Every renovation has a point after which changes get expensive. Before it, a decision costs you an afternoon. After it, the same decision costs materials, labor and sometimes a rebuilt wall. This checklist is about getting the important choices made on the cheap side of that line.
Use it as a starting point and adapt it to your project.
Layout and structure
- What is the room for, and who uses it?
- Is anything being moved: walls, doors, windows, plumbing, gas or electrical lines?
- Do any of the changes need permits or approval from your local building department, or from a landlord or building association?
- Where do the large fixed items go: sink, cooking surface, refrigerator, bath, shower, built-in storage?
Moving things is the most expensive kind of change, so this section comes first.
Services: electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation
- Where do outlets, switches and light fittings go?
- Is the existing wiring and plumbing adequate for the new layout?
- Does heating or cooling need to change?
- Is ventilation adequate, especially over a cooktop or in a bathroom?
These are installed behind surfaces. Anything you forget here means opening finished work later.
Surfaces and finishes
- Flooring
- Wall finish and paint color
- Countertops
- Tile, where it is needed
- Cabinetry style, color and door type
- Hardware, faucets and metal finishes
Choose these together so they sit well beside each other, and view samples in your actual light.
Fixtures, appliances and lighting
- Appliance models and their exact dimensions
- Sink and faucet
- Main, task and accent lighting
- Any built-in or custom pieces
Appliance dimensions shape the cabinets around them, so settle them before cabinet orders are placed.
Money
- A total budget you are comfortable with
- An estimate for every item
- A contingency held as a separate line
- A way to record the actual cost against each estimate
People and schedule
- Who decides what, and how do you settle a disagreement?
- Who is doing the work, and have you agreed scope and price in writing?
- What are the lead times for long-wait items such as custom cabinets, special tile and appliances?
- Where will you live, cook or wash while the work is happening?
- What is the order of work, and what has to be finished before the next trade can start?
Records
- Product names, links and prices saved in one place
- Receipts and warranties kept together
- Photos of the walls before they are closed up, showing where pipes and cables run
That last item is one people thank themselves for years later, when they need to drill a hole or add a fixture.
How to use the list
Work through it with the people involved, rather than alone. Go section by section, mark what is settled, and turn what is not settled into a decision with a due date. The aim is not to finish the list in one sitting. It is to know what is still open before the work starts.
Where RenoVote fits
RenoVote turns this list into a shared plan. You collect options with real product links, vote on them together, and convert the winners into tasks with estimates, so an open decision is visible until somebody makes it. You can start with a free workspace and invite the people who will live with the result.
The short version
- Settle layout and services first, because they are the costly ones to change.
- Choose surfaces and finishes together.
- Fix appliance sizes before ordering cabinets.
- Keep a budget with a separate contingency.
- Agree who decides, and how.
- Keep a record of what you chose and what is behind the walls.
The photos and illustrations on this page were created with AI.