality materials and proper insurance — will produce similar quotes. If there’s a quote that’s considerably cheaper, one or more of these things is missing. That’s when I’m called in to fix a bathroom that’s failed after a few years.
“It’s fanciful to think someone can quote $220 for a job that costs everyone else $300. There are no dollar-store bargains in this industry — the margins are tight, and a proper build costs what it costs.”
In-house interior design expertise can come in handy during the renovation process. Photo: Mark Sheppard Bathrooms and Renovations.
An internet search of “average renovation costs” only adds to the confusion, with wildly different figures online.
Google may throw up figures as low as $8000 for a bathroom reno, while Housing Industry Association (HIA) data indicates the average spend is around $26,000.
But Mark says there’s mud in the water.
“That figure is based on all the data, right down to the cost of simple jobs like fitting a new vanity,” he says.
“The average bathroom is $50,000 to $65,000 depending on what you’re after, and a kitchen $50,000 to $70,000.”
His advice? Talk budget upfront.
“People are worried if they show their hand to a builder they’ll get priced up, but it’s so competitive there’s no chance of that,” he says.
He suggests making a wishlist for your ideal renovation and arranging components by priority, ending with the “nice to haves”.
Build in contingency for the unexpected — from hidden faults to that higher-quality finish you fall in love with.
“If you haven’t built in contingency, you will run out of money at some point,” Mark says.
Don’t be afraid to ask for your renovator’s credentials or recent references — and expect education to help you negotiate that tension between your budget and expectations.
“I wish the industry were more truthful, but that’s why we always take the time to explain to client about the endless factors over and above the work and materials that can influence their budgets — everything from addressing old wiring to removal of hazardous waste and certifications, approvals. A good company will tell you what your $30,000 will and won’t get you,” Mark says.
“We take the client under our wing from start to finish, and even offer complimentary in-house interior design expertise to our clients, because there are hundreds of decisions to be made in the process.
“That’s where a really good company has that depth of service that carries you from the provision of a quote to the finished product. Not all companies do that — but it’s a key intangible, with a value that cannot be overstated.”
For more information, visit Mark Sheppard Bathrooms & Renovations.
