Lucas’s DIY House Renovation: The Cost He Did Not Expect

On Saturday mornings at 7.30 am, Lucas would open the shutters of a small 1970s house, holding a cold coffee and already wearing trousers marked with plaster. While his friends talked about nights out, holidays or lie-ins, he was assessing a wall to remove, a cable to run or a leak to diagnose. He had bought the house near Limoges with one straightforward aim: to carry out the renovation work himself and save money. Two years later, the walls are straight, the kitchen is bright and the bills have finally stopped arriving. Yet his expression changes when he recalls certain weekends. He does not regret everything. He regrets what he failed to anticipate.

Two years of Saturdays, dust and over-optimistic sums

Initially, Lucas calculated that materials to renovate 92 m² would cost €28,000: insulation, electrics, flooring, the bathroom, paintwork and the kitchen. By doing the work alone, apart from occasional help from his brother on the most demanding days, he expected to save at least €35,000 in labour. On paper, the logic looked sound. We all know that moment when a neatly organised spreadsheet makes the future seem manageable. In an older house, however, the future is often hidden behind a partition wall, beneath vinyl flooring or inside an electrical consumer unit that should never have remained in use.

The first major setback came during the fourth weekend. Once he removed a suspended ceiling, Lucas found a beam damaged by an old water ingress issue, followed by ageing electrical conduits with poor identification. He had to hire temporary supports, buy treated timber and call in a carpenter to approve the repair. That unexpected issue alone cost him €3,400, despite not appearing anywhere in his budget. By the time the work was completed, the total had reached €46,800, including tools. It was still below the quotes he had received, but nowhere near the modest “€30,000” renovation he had envisaged at the outset.

The true cost is never limited to plasterboard and bags of cement. Lucas spent almost €6,200 on equipment: a rotary hammer drill, table saw, mobile scaffold tower, laser level, site vacuum, trailer and countless consumables. He sold on some of the machines, while others now gather dust in the garage. Doing it yourself does not mean doing it for free. It mainly means paying in another way, spreading the outgoings and accepting that every mistake consumes time, energy and a few more notes than expected.

What Lucas would do differently if he started again tomorrow

His first piece of advice is based on a simple practice: set aside a separate contingency budget and do not treat it as an optional reserve. Lucas advises keeping at least 15 to 20% of the planned amount in a dedicated account, rather than simply allowing for it mentally. For his renovation, that would have meant roughly €5,000 available from the beginning. He also recommends obtaining three quotes, even if you intend to do the work yourself. They provide useful benchmarks, expose overlooked stages and prevent you from underestimating regulations, particularly for electrics, waterproofing or ventilation.

In his view, the most common mistake is trying to progress several rooms at once. During the same month, he started on the bathroom, living room and two bedrooms, convinced this would speed things up. Instead, boxes were everywhere, the temporary kitchen remained in place for eleven months, and he had the frustrating feeling that nothing was ever finished. Let us be honest: nobody can really sustain that every day after a working week while also managing family life. It is better to close off one room, complete nearly all of it, then move on to the next. It may be less dramatic, but it is far more manageable.

Lucas still remembers something his brother said on a Sunday evening as they cleaned tile grout by head torch:

“A house is renovated with your hands, but you also pay for it with time that nobody gives back to you.”

With hindsight, he would have entrusted certain technical jobs to professionals and kept his energy for the work he genuinely enjoyed. His list is now clear:

• To delegate: the electrical consumer unit, complex plumbing, roofing and structural openings.
• To do yourself: painting, stripping out, laying straightforward flooring, accessible insulation and finishing work.
• To plan for: equipment hire, rubble removal, meals on site and weeks without a proper break.

The heaviest regret is not the one you might expect

When asked what he regrets, Lucas does not mention laying the parquet twice or the bathroom arriving three weeks late. He talks about his son, who was 6 when the work began and often asked why “Dad is fixing the house again”. For two summers, holidays were brief, while Sundays were spent filling, sanding and tidying. The house has certainly gained comfort and value. But some ordinary moments slipped through their fingers, silently, like fine dust at the back of an empty room.

Key point	Detail	Value for the reader
Final budget	€46,800 rather than the €28,000 originally planned	Allow a 15 to 20% contingency for unpleasant surprises
Real savings	Labour costs were greatly reduced, despite buying equipment	Comparing quotes helps measure the genuine saving before starting
Main regret	Two years of weekends largely devoted to the renovation	Consider the cost to family time before doing everything yourself