Refurbishment Cost Estimator UK — Free Excel Download

Accurate refurbishment cost estimation is one of the most important skills in property investment. Underestimating costs on a flip, BRRR, or development project erodes profit margins and can turn a viable deal into a loss. Overestimating leads to passing on properties that could have been profitable. This refurbishment cost estimator gives you a structured, trade-by-trade framework for building your own estimates — whether you are pricing up a light cosmetic update or a full structural refurbishment.

The spreadsheet covers every major trade in the correct sequence, includes a 10–15% contingency line, and automatically calculates cost per square foot so you can benchmark any quote or estimate against industry norms. It is designed for use alongside a scope of works document — send the scope to contractors, enter their quotes into the estimator, and immediately see which trades are driving cost and whether the overall project stacks up for your strategy.

Compatible with Microsoft Excel 2016+ and Google Sheets. Yellow cells are for data entry; all totals and ratios calculate automatically. Print-ready for presenting to lenders or joint venture partners.

• Structural and demolition — strip out, structural alterations, lintels, underpinning, damp-proof course
• Roofing and external works — roof repair or replacement, guttering, external walls, rendering, windows and external doors
• Electrical (first fix and second fix) — consumer unit, rewire, sockets, switches, lighting, EV charger provision
• Plumbing and central heating — boiler, radiators, pipework, hot water cylinder, bathroom and kitchen connections
• Kitchen supply and installation — units, worktops, appliances, splashbacks, tiling
• Bathroom supply and installation — suite, tiles, wet room or tray, accessories (per bathroom)
• Plastering and boarding — dot-and-dab, fresh plaster skim, stud partition walls, coving
• Decorating — preparation, mist coat, painting walls and ceilings, gloss on woodwork
• Flooring — carpet, LVT, laminate, engineered wood, tiling (per room/area)
• Joinery and internal doors — skirting, architrave, staircase works, internal door sets
• Contingency (10–15%) — automatic percentage applied to all trade totals
• Cost per sqft summary — total cost divided by gross internal area for benchmarking

Any property investor who is acquiring properties that need work should have a consistent, structured way to estimate refurbishment costs before committing to a purchase price. The estimator is particularly useful for:

• Flip investors — building in accurate refurbishment costs to the deal appraisal to protect net profit margins
• BRRR investors — estimating the refurbishment needed to bring a property to a mortgageable standard and modelling the post-refurbishment valuation uplift
• HMO developers — costing out room conversions, fire alarm systems, ensuite bathrooms, and common area upgrades for an Article 4 compliant HMO
• Deal sourcers — providing accurate indicative refurbishment costs to investor clients as part of a deal package
• Bridging loan applicants — lenders often require a schedule of works and costs as part of the bridging application

This estimator provides a framework for structuring your cost assessment — it does not provide actual quotes. Costs vary significantly by location, specification, condition of the existing property, and the current market for trades in your area. Always obtain at least three like-for-like written quotes from qualified contractors before committing to a refurbishment budget. PropertyAlert (Eightfinity Ltd) accepts no liability for any shortfall between estimated and actual refurbishment costs.

• Property Flip Calculator — model the full flip deal including refurbishment costs, purchase price, and net profit
• Buy-to-Let Calculator — model post-refurbishment BTL returns for BRRR strategy