Although not truly unexpected this category did balloon way beyond what I had anticipated. The category I’m referring to in the renovation project is tools.

All things I didn’t have before, including that brick structure!

Unlike many rehabbers I didn’t start out with a building full of tools nor a resume full of skills from past experience that would have made me more efficient in this project. It is no exaggeration when I say I didn’t even own a hammer. Every early project that I started came not only with an investment of time and material, but also the tools needed to do the actual work. It wasn’t so much the tools themselves that were expensive but rather the means in wich I made the purchases. Although the investment made in tools will serve me for years to come, I would have went about obtaining them in a slightly different manner.

Worth its weight in gold for everything I’ve done, but could have been

purchased far cheaper than what I paid buying new

The $2769.28 was not spent all at once rather it is the to-date sum of what I’ve spent on tools to complete the various projects that needed to be done. Here is where I made my mistake. The convenience of having a Lowes and Home Depot both within 2-3 miles of my residence allowed me to save many trips across town getting supplies. When I would start a project I would visit one of these stores and get the material as well as any tools I needed. This was a big mistake as paying for new tools at one of these retailers is EXPENSIVE! Had I planned differently I could have shopped around at pawn shops or online sites like Ebay and Craig’s List and purchased the same tools I needed at a fraction of the cost. I think it’s very conservative to estimate that I could have ended up with the same tools needed at about a third of the cost. In essence I’ve wasted almost $2k because of how I went about buying my tools. SHIT!!

In the beginning it didn’t seem that bad. I’ve kept track of the cost associated with everything that I’ve done to the house, but many times I would write down the amount and not really see a running tally of what was being spent. This is one area in which I’m really disappointed that I didn’t approach differently.

Take away lesson for anyone considering doing their own renovations? Give yourself additional time to look around and purchase your tools from the used market. You want regret it.

Any stories of cost overruns in your experience with home rehabbing?  I’d love to hear about them.