01Blog · N-07 · Cost
Where arenovationbudget goes.
- Note
- N-07
- Date
- 03 Jun 2026
- Category
- Cost
- Reading
- 6 min
Masvingo RDCIn a renovation, about a third of the money goes where nobody will ever see it: into making the old building safe, dry and sound enough to be worth finishing.
The third nobody sees
Old wiring brought up to standard. Pipes that were about to fail. Cracks traced to their cause and dealt with there. Damp stopped at the source rather than painted over.
Found at survey, not halfway through.
New finishes on an unsound building are the most expensive paint you can buy.
Why it is the part not to trim
When a budget is tight, trim the finishes; they can be upgraded later, from inside a building that works. We survey before we price, so that third is a figure in the quote and not a surprise in month two.
Survey first, then price.
N-07 · Drafted note, placeholder photograph · confirm before publishing
03In short
Inshort.
- 01
A third goes unseen
Wiring, pipes, cracks and damp, before any finish.
- 02
It is the part not to trim
Finishes can be upgraded later; an unsound building cannot wait.
- 03
Survey before price
So the third is a figure in the quote, not a surprise.
Planning a renovation? We survey first, then price.
Book a survey↗04Next note
N-06 · Method · 6 min
Rewiring a
house people
live in.
Room by room, circuit by circuit, with the lights on every evening.