What should you upgrade in a new build home?
The simplest and easiest answer is if it requires a major reno or tare out after, then it’s probably a good idea to do it with the builder.
However, it’s not always that easy, many factors come into play. Here I will provide you with all the information you will need when choosing upgrades, my experiences, and some cost breakdowns and money-saving ideas.
So you have bought a new home and it’s time to choose your finishes and make any structural changes. Well by this point you have realized that builders charge a lot.
What’s worth spending the high price tag and what’s not worth it? well, I’m here to help you out with that. We will be talking about everything builder home and I will also be including some prices of things I was quoted on my build homes. However, every builder is different but this will give you a basic idea of what things can cost.
This can be overwhelming especially if you have never purchased a new build home before. Let’s go through everything step by step to help you better understand what’s worth the high price tag builders charge and what is better to do later on yourself.
- Structural This is an obvious one because it is so much easier to do beforehand. With that being said structural changes can be very costly but in some cases necessary. If you want taller ceilings, higher doorways, move a wall, etc.
For us, we purchased the Delta bungaloft model and our builder is Fernbrook. The floor model is below. Here is a list of our structural changes and costs. Everything is in Canadian dollars and please note that every builder is different in pricing but this will provide a good guideline of cost. 50-The-Delta
In your new build home taxes are added to your total. With our builder, we were required to pay 50% of the total the rest went on our mortgage. Some builders may ask for 100% of the cost of upgrades but they do offer payment installments.
My must-haves
*Relocation of stove $750 with this request I had to have a coffered ceiling in the dining room to allow for a vent for the hood fan. This was an additional charge of $2,700. This was my #1 must-have so I felt it was worth it.
*plywood support In 2 washrooms $300. This is so we can add a bar for our daughter with special needs. The builder can also install a bar however I felt like it’s best for us to do it to make sure placement was right for our daughter.
*8ft slider door in master bedroom $3700. This was more of want, the window they offered was beautiful and but I knew in the long run when we have our deck I would have wished I got it. We also like the convince of letting the dogs out as well. This was definitely not necessary but I had a vision lol.
We didn’t do too many structural changes as you can see things can add up quite quickly. You might want to consider adding rough-ins for the basement washroom, increasing the height of the basement extra outlets or light fixtures are things to consider as well.
Choosing finishes can be overwhelming, just remember to take your time and only chose the finishes you really love, and if you are planning to upgrade make sure it’s something that you love and will add value to your home.
Our structural changes.
If you are overwhelmed with all your options in your new build home, you can always take a bit of time and then come back to the decor center. It’s a big decision so do rush it!
we would have loved to increase ceiling height but the price point of that was $20,000+ included larger windows but doorways were extra. Although that would have been lovely it just wasn’t in our budget. However, if this is something you really want it’s best to do this with the builder. Most builders do 9ft ceilings on the main anyways so I think that’s a great height. I think money spent on increasing the height in your basement would be worth it and something you can’t do after.
Higher ceilings can make your home feel grander but it’s always important to way the pros and cons. Although they look great you also need to increase door heights as well this will increase the cost. Also need to keep in mind that window dressing will cost more as well because the size of your windows increases too.
The 10 ft ceilings look beautiful but, keep in mind if your home is large this will make it look larger, and sometimes it can feel cold and not as homey so you may need to spend more money on furniture and decor to give it that homey feel.
bu2. Flooring
Let’s start with hardwood most builder homes come with hardwood on the main level in the hallways living room and dining room. The carpet in bedrooms, and standard tile in entry, mudroom, bathrooms, and kitchen.
Now I’m not a fan of the red oak 3” hardwood floors the builder offers however they usually have many options to choose from. If you find something you absolutely love I think it’s a great idea to upgrade.
keep in mind when choosing upgrades, that finishes are mass-produced and are not always high quality but you are paying a very high price tag.
Something to consider If you have an open concept home, and your budget allows I would highly recommend you put the wood flooring throughout. It looks much more seamless than chopping up the flooring. If you are worried about putting wood in the kitchen, don’t be it actually holds up well. Another option would be LVP flooring it’s more durable and looks just like wood.
We opted to skip the hardwood we left it how our house comes with tile, wood, and carpet and will be putting in Luxury vinyl plank flooring when we move in. Our builder didn’t have this flooring as an option.
Engineered hardwood floors 5″ in sand were quoted at $5600 for the kitchen alone, to add to bedrooms was another $5200 and to upgrade from the original 3″ hardwood they give you was an additional $2000. Leaving us with a 12,000 cost and it wasn’t even the floors we really wanted.
we decide to opt-out and will do luxury vinyl when we get our home. LVP can be laid over tile and hardwood. This will be a fraction of the cost that the hardwood would have been, and we are getting want we wanted.
2. Tile
This is another one to consider upgraded let’s face it the 13×13 square tiles are a bit dated however they are totally fine but if your budget allows and there is a beautiful one you love I say splurge on the upgrade. I mean let’s be honest no one wants to deal with the mess of tearing out tiles so I’d say go for the upgrade.
Please Note: with that being said there are some things to consider, I have found that builders are always rushed and don’t take their time, you are not there to oversee the work, or to ask them questions so sometimes you can end up with tiles going in the wrong direction, the pattern placement can be off and end up with the wrong colour grout.
Just make sure all your requests when it comes to tile placement etc, are all written down this will help ensure you get the best result.
We opted to not upgrade the tile because they didn’t have anything we were looking for. we did get a quote for our master bath porcelain 12x 24″ greystone tile it was $3,600 plus $400 for grey grout. we found this to be way too expensive for something we didn’t absolutely love, and although it’s a lot of work we decide we will do the floors after and get want we really want.
shower tile
Again this is not something you are going to want to do after or at least anytime soon so I say upgrade it. If your budget is on the smaller side I would highly recommend the 3×6 subway tiles they are way better than the square tiles with all the busy patterns they look so dated and the 3×6 tiles come in solid colors and on average are only a $300 to $400 upgrade.
you can also have them vertically stacked, horizontally stacked, or brick pattern. I think this is a great affordable option and they look great.
Designer Tip for your build home: Don’t match your shower tile with the corresponding floor tile nope just nope don’t do it. you can do grey 3×6 tile in the shower and do the white and grey 13x 13- tile on the floor just don’t do the matching set it looks dated and I promise it’s something you won’t like when you see it. Examples below
Before your meeting with the builder at the decor center. Gather some ideas on Pinterest and make a mood board. This will really help you when making a selection for your new build home.
Need some inspiration check out my powder bath post here
4. Cabinetry
well let’s face it you won’t get custom cabinetry with any builder, however, they do have lots of options and I say definitely upgrade, but base it more on color and style than quality.
So builder-grade materials are usually mass-produced, pre-built, and come in limited options. That’s why when you ask for something more custom in the kitchen or bath they usually say it can’t be done cause they are using pre-built materials or in some cases they use semi-handmade products.
In my current home, we upgraded to a level 4 upgrade cause I wanted a shaker and I wanted it in an oyster grey. Now the $2,800 upgrade charge did not buy me quality let me tell you they started chipping and bubbling months after. The $2,800 price was basically on colour and style.
This also goes for bathroom vanity as well basically you are just paying for the colour, not quality so id says for a bathroom id get standard cause it’s easy to replace later on.
Tip: Ask the stylist at the decor center to lay everything out for you it’s so much easier to see how your selections look when presented altogether.
Our new-build home didn’t have a putty cabinet option and if they did I would have spent the upgrade price because I’m not going to tare out a kitchen any time soon so I went into knowing for that colour I would have to spend more.
However, they didn’t have that colour option so I went with a level 1 upgrade in a creamy white raised panel cabinet, with expresso walnut for my island was not an upgrade but there is a charge for extra colour.
Here is an idea of what our the kitchen will look like.
we also opted against pantry cabinets they quoted at $3000 but they didn’t offer any of the things I wanted. So we will have them done after we get our home.
Designer tip if you have the space extend the kitchen island. It looks more high end and you can add hidden cabinets on the other side which is great for extra storage.
*level one cabinetry upgrade was $2700
*colour change island $600
*extend island 2ft $800
4. Hardware
Delete it, delete it all! kitchen, bathrooms. I’m sorry but they can keep their $1 hardware. One, never pay for an upgrade the quality is not good they scratch, if you get anything brass the finish rubs off. Plus every house I have had they always damage my cabinet.
My favorite hardware source right now is Stoffer Home the price tag isn’t too bad and the quality is outstanding. Plus they have fantastic colour options as well. These latches we are using in our new home and I can’t be more excited for them. Also create and barrel, Wayfair, and Etsy are all great options.
If you are not a fan of mixing metals try mixing styles that really give a high-end look and can make your builder kitchen look more custom.
Now I understand you will probably have to hire someone to install your hardware and you need someone that knows what they are doing but I highly recommend you buy higher quality hardware and have it done by a professional.
Example picture below. See how Studio Mcgee mixed pulls latches and knobs. If you go with the builder hardware once they make holes in the cabinet you are limited to what you can change the hardware to So keep that in mind.
5. Plumbing fixtures
Don’t upgrade fixtures. Honestly, if you are given an option it’s not usually high quality but the price is. I say just stick with the ones given and replace them after your get home.
6. Carpet
If you plan on keeping the carpet for a while I would say upgrade. Now I wouldn’t go crazy spending a lot but a level 2 or 3 upgrade would hold up so much better than just the builder basic. Carpet is measured in ounces so the higher the ounces the plusher, and better quality it is. Most builder-grade carpet is 25 to 32 ounces if you are upgrading make sure the ounces are higher than 32 they will last a lot longer and won’t pill.
7. Paint
If this is an option with your builder I would definitely skip it. Builder quality paint is not very good and often times they water it down. Some builders charge thousands to upgrade the paint and it’s not an upgrade at all.
I would just take what they give all matte and yellow lol, and paint it yourself later or have someone come in and paint it. Your money is better off spending on high-quality paint that can be wiped down and the sun doesn’t change the colour.
Designer tip: One of my favorite paint is benjamin Moore’s advanced paint line it’s high quality, has UV protection and is wipable I also find this to work really well on fresh walls. Advanced paint one gallon stretches really far, so it will go farther even though you are paying more cause a little goes a long way.
My all-time favorite paint Here
In New build homes, the walls need time to dry out that’s why they tell you to wait a year to paint but I have never had a problem with painting right away when using a high-end brand like benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, Dulux, and Farrow and ball. You will also have to repair nail pops as well but It’s worth it to have it painted in my opinion.
so now you have some ideas of what is worth the upgrade and what is not. Here are a few extra tips on things I think you should avoid.
- If you have a small entryway and you have another closet in your mudroom delete the closet in the front entry. It really helps to open the space and with kids and animals the more space the better. They also often use mirrored closet doors eek! they are just a disaster with kids and dogs keeping them clean is next to impossible.
- Delete all mirrors they are not the best quality and are a pain to take out later. You are better off buying mirrors, they have many affordable options, at places like HomeSense, Wayfair, and Walmart that will look so much better.
- Delete all bathroom accessories toilet paper holders, towel racks, and soap holders. Again they are so cheap looking. There are many affordable options on Amazon, Walmart, and home depot they even come in sets. heres a great one Here
My final thoughts, when choosing what you want to upgrade in your new build home I would just ask yourself a few questions,
*How hard will this be to change later?
*How much would it cost us after and do you have to hire someone to do it?
*Will this add more value than the high price tag we are paying?
*Can we live with it for a while till we can replace it?
*Is it a must-have to help the functionality of your home?
I hope this helps with your selections feel free to ask any questions in the comments in case I missed something. Congratulations on your new build home, remember it takes time to make a house feel like your home. Don’t stress too much. If you love it and it makes you happy I say do it!
Looking for printable art for your home? check out my Etsy shop tap picture below
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