Home renovation checklist: decide what your home needs
Write three priorities in everyday terms: room for another person, a kitchen that works for shared cooking, or a quieter place to work. Then list the features you want to retain. If the scale of change is still open, compare renovating, extending and rebuilding against the same needs.
Gather the information behind the idea
Bring existing plans, photographs, any available consent records and approximate measurements. Record access, slopes and the parts of the house affected by the work. For added space, our house extensions in Wellington page explains the questions to ask about connecting old and new rooms.
Build a complete budget brief
Separate the must-have scope from optional finishes. Include design, site arrangements, work to adjoining rooms and temporary living costs in your planning. The extension budget worksheet shows how new construction and existing-house work can be recorded separately.
Make quotes easier to compare
Use the same drawings and selection schedule for each quote. Mark undecided items and ask how they will be priced. Our quote comparison guide provides a worksheet, and the provisional sum guide explains how to discuss allowances and later adjustments.
Plan the household alongside the build
Decide which facilities and access routes must remain available. Agree who will make decisions, how changes will be communicated and when a temporary move might be needed. Use the living-through-renovation checklist to test those arrangements before committing to them.
Start here
- Use the renovate, extend or rebuild decision sheet to settle your direction.
- Prepare a comparable quote brief for the work you want.
- Map your household arrangements around the project.
Keep your brief short enough to use: priorities, retained features, plans, budget and unanswered questions. Update it as decisions are made so everyone works from the same version.
Explore the guides
- What Is a Provisional Sum in a Building Quote?Understand provisional sums, prime cost items and fixed-price work in a building quote. Use our questions to clarify allowances before your renovation starts.
- How to Compare Renovation Quotes from BuildersCompare renovation quotes with a scope worksheet. Check inclusions, allowances, exclusions, site arrangements and variations before choosing a builder.
- Living in a House During RenovationDecide whether living at home during renovation is practical. Plan rooms, facilities, access, children, pets and changes to the household arrangements.
- House Extension Cost NZ: Budgeting in WellingtonBudget for a house extension in Wellington with a checklist covering design, site access, new construction, connections and finishing the existing home.
- Renovate, Extend or Rebuild? A Guide to ChoosingCompare renovating, extending and rebuilding your home with a decision worksheet covering what to retain, space needs, investigations and household disruption.
- House Extensions WellingtonPlan a house extension in Wellington around the rooms you need and the home you want to keep. Prepare your brief, existing plans and project priorities.