The Number That Made Me Open the Sheet at 10 p.m. Again
Original estimate: $38,000.
Current projected total after week 5: $41,100.
Difference: $3,100 over.
That is the number staring back from the public Google Sheet tonight. No soft lighting, no “it’s only temporary,” no hopeful rounding. Three thousand one hundred dollars above the number we used to decide this project was feasible.
This post is the full mid-reno budget check—every major variance, the exact line items that caused it, and the decisions we are making now that the contingency is no longer theoretical.
How We Got Here (The Running Score)
We started with a clean $38,000 all-in estimate and a 12 % contingency baked in. The contingency was never meant to be “extra spending money.” It was meant to absorb the things we could not see yet. So far it has absorbed two large hits and a collection of smaller ones.
Here is the current variance summary, pulled straight from the sheet:
Major overruns
Asbestos tile abatement (Demo Surprise #1): +$2,800
Plumber stop-work (drain, vent, gas upsizing): +$1,738
Smaller overruns that added up
Extra dumpster pull and filters after demo: +$260
Temporary kitchen supplies and propane through week 5: +$310
Cabinet delay work-arounds (temporary shelving, extra hardware): +$64
Drywall repair materials after plumbing wall open-up: +$95
Miscellaneous blades, fasteners, and “one more trip” runs: +$183
Offsets
Cabinet partial refund for wrong doors/missing front: –$287
Minor savings on paint and some finish hardware: –$163
Net current variance: +$3,100.
The original contingency has been fully consumed and then some. We are now spending real dollars that were not in the “we can still do this” version of the plan.
Where the Money Actually Went
1. The Floor That Had a Past ($2,800)
The asbestos tile under the vinyl remains the single largest hit. We chose full abatement over encapsulation. That decision still feels correct, but it was never in the original $38,000. The sheet shows every invoice: testing, crew, disposal, replacement underlayment.
2. The Plumbing That Could Not Be Ignored ($1,738)
Week 5 plumber findings forced a proper repair instead of a cosmetic one. New drain, corrected venting, upsized gas line, permit add-on, and the cascade of rescheduling fees. This is the classic renovation tax: the problem only becomes visible after the cabinets are in and the schedule is tight.
3. The Soft Costs of Living in the Middle ($310 and climbing)
Temporary kitchen life has a daily burn rate. Propane canisters, paper goods, extra cleaning supplies, the occasional “we cannot face another Instant Pot meal” takeout. These costs were underestimated in the original plan because they feel small in isolation and large in aggregate.
4. Death by a Thousand Cuts ($400-ish)
Blades that wore out faster than expected, the second dumpster, the extra plastic and tape, the emergency tool runs. None of these individually threatened the budget. Together they quietly moved the needle.
What We Are Not Doing
We are not pretending the overruns are “investments.”
We are not moving money between categories to make the total look prettier.
We are not pausing the public sheet until the number improves.
The whole point of this project is that the real numbers stay visible. If the final total lands at $41,100 or $42,500 or somehow climbs higher, that number will be published with the same transparency as the original $38,000 estimate.
Decisions We Are Making Now
No new scope. The wish-list items that were already cut stay cut. No upgraded lighting package, no decorative range hood, no “while we’re at it” pantry organizers.
Labor stays free. We continue doing the finish work ourselves. Paying for install labor at this stage would push the variance past the point we are willing to absorb.
Contingency is now zero. Every new expense will be scrutinized against the question: “Does this keep the kitchen functional and durable, or is it nice-to-have?”
Weekly budget review becomes mandatory. The sheet gets a formal check every Sunday night until the project is closed.
The Emotional Side of the Number
Seeing $3,100 over in black and white is not fun. It is the moment the project stops feeling like a controlled experiment and starts feeling like a real financial commitment with real trade-offs. We have talked about the number out loud. We have looked at the remaining phases and confirmed we can still finish without touching emergency savings. That conversation was quieter and more serious than the original “let’s do this ourselves” conversation.
The spreadsheet does not care about our feelings. It only records the receipts. Right now the receipts say we are $3,100 over and still moving forward.
What the Remaining Phases Look Like
Countertops: still on budget (template delayed but price locked)
Backsplash and final tile work: on budget
Final plumbing trim and fixtures: on budget
Electrical finish and under-cabinet lighting: on budget
Appliances: already purchased and sitting in the garage
Punch list and cleaning: small buffer remaining
If we execute the remaining work cleanly, the final total should land near $41,100. If another surprise appears, the number will move again and the sheet will show it the same day.
The Point of Publishing This
Most renovation content either hides the overruns or frames them as inevitable badges of honor. We are doing neither. This is simply the mid-project reality for one mid-budget kitchen in a 1994 Salt Lake City house. The original $38,000 was an honest estimate based on the information we had. The current $41,100 is an honest reflection of the information the house has since revealed.
We are still measuring twice. We are still cooking (on a camp stove). And we are still writing every dollar down.
Measure twice, cook once.
And when the mid-reno check shows you are over, open the sheet and tell the truth.
