The Ultimate Guide to Home Renovation Costs in Fairfield County (2024)

Ready to renovate your Fairfield County home, but feeling lost about how to even begin planning your project budget? Renovating your home is a big undertaking—it’s wise to learn as much as you can about the process before tackling it. 

And you’ve come to the right place: In this guide, we’re here to cover everything you need to know about home renovation costs in Fairfield County, Connecticut. If you’re a homeowner in that area, read on to learn the current home renovation cost estimates in Fairfield County, plus the easiest way to find the best local contractors for the job. 

Overview of home renovation costs in Fairfield County

The total cost of your home renovation will depend on a number of factors (more on those below). But to get a general idea of home renovation costs in Fairfield County, you can consider these latest estimates:

• At the lower end of project estimates, you can expect to pay an average of $100 to $300 per square foot for cosmetic updates like painting and flooring. 
• At the higher end of project estimates, you might need to budget $400 to $800 per square foot to cover more complex renovations, particularly if they require adjustments to the actual structure of your home like in a gut renovation. 

Learn More: How to Start Planning a Home Renovation

What influences home renovation costs in Fairfield County?

Knowing the factors that influence home renovation costs in Fairfield County will help you start to plan your budget. We’ve broken down those cost factors into just a few categories: 

Labor

Hiring high-quality licensed professionals to manage and execute your project is a key part of any successful home renovation. You can expect your labor costs to account for more than half your budget—typically around 60% of your budget. These fees should cover hires like a general contractor, electrician, plumber, HVAC specialist, and any other subcontractors your project requires. 

When you partner with Block, we’ll match you with the best contractors in Fairfield County for your unique project needs, so you can easily compare quotes and find the best deal for your budget. 

Design

Especially for more complex renovations, it’s super helpful to hire an experienced interior designer to help you kick off your project. A designer will support you in refining and bringing your remodel vision to life. For example, an interior designer can help you plan your new layout, pick materials, and generally ensure you make informed decisions as you plan your project. 

Plan for around 5% to 10% of your budget to go toward design fees. The upfront costs of hiring a designer may feel like they’re hitting your wallet harder than a DIY approach to design. But, actually, utilizing the expertise and guidance of a design professional will save you a whole lot of valuable time and money down the line. Save even more by partnering with Block to get access to a variety of quality design services for your renovation.

Materials

Typically, you’ll want to plan for about 30% of your budget to go towards purchasing materials for your renovation. That includes materials like flooring, paint, fixtures, cabinets, and any other supplies needed for your particular remodel. 

Take the time you need to research your options for materials both online and at local shops in Fairfield County. You may need to make an effort to find a balance between the quality and the cost of the materials you select. It also helps to have first and second choices when choosing materials. That way, if an item runs out of stock or increases in price, you’ll already have a backup in mind. 

Unforeseen expenses

Even when you painstakingly plan your budget, once your renovation is underway, unexpected issues may crop up—with their unforeseen expenses not far behind. So, just in case your team uncovers issues like mold, rot, or the need for essential plumbing or electrical updates, make sure you’re not caught without a plan. 

It’s best practice to allocate around 10% or more of your budget to a contingency fund. That’ll help you be flexible in the face of surprises, keeping your renovation timeline on track. 

Additional expenses

It’s likely you’ll need to account for a variety of other costs for your renovation. 

Common additional renovation expenses include: 

• Permits and inspections
• Demolition and debris removal
• Relocation during construction

The costs of labor, design, and materials will consume the majority of your budget, but make sure you don’t max it out without accounting for these expenses as well. 

Cost for gut renovation vs. non-gut renovation

To gut or not to gut? That may be one of your first renovation questions. 

The answer really depends on the complexity of your renovation vision. Ask yourself: Is it time for surface-level updates, or do you need to go deeper to completely redesign your space? Do you just need to install new shower tiles, or do you need to rearrange a load-bearing wall and plumbing to totally redesign your bathroom layout? 

Let’s go over those two renovation options and their current renovation costs in Fairfield County. 

Gut renovation costs

A gut renovation involves gutting your home’s interior by stripping the walls, floors, ceiling, and potentially even plumbing and electrical systems. Whether it’s a room or the entire house, a gut renovation gives you the freedom to completely refresh and redesign your space without being limited to the current layout. 

Gut renovations are significantly more expensive than cosmetic renovations due to the scope and complexity of the work. A gut renovation in Fairfield County could cost you anywhere from $150 to $350 per square foot. 

Cosmetic renovation costs

Instead of overhauling your space with a gut renovation, you may only need cosmetic updates. In that case, your project would be categorized as a non-gut renovation. This involves less intensive surface-level changes, like painting or flooring, that don’t require structural alterations.

Since you’re remodeling your space within the limits of its existing walls, cosmetic renovations are less expensive compared to gut renovations. You can expect to pay about half the cost per square foot as you would for a gut renovation. That said, the exact cost of this type of renovation will vary wildly depending on the project. For example, there’d be a vast difference between the cost of repainting your bathroom versus the cost of repainting the entire interior of your home. 

Cost of renovating dry spaces vs. wet spaces

One way that contractors will categorize your different renovation spaces is in terms of dry versus wet. In other words: Has the room been exposed to the elements in some way, or is it relatively self-contained? The conditions of a space in its environment influence the kinds of work that space may need in order to get it up to code and complete a successful renovation. 

Renovating wet spaces

Bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens are all common examples of spaces in your home that are regularly exposed to elements like water, steam, and high humidity. These wet spaces tend to be more expensive to renovate because they require specialized labor that dry spaces don’t always need. For example, renovating your bathroom might require updated plumbing and waterproofing, as well as the installation of waterproof fixtures and moisture-resistant paint that can endure humidity and mildew. 

Due to specialized labor and materials, the costs of renovating wet spaces will be higher than renovating drying spaces. If you don’t hire the appropriate professionals for wet space work, you could be setting yourself up for costly mistakes, so be intentional about your contracting decisions. 

Renovating dry spaces

Living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms—spaces like these are considered drier than their plumbing-heavy counterparts, and therefore less costly to renovate. Since you don’t have to worry about tasks like extensive waterproofing in these rooms, the renovation costs tend to be lower and include things like flooring and electrical updates. 

Heating and cooling renovation costs

With Connecticut’s humid summers, cold winters, and year-round precipitation cycles, a quality HVAC system is a must for the safety and comfort of residents in Fairfield County. That means any Fairfield County renovation budget should take into account the costs of installing and maintaining your HVAC. 

For HVAC renovation, your expenses could range from $5,000 to $10,000 or more. Those estimates include Fairfield County licensed HVAC specialist labor rates, mechanical renovation permits, and equipment purchases. These costs will depend on factors like the age and conditions of your building, as well as the type of equipment you’re installing. It’s best to install the most energy-efficient HVAC system—the upfront costs will be higher, but it’ll set you up for lower utility bills over time. 

Costs of home renovation permits and inspections

Obeying local laws is a crucial part of keeping any renovation project on track. Many types of home renovations require a permit, and if yours requires any, you need to get those permits before breaking ground on your renovation. 

Always refer to the requirements around permits and inspections specified by your city for the particular types of renovations you’re planning. Permit costs vary by city in Fairfield County. Generally, they’re priced at a variety of rates per $1,000 of construction value, or as a rate per square foot. For example, if you’re renovating your kitchen in Stamford, building permit fees in Stamford will be $170 per square foot of your kitchen. But you’ll owe different fees depending on where you live in Fairfield County and the specifications of your renovation plans. 

Tips for how to budget for your home renovation

Being intentional with your budget planning is essential to a smooth renovation project. When you plan a budget that’ll cover both the expected and unexpected, it’ll help you avoid financial stress while keeping your project timeline on track. 

Consider these budgeting tips for your home renovation project: 

• Determine your project vision and goals: Which areas of your home do you plan to update? Outline a clear vision for your priorities and the renovation’s end goal. 
• Set realistic expectations about how much you can actually allocate to your renovation project. How will you finance these costs? Does your realistic budget mean you need to alter your project vision in any way? 
• Focus on necessities ahead of cosmetic updates. For example, your dream renovation might include installing beautiful new tiling, but before you drop thousands on those custom Portuguese tiles you’ve been eyeing, make sure you can afford all the infrastructural work that goes into your remodel before ordering and laying tiles. It’s essential to remember that a renovation is about more than looks; it’s also about improving and reinforcing the safety and functionality of your home. 
• Organize your budget into categories: labor, design, materials, permits, and contingency funds. A general rule of thumb is to plan for 60% of your budget to go towards labor, 30% to materials, and 10% to other and unexpected expenses. That percentage breakdown might fluctuate depending on your renovation’s specific needs, but in any case, you should always account for that contingency fund so you can be prepared to cover any surprises during the renovation process. 

Learn more: How to Plan Your Renovation Budget

How to select a contractor in Fairfield County

Whatever your project vision, the most important decision you’ll make to bring that vision to life within budget is the decision to hire a contractor. Most home renovations can take months to complete, so it’s crucial to partner with a reliable expert contractor who’ll be by your side guiding your project from start to finish. 

This selection process may feel daunting, but Fairfield County homeowners are in luck: Block Renovation makes it simple for you. Block will connect you with top-quality licensed contractors from our elite network in Fairfield County, matched to your specific project needs and scope.

Block’s robust vetting process ensures that every contractor we recommend has:

• Exceptional construction quality and knowledge
• Glowing customer references
• Stellar online reviews with a 4.0 rating or higher
• Proof of many successfully completed projects
• Excellent management and communication skills
• Verified licenses
• A minimum of $2MM insurance coverage
• Zero DOB violations or civil lawsuits
• Clean background checks
• Passed our rigorous four-week vetting process

When you get your customized contractor matches, you’ll get the opportunity to schedule site visits to meet them in your home and compare project proposals and quotes. From there, you’ll be able to choose the best fit for your project so you can kick off your renovation with confidence and a trusted partner.