You’ve experienced a fire or water damage event, and now you must remodel a room. If you’re like most people, you give considerable weight to your budget when planning a repair. Going over budget would be an unpleasant surprise for almost anyone, but that’s exactly what happens sometimes. If you want to avoid this unfortunate situation, watch out for these four signs that your remodeling job is at risk of costing more than you had planned.

Unforseeen circumstances. Sometimes your contractor might discover unforeseen obstacles or challenges once the demo phase of your project begins. Maybe water damage is worse than first estimated, mold is discovered, or a supporting structure was damaged.

He or she should bring this problem to your attention immediately so that the two of you can make a decision on how to deal with it. If you’re creative, you might be able to stay within budget. But sometimes unforeseen problems just can’t be avoided.

You change your mind a lot. If you change your mind about any element of the design process after your contractor has started the job, you could add time and expense to the job. Even if you simply swap out one element for another of the same price, labor could be impacted if workers must backtrack and change something.

Scope creep. Remodeling a room can be exciting, because you get to be in charge of designing your dream space. But if you start adding more and more expensive upgrades, it goes without saying that the cost of the job will increase. Make sure to keep track of your wish list, and divide it into “must haves” and “nice to haves” so that you can prioritize each part of the job.

Changing costs of materials. In recent years we’ve watch the prices of certain materials (like lumber) skyrocket. If your repair project is a long-term one, there is time for the cost of materials to change. Make sure to leave a little room in your budget to account for changing prices.

And of course, remember to consult with us about your repair project. We can help you set a budget from the beginning and stick to it.