ᐅ Two-Family House Built in 1964 – Renovation Cost Overview

Hello everyone,

About 2¼ years ago, I bought a two-family house built in 1964. Since the year it was built, nothing had ever been renovated, so it was still exactly as it was in 1964.
Each apartment has 95 m² (1,023 sq ft) of living space. The house is fully basemented and has an attic, which unfortunately is too low to be used as living space.

We completely cleared out the house (it was fully furnished and equipped) and fully renovated it. Most of the work was done by ourselves. I thought maybe the cost breakdown could be interesting to some, so I wanted to share it here.

But a quick warning: Don’t necessarily use this for your own budgeting unless you’re as crazy as I am and really want to invest a huge amount of time in the renovation.
We made the first apartment habitable within 9 months, then moved in, and 3 months later the second apartment was ready to live in. After that, we completed the remaining work in the stairwell, on the facade, and in the basement.

So, here are the works carried out and the costs:

Windows and Doors:
New windows, 3 patio doors, and one front door. All professionally installed. Double glazing with RAL sealing. The only DIY part was disposing of the old windows and doors.
Cost: $21,500

Bathrooms:
Two bathrooms, each 5.5 m² (59 sq ft). Removed the wall between the old bathroom and the toilet. The old toilet access was bricked up. Floor screed removed and new screed installed. All plaster removed. Small window in the old toilet removed and bricked up. All new plaster applied. New sink, toilet, and bathtub installed. Walls partially tiled, floors tiled. Partly done as DIY with help from friends, partly done by the plumber with my assistance. Mid-range fittings. Tiles bought from a tile store, ceramics from the sanitary supplier. Thanks to contacts at the sanitary supplier, we got good prices for the fittings.
(Floor tiles are not included here but under "Floors")
Cost: $6,100

Sanitary Installation:
Complete new water and wastewater pipes from the house connection onward.
Installed by the plumber with my assistance. We tore out all the old pipes ourselves. Made all the necessary wall penetrations and chases in the masonry ourselves. Pipes were laid by the plumber. Filled the chases ourselves. No circulation piping included. Includes a water softener from Grünbeck for $2,050.
Cost: $8,400

Heating:
Old oil heating disconnected and removed. Very old wood heating dismantled and removed. All done by myself. Installed new gas heating (Hoval) with a new buffer tank for hot water. Included laying the gas line from the house connection to the boiler room and routing the exhaust pipe in the chimney shaft. Heating installed by a professional; I only helped with the installation and some connection work.
Cost: $11,200

Radiators:
All old cast-iron radiators removed. Heating pipes rerouted in front of the radiator recess with copper pipes. Recesses bricked up and plastered. New radiators (13 x Buderus) fitted in front. One apartment fully equipped with electronic thermostats. All DIY.
Cost: $3,500

Plastering:
Bathrooms completely replastered, kitchens completely replastered. One living room replastered, various walls in two other rooms replastered and repaired. Hundreds of cracks filled. Radiator recesses plastered. Three walls removed, edges freshly plastered. Three bricked-up doors/passages plastered.
Help from friends with my own work mainly on filler and finishing work.
If I remember correctly, the needed bricks for all masonry work are included here as well.
Cost: $4,400

Chimney Renovation:
One chimney flue fitted with a stainless steel pipe that can connect a wood stove in each apartment. All preparatory and follow-up work done by myself. The chimney pipe was installed by a professional.
Cost: $2,200

Electrical Work:
Complete rewiring from the meter box. Two distribution boards with modern circuit breakers installed new. All cables newly laid. All sockets and switches replaced with new Busch-Jäger models. Of course, significantly more sockets installed than there were before. Partially ducting was already in place, but many chases were broken out and new conduits installed.
All DIY with support from a trained electrician who connected the distribution boards, so basically only material costs.
Cost: $3,700

Waste Disposal:
Disposal costs for old household items and demolition material: All waste that could be separated was dropped off at the recycling center. So not much “household waste” remained that cost money, probably only about 2 tons total. We transported demolition material ourselves for many weeks to the recycling center with a trailer, using buckets and tubs, thus disposing of it for free instead of ordering a container. (I might do that differently now, as it was truly a terrible job.)
Cost: $500

Tools:
For various tasks... Often bought second-hand via local classifieds like eBay Kleinanzeigen.
Cost: $500

Whitewashing:
All rooms in both apartments and partly in the basement and the entire stairwell newly whitewashed. The paint was obtained very cheaply through contacts. High-quality mineral paint from a premium manufacturer was used. All work done by ourselves, of course.
Cost: $400

Floors:
All floors were renewed:
Bathrooms and kitchens tiled. One apartment has high-quality parquet flooring (tongue and groove), grade B, but hardly noticeable. Children’s room with cork flooring. Second apartment with mixed flooring: parquet, linoleum, and cork.
Skirtings and transition strips installed everywhere, as all rooms have different screed heights.
All work done by ourselves, so only material costs for 190 m² (2,045 sq ft) of flooring.
Cost: $5,500

Facade:
Old paint completely removed with a pressure washer, followed by crack repairs on the facade and then two coats of high-quality paint, which I again got at a very low price. Three sides scaffolded; one side has a full-length balcony, so ladders were used instead.
Scaffolding delivered and assembled by a professional; the rest done by ourselves with help from friends.
Cost: $1,600

Insulation:
105 m² (1,130 sq ft) of insulation wool for insulating the top floor ceiling. Thickness: 180 mm (7 inches). Ordered online. Fully installed by ourselves.
Cost: $740

Miscellaneous:
Everything else that does not fit into the above categories:
Cost: $1,200

There is still a bit to do in the basement: plaster repairs and whitewashing, etc. But I’ll handle that myself, so it won’t be a major cost.

Altogether, this adds up to total costs of about $72,000.
My initial budget was around $90,000 including a $10,000 contingency. So realistically, I estimated about $80,000.
Some items turned out more expensive, but electrical work was significantly cheaper. I originally budgeted $15,000 for that but, thanks to a friend, we did it all ourselves, which saved me a lot.

So, my conclusion:
It was an extremely demanding time (45–50 hour weeks at my job and then 13-hour days on Saturdays and Sundays on the construction site for a full year). It really took its toll, especially since we had our first child during this time, which unfortunately was not an easy experience either.
I learned a great deal and found the whole process very exciting. I’m glad I did so much myself. Now I know exactly where every pipe runs, which materials were used, and the weaknesses and strengths of my house.
I would do it the same way again, with a few small exceptions.
Without many friends (including electricians, masons, and plumbers) and many helping hands from my family, this would never have been possible in such a short time.

Maybe some of you find this interesting or useful.

Again, my warning: This should not be considered a typical cost example!
Two very rough initial estimates indicated around $200,000 renovation costs if I had everything done by companies.

If anyone has questions, just ask.

Best regards,
Specki