The Renovation Budget: Planning So the Money Lasts to the End

The most common financial mistake in a renovation is counting only the construction work and forgetting that furniture, appliances, lighting and textiles cost money too, and quite a lot of it. Many people know the result: perfect finishes and a year of living with a mattress on the floor. Or the opposite: the money runs out halfway, and the apartment sits with bare walls while you save up for finishing materials.

In this article we break down the budget the way we do it ourselves when we prepare a project and a shopping list: what items it consists of, what cost-per-square-metre benchmarks are realistic for Almaty and Astana in 2026, how to spread payments over time, where saving is safe and where it ends up costing more.

What a full budget includes

A full budget is everything you need to spend from bare walls to the moment you can actually live in the apartment. It usually includes: design; demolition and rough works (screed, plaster, partitions); engineering systems (electrics, plumbing, ventilation, underfloor heating, air conditioning); rough materials; finishing works and materials (tiles, flooring, paint, doors, ceilings); the kitchen and built-in furniture; appliances; freestanding and upholstered furniture; lighting; textiles and decor.

Also account for the "invisible" costs people remember at the last minute: rubbish removal, delivery and carrying materials upstairs, tools, post-renovation cleaning, possibly renting a place during the works and moving. Each is a small sum, but together they can easily eat a noticeable part of the reserve if not planned in advance.

How much a renovation costs in Almaty and Astana in 2026

We use these benchmarks for a renovation including materials in 2026: economy from 150,000 ₸ per m², comfort around 250,000 ₸ per m², premium from 450,000 ₸ per m². Furniture and appliances are not included and are counted separately. These are benchmarks only: the real figure depends on the condition of the apartment, the scope of engineering work, the chosen materials and the contractor.

An example. A 60 m² apartment at comfort level: 60 × 250,000 = about 15 million ₸ for works and materials. Add furniture and appliances from your list and a 10% reserve, which is another 1.5 million ₸ on the renovation sum alone. Already you can see that a "15 million renovation" in reality needs noticeably more if you want to move into a finished home.

Levels can be mixed. A common and sensible approach is comfort for the base (engineering, walls, floors) and premium in the spots you see and touch every day: the kitchen worktop, taps, living room lighting. Doing it the other way round does not work: expensive furniture against crooked walls and cheap wiring will not save an interior.

How to calculate your budget step by step

Step 1. Work out how much money you have in total, including what will come in over the next few months, and set aside 10% as a reserve straight away. Plan from what remains. Step 2. Choose a renovation level from the benchmarks above and multiply by the area. If the result is more than you have, decide right away what to simplify rather than hoping it will somehow work out.

Step 3. Make a list of furniture and appliances room by room with approximate shop prices. Step 4. Add design and side costs. Step 5. Compare the total with the money you have. Step 6. Only then decide to start. The "let us start and see" approach is the main source of frozen renovations.

For a first estimate, the renovation budget calculator on our website is handy: it gives an order of magnitude based on area and level. Only an estimate based on drawings and schedules, where the quantity of each material is known, gives an accurate picture.

The 10% reserve: why and why separately

The reserve is not "just in case". It covers specific things that happen in almost every renovation: walls turn out more crooked after demolition than expected; the screed has to be redone; the material you chose runs out at the supplier and the alternative costs more; prices rise between the estimate and the purchase; something arrives damaged and you wait for a replacement.

We plan a reserve of 10% of the renovation sum. Keep it in a separate account and do not touch it without a real reason. A reserve kept with the rest of the money is spent first, on "let us also get that chandelier". If the reserve is still there at the end, that is good news: you can spend it on decor, textiles or appliances you had postponed.

Payment schedule: money is needed unevenly

Even if the budget adds up overall, a renovation can stop because of a cash gap: money is needed in peaks, not equal parts. The first peak is buying rough materials and engineering at the start. The second is finishing materials. The third is ordering the kitchen and built-in furniture: usually a prepayment several weeks before installation, and manufacturing takes time, so order early.

Spread orders across stages and tie them to the work schedule. Tiles and doors with long delivery times are better paid for early so they do not hold up the crew. Furniture and decor come closer to the end, when you know how much is left. If part of the money arrives later, plan so the expensive items fall at that moment, not at the start.

Where it is safe to save and where it is not

It is safe to save on things that are easy to replace later without dust and demolition: decor, textiles, some light fittings, secondary furniture, less important appliances. You can start with simple curtains and replace them a year later; it will not affect the walls or floors.

Do not save on hidden works or anything hidden in walls and floors: electrics, plumbing, bathroom waterproofing, sound insulation, the quality of screed and plaster. Mistakes here can only be fixed by opening up the finished surfaces, which costs many times more than doing it well the first time. Also avoid saving on the kitchen and taps: you use them every day, and cheap hardware soon makes itself felt.

How much of the budget a design project takes

A design project is often seen as an extra expense, but on the scale of the whole budget it is a small share. Example: an 80 m² apartment, a design project at our rate of 10,000 ₸ per m² is 800,000 ₸. A comfort-level renovation budget for that area is around 20 million ₸. The project is about 4% of the renovation, not counting furniture and appliances.

If you do not need visualisations, there is the working project: 14 drawing sheets with schedules that the crew uses to estimate and build. For 80 m² it is 3,300 ₸ per m², or 264,000 ₸. The main budget benefit of both options is accurate material quantities and a clear brief for the contractor. An estimate based on drawings does not creep the way an estimate "by eye" does.

Typical budgeting mistakes

Counting only works and rough materials and forgetting furniture and appliances. Not setting aside a reserve or keeping it together with the rest of the money. Changing decisions mid-renovation: every redo is work you pay for twice. Buying materials without exact quantities: either you run short and buy from a different batch, or you are left with extra boxes.

Another mistake is choosing a contractor on the lowest price alone. A suspiciously cheap estimate often means some works are simply not included and will surface later as "extras". Compare estimates against the same list of works, ideally against the same drawings.

Tracking spending: a simple table

Set up a table with columns: item, plan, actual, payment date, paid to, comment. Compare plan and actual once a week. It takes 15 minutes but catches overspending while it can still be offset by another item rather than by the reserve. Keep receipts and contracts: you will need them for warranty claims.

If an item goes over plan, decide immediately where to cut: for example, choose simpler tiles in the guest bathroom or postpone some decor. The main rule is not to dip into the reserve for wishes, only for real problems.

Conclusion

A budget that lasts to the end is a complete list of expenses, realistic cost-per-metre benchmarks, a separate 10% reserve and a payment schedule tied to the stages. The more precise the project, the more precise the estimate and the fewer surprises. Start with the renovation budget calculator on our site, and if you want a calculation based on drawings, fill in the project brief or message us on WhatsApp.