When does the money actually leave?
Pick your project and see it as phases: how many weeks each takes, what each phase costs, and what you will have paid by the end of it. The honest answer to the question every renovation budget really needs. Free, no email.
Full house renovation: about 12-19 wk on site, £108,000 to £162,000 in total
Build time only; design, permissions and builder lead time come first. Phase split is a planning guide, not a contract, and a deposit (5 to 10 percent) usually comes off the first phases rather than on top.
| Phase | Time | Cost share | Paid by end of phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strip-out | 1-2 wk | £10,800 to £16,200 | £10,800 to £16,200 |
| Structure & damp | 2-4 wk | £21,600 to £32,400 | £32,400 to £48,600 |
| First fix plumbing & electrics | 2-3 wk | £21,600 to £32,400 | £54,000 to £81,000 |
| Plaster | 2-3 wk | £16,200 to £24,300 | £70,200 to £105,300 |
| Kitchen & bathrooms | 3-4 wk | £21,600 to £32,400 | £91,800 to £137,700 |
| Floors & decorating | 2-3 wk | £16,200 to £24,300 | £108,000 to £162,000 |
On top of this, keep 10 to 15 percent contingency aside; surprises are normal, especially once walls or floors open.
- Keep the deposit small: 5 to 10 percent, only more for made-to-order items like windows or kitchen units.
- Pay per completed stage, after you have seen the work, never ahead of it.
- Agree the stage amounts in writing before the job starts; this timeline is a starting point for that conversation.
- Hold a small retention (around 5 percent) until snagging is genuinely done.
Amounts include 20% VAT and follow the same validated guide ranges as the calculator (Checkatrade, MyJobQuote and comparable 2026 guides). What you enter never leaves your browser.
The phase table above covers every project type on this site, full house renovation included. When the quotes arrive, the quote check tells you whether they are fair.
Frequently asked questions
Why plan the budget per phase?
Because renovations fail on cash flow, not totals: the money leaves in bursts, and the biggest one often sits mid-project. Knowing what is due by the end of each phase turns a scary total into a payment plan you can check against your builder’s schedule.
How exact are the phase splits?
They are planning guides: the totals per project are validated against 2026 timeline guides, the split across phases is a practical assumption marked as such. Your builder’s stage payments are the real schedule; this page tells you whether that schedule looks sane.
What is a normal deposit?
Five to ten percent, and only more for made-to-order items such as windows or kitchen units. A builder asking for half upfront is asking you to finance their previous job; pay per completed stage instead.