Home renovations are all fun and games until you get presented with the initial quote. But before you whip out your credit card and put down the deposit, you should ask your interior designers about these hidden renovation costs that they might have overlooked. After all, you wouldn’t want to be shocked when your quote rises 10-14% more than the initial amount.
While a diligent and trustworthy interior designer might present you with all the necessary things to budget for, there’s still a chance for the unpredictable to happen in the middle of your renovation. To ensure your purse strings don’t get pulled too tight before you move in, here are 16 hidden renovation costs to take note of.
1. Rectifying existing defects
Image credit: nadnut
Conducting a defects check isn’t just for those who are moving into a brand new BTO flat. Doing it before you buy a resale flat or a condo is also something that comes highly recommended. You wouldn’t want to go through the process of renovating your home only to find out that your floors are water-damaged and walls have toxic mould.
Other common defects that can be found in older homes include faulty wiring, leaky windows, and plumbing issues. These defects might not be a cause for concern if you’re doing an entire overhaul of your new house. But for homeowners that are only doing a light refresh of the interior, knowing the problem areas that need to be rectified ahead of your reno will help you budget for the repairs or cut costs in other areas.
2. Permit submission fees & costs associated with delays
Image credit: TheSmartLocal
Renovating your home isn’t as simple as the contractors coming into your home and plugging in their tools. The proper permits have to be applied before any work can start. Some examples of renovation works that require a permit and approval from HDB include:
- Hacking of floors and walls
- Changing the placement of a door
- Replacing windows
- Replacing staircase railings (for executive maisonettes)
- Replacing the tiles in your bathroom
- Installing air conditioning units
HDB estimates that permits can take up to 3 weeks to be approved, so you should get your interior designer or contractor to get the paperwork completed ASAP. Otherwise, you might have to extend your stay at your current place of residence which can be a bummer if you’re renting.
Some IDs might also charge you an admin fee of around $400 to apply for all the permits on your behalf, while others offer it as a free service. Make sure to double-check your quote and clarify any questions before you sign an agreement.
3. Paying your ID with a credit card will incur processing fees
Image credit: TheSmartLocal
Paying for your renovation with a credit card might seem like an easy way to earn thousands of air miles or get some sweet cashback. However, people often forget that the merchants, which will be the interior designers and contractors, will be charged credit card processing fees that can be up to 5%. On a $50,000 renovation budget, that’s $2,500 that’s paid in fees alone.
Since the quote is supposed to account for what the $50,000 should go to, the responsibility of paying the fee might be offloaded to the customer instead, making the total amount to be paid increase to $52,500. Also, smaller boutique interior design agencies might not accept credit cards as a form of payment, so keep that in mind when discussing your payment plan.
4. Utility bills during the renovation process
Image credit: Budget Reno (Singapore)/Facebook
Newsflash: your house doesn’t just get power and water out of thin air. You actually have to open a utilities account with SP Services before your light bulbs and taps will work as intended. And yes, you’ll have to do it before your renovation starts as your contractors will need power and water to use their tools and clean the space.
The initial costs involved include the security deposit when you open your SP Services account, which can range from $40 for a 2-room HDB flat to $250 for a bungalow. After that, you’ll also be billed refuse collection fees along with your electricity, gas, and water bills which can be around $100-$200/month.
5. Special tile layouts cost more
Image credit: @181chichouse/Instagram
We’ve all seen plenty of beautiful tile designs on Pinterest and Instagram from herringbone to mermaid tiles. As aesthetically pleasing as they may be, these tiles don’t just come with your home pre-installed and laid on the floor. Someone has to lay the tiles and grout them.
Usually, your ID will quote you for a standard tile design, a.k.a. something classic and possibly boring. Should you choose to have a herringbone pattern stretching across your floor, you’ll have to pay more for labour and possibly material costs as there can be more tiles required and special cuts necessary to fit the layout.
6. You can save costs by outsourcing things like painting
Image credit: Galaxy Painters
Your interior designer might quote you a figure – $1,500, for example – to paint your entire home with Nippon Paint. While that might seem reasonable to most, you can actually save on costs here if you outsource your paint job to a subcontractor or even DIY the paint job yourself.
If you would rather not have to worry about managing too many parties, you can also bring a third-party quote to your ID and request that they match the offer.
One couple spent a few thousand dollars limewash painting their living room and kitchen.
For more complex jobs like limewash painting, professionals and contractors might charge around $4-$5K just for your living room and kitchen. Alternatively, you could invite a few friends and family members over for a painting party and DIY your home for a fraction of the cost.
7. Installation of smart gadgets & appliances will cost more
Image credit: Josiah Neo
Houses have become a lot smarter in recent years. But a home cannot become a smart home without the necessary infrastructure. While a smart doorbell can get away with using batteries, other gadgets and devices like thermostats and CCTVs all need to be plugged into the main grid, which means planning for additional power sockets and a space on the wall for them.
There’s also the issue of Wifi. You wouldn’t want to put smart lights all over your home only to find out that your kitchen is a dead spot that gets no reception from your router.
Be sure to meticulously plan out where your smart gadgets will be in the house so that your interior designer and contractors will ensure that they are properly put into place.
8. Extra costs for replacing pipes that might be damaged
Image credit: Baey Yam Keng
An older resale flat or condo might have pipes and plumbing that are concealed behind dry walls, and it’s not until you hack everything down that you discover every pipe is rusted and some are leaking. Corroded and rusted pipes often release rust particles into the water it carries, leading to bigger plumbing problems down the line. And the last thing you want is to have a blocked pipe which can burst and cause widespread damage to your home.
Rather than pay for the pipes to be replaced, you can negotiate with the previous owner to either lower the cost of the house, or get them to replace the pipes. This will only work if you are still in the negotiation process. Once you’ve signed the contract to buy the house, you might be out of luck.
9. Taobao sanitary fittings don’t last
Rust started to form on the bathroom shelves after 8 months.
Image credit: BTOnomics
We know how tempting it is to just buy all of the necessary bathroom fittings from Taobao since they’re so much cheaper than what you might find in local stores. However, there’s the saying that you get what you pay for. Some homeowners have reported that their Taobao bathroom fittings have been rusting after just 8 short months.
This might not be an issue immediately after you move in. But you wouldn’t want to drink water with rust particles just one year after getting them installed.
On the same note, Taobao appliances and electric fittings do not bear the SAFETY mark, which means they have not been tested against fire, electric shocks, and other potential hazards.
10. Emergency fund for unexpected complications
The quote that your interior designer presents is just a quote at the end of the day, and it won’t take into account any unexpected complications like water leaks and delays. This is why most homeowners who have already gone through the whole renovation process will advise new homeowners to start an emergency fund for when things go awry.
We recommend a buffer of at least 10-20% of your home renovation budget for these unforeseen circumstances. For example, if your carpentry doesn’t fit into the space because the measurements were taken wrongly, you’ll have to pay to get that fixed and rebuilt. Although in this case, the burden lies with the ID as they’re the ones who failed to measure properly.
11. Rubbish & debris removal at the end of the renovation
Image credit: DA Engineering
The walls and floors of your home don’t magically disappear into the ether after they’ve been hacked away – they have to be properly disposed of, and not down the rubbish chute. This is usually where large containers come into play; you would have seen some of them at the car park with a ton of rubble.
Usually, an interior designer will quote a standard price for rubbish and debris removal. But if your scope of work is significantly higher than average – say you’re hacking all the walls and floors of your house – then they would have to get more containers just to dispose of all the tiles, cement, and old carpentry.
12. Post-renovation cleaning and/or acid wash for tiles
Image credit: TheSmartLocal
Once all the tiles have been laid, walls have been painted, and carpentry installed, the last step is to clean the house before the furniture gets moved in. Sometimes, interior designers would lump the cleaning fee along with the aforementioned rubbish and debris removal fee. If you want a more thorough cleaning, you might need to pay more for a better job.
13. Installing extra electrical points & lighting works
Image credit: Daylight Electrician, IKEA
When you receive your first renovation quote, you might assume that the cost of electrical outlets and switches are included—which they are. Then you receive the bill, with a jaw-dropping number that far exceeds your budget.
Why this happens is because IDs sometimes only factor in a very basic number of electrical points—just enough to meet standard BTO or HDB requirements, which typically cover:
- 15 light points
- 12 double power points of 13A rating
- 2 single power points
- 1 aircon isolator point
- 2 water heater points
- 1 DB (distribution box) to manage circuit breakers and safety devices
Anything beyond this will require extra wiring, trunking and labour. Installing a single power point can cost anywhere from $80 to $120 per outlet. If you’re planning to relocate switches or conceal wires behind walls, you can expect to pay even more.
14. Modifying plumbing
Image credit: Wasser Bath, Pro-Handy Singapore
While your ID’s quote might include basic plumbing provisions, any modifications beyond that are likely to incur additional charges.
Let’s say you want to:
- Shift your kitchen sink to a new location for a better layout
- Move the washer and dryer to the service yard
- Convert a bathroom into a wet/dry layout
- Add a bidet spray or rain shower
All of these would require rerouting existing water supply and drainage pipes; this means hacking, cementing and tiling would be involved, driving up overall costs. On average, modifying or installing a plumbing point typically ranges from $80 to $150 per point, depending on the type of work involved.
Repairing leaks can cost anywhere from $130 to $140 per point, inclusive of labour and materials. Replacing or installing basic fixtures such as kitchen sink taps or bathroom faucets generally costs from $130 to $150 per point.
More complex placements, such as installing a toilet flush system or a shower set, start from $140 per point. If you’re installing a new basin or toilet bowl, it’ll cost more, with prices ranging from $200 to over $400 per item.
15. True cost of cove lights/false ceilings
Image adapted from: moneimkh on Pinterest, luisbauer28870106 on Pinterest
What many homeowners don’t realise about cove lighting is that it can come with surprising costs—both in terms of materials and labour. The price of building a false ceiling can range from $6 to $15 per square foot, depending on the design. Add to that the cost of LED strip lighting and dimmers, and you could be looking at an additional $1,000 to $3,000 for a full-room installation.
And while cove lighting can make your space more Pinterest-worthy—you will still need a primary light source like ceiling lights or downlights. This means more electrical points are needed, which would require more wiring, and thus greater costs.
16. Fixtures & appliances are not included in ID quotes
Cooking hob from Bosch Home.
Image credit: Bosch Home
Fixtures and appliances aren’t included in the renovation cost that you’re quoted. Even if your ID is managing the installation bit, you’ll still need to purchase the items separately since they’re not covered in the base quote. And if you’re opting for premium or designer models, the cost can snowball fast—some rainshowers and mixers alone can set you back anywhere from $400 to $800.
Also, keep in mind that mounting and installation fees are usually charged separately. This covers the labour involved, especially for fittings that require drilling into tiles, sealing joints, or waterproofing.
Bonus: Changing your mind at the last minute
We’re all guilty of wanting to change something at the last minute. Be it the colour of a certain wall, or the layout of your kitchen drawers, some things just make more sense in person than in a 3D sketch. Unfortunately, changing our minds at the nth minute is not something that comes without a cost.
If you have a fickle mind, it’s best to trust the vision your interior designer has for your home. After all, they are the experienced ones and they will know how to make the most out of your four walls the best.
Hidden renovation costs in Singapore
Renovating a home is no small feat. It costs time, effort, and lots of money. What we can do is ensure that you are aware of all the costs involved in the renovation, whether they are upfront costs or these “hidden” costs.
You should also check with your interior designers and contractors on what to know before engaging renovation services and what kind of fees might come up in the midst of the renovation process, as they have the best overview of the type of works your home needs.
Read other articles about home renovation:
- Singaporeans reveal their ultimate renovation tip
- Renovation regrets
- How to save money on your renovation
- What to look out for when signing a renovation contract
Cover image credit: Galaxy Painters, @181chichouse/Instagram
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