Renovation Command Center — Complete Remodel Planner: Budget by Room, Contingency Res

Renovation Command Center — Complete Remodel Planner: Budget by Room, Contingency Res

Renovation Command Center — 70% of major renovations go over budget. Not because owners are careless: because nobody wrote down what the quote EXCLUDED, when each deposit was paid, and which of three stores had the cheaper tile. This file writes it down. Twelve tabs run the whole project: a Budget split by room into labour / materials / permits so an overrun becomes diagnosable (auto variance + OVER flags), a Contingency Reserve tracker with an honest sizing guide (10% cosmetic, 15-20% for pre-1980 houses, 20%+ for gut renos — every surprise draw logged with a photo), a Payments tab that enforces the structure that protects you (10-30% deposit max, stage payments tied to visible work, 10% retention until the punch list is empty), a Contractors 3-quote comparison where the EXCLUSIONS column exposes the cheapest quote, a phased Timeline with material lead times (the 8-week cabinets decide when the kitchen ends, not the carpenter), Materials with 3-store price comparison and quantity math (tile +10% waste, 1L paint per 10m2 per coat), a Paint schedule, a WishList that prices upgrades honestly instead of raiding the contingency, a Punch List, and a 12-question Contractor Question Bank to ask BEFORE signing. BONUS: a printable 7-page Reno Binder PDF for site meetings — the question bank, a quote comparison worksheet, meeting notes pages, the punch-list walk, the payment schedule with lien-waiver warnings, and the material quantity cheat sheet. Presets reference Angi/NerdWallet 2025 averages; your quotes always win. Houzz and HomeZada want $84-190/year in subscriptions. This is $16.90 once — Excel + Google Sheets, no macros, no passwords, works offline, yours forever. When your reno budget is $30K+, the tool that keeps it honest costs less than one box of tile.