Navigating Different Home Remodel Costs in Miami
Miami, a city synonymous with luxury and vibrant living, is also a hotbed for home renovations. But amidst the allure of stylish transformations lies a complex web of costs that can leave even the most seasoned homeowner puzzled. From the sleek high-rises to the charming bungalows, every home renovation tells a unique story, and every story has a price tag. Let’s unravel the mysteries behind the varying costs of home remodels in Miami, from the sky-high expectations to the down-to-earth realities.
Whether you reside in a modern beachfront condo, a house on the bay, or a bungalow nestled on a quiet street, you can enjoy a rewarding remodel in Miami. Every renovation project is unique, requiring careful budgeting and consideration of materials, home value, lifestyle enhancements, and HOA regulations. Sweeten, a free platform, connects homeowners with licensed general contractors and provides project tracking. This cost guide offers a starting point to launch your Miami remodel journey.
Remodeling costs per square foot in Miami
Here’s a breakdown of the typical costs to remodel in Miami, Florida. The costs are across five categories: full home, kitchen, bathroom, deck additions, and permits. These figures are compiled from Sweeten general contractors and Remodeling’s Cost vs. Value Report:
- Full home renovation: Starting at $100 – $250+ per square feet (psf)
- Budget kitchen remodel: starting at $150 psf or $15,000 (based on 100 sq ft)
- Mid-grade kitchen remodel: Starting at $325 psf or $32,500 (based on 100 sq ft)
- High-end kitchen remodel: Staring at $650 psf or $65,000 (based on 100 sq ft)
- Budget bathroom remodel: Starting at $300 psf or $10,500 (based on 35 sq ft)
- Mid-grade bathroom remodel: Starting at $570 psf or $19,950 (based on 35 sq ft)
- High-end bathroom remodel: Starting at $630 psf or $22,050 (based on 35 sq ft)
- Basic wood deck addition: $40 psf or $13,000 (based on 325 sq ft)
- Concrete patio addition with roof, electrical, plumbing, and a cooking area: $50,000
Keep in mind that every professional contractor will want to have a detailed conversation with you. They will also inspect your home before developing an estimate specific to your needs and wants.
Pro tip: Do not wait. The pandemic has caused a backlog in the supply of materials in many sectors. For homeowners interested in renovating, it’s smart to schedule and sign with a contractor to lock in your material prices. You’ll also want to book a start date on the contractor’s schedule. If you do wait, prices will only continue to go up and your material order starts at the back of a long queue.
How much does it cost to remodel a home in Miami?
If you’re renovating a house in the Miami area, expect costs to range from $100 to $250+ psf with $175 psf as the middle range for a full-scale remodel. If you’re aiming for a budget that is in the upper-middle-range, Miami-based Sweeten general contractor Adrian said you can expect to pay over $200,000 or about $200 psf. However, several elements affect this, like square footage, the state of the original home, and how expensive your tastes are. “It has all to do with the finishes,” Adrian said. By finishes, he means the elements you can see such as tiles, faucets, and kitchen countertops. With materials, plan to add to the timeline for installation and materials and labor costs. Using higher-end finishes will push your budget upwards by at least $50,000, he said. With the pandemic, material and labor costs have gone up due to higher demand. “There’s been a 20 percent in materials,” said Adrian. Sweeten brings homeowners an exceptional renovation experience by personally matching trusted general contractors to your project, while offering expert guidance and support—at no cost to you. Renovate to live, Sweeten to thrive!
The budget for renovating an apartment can be higher than house renovations. “If you’re doing a house, often you can work on the weekends,” said Adrian. In a condo, there are tight rules about when construction work can and can’t be done. These hours are put in place by the homeowners association (HOA) for each building. Often, this means only working within an eight-hour or so window Monday to Friday. This extends the timeline of a project, thus increasing the budget. HOAs might also charge a condo owner a fee to remodel their apartment.
Disposing of trash adds to the cost of condo renovations. With a house, a general contractor can park a dumpster out the front. For condo remodels, general contractors will likely hire a separate contractor to come and lug construction trash away. This involves negotiating tight hallways and elevators as well as timeframes given by the HOA.
How much does it cost to remodel a kitchen in Miami?
- A kitchen renovation in the budget value range can come in starting at $150 psf or $15,000 for a space measuring around 100 square feet, according to Hancen, a Sweeten general contractor in Miami. To get a new kitchen at this price, it needs to be a rip-and-replace job, meaning a layout of the kitchen must stay the same with pipes and appliances remaining where they are.
Homeowners should look at materials like pre-made shaker-style cabinets and appliances from big-box stores like Home Depot. “I’ve also noticed a trend for concrete countertops,” said Hancen. “These can be cheaper than quartz, but they take more to maintain,” adding that a sealant needs to be applied annually.
- For a mid-grade kitchen remodel in Miami, Sweeten has seen costs starting at $325 psf or $32,500 for a 100-square-foot room. According to the 2021 Cost Vs Value Report, a mid-range kitchen remodel costs on average $73,645. This works out to $368 psf for a 200-square foot space. Almost 54 percent of that cost is recouped in the value it adds to a home. The example kitchen the report gave was 200 square feet with laminate countertops, semi-custom wood cabinets, and a stainless steel sink with a standard single-lever faucet. It also contained a built-in microwave, dishwasher, and custom lighting. Other than the addition of a kitchen island, the layout, such as where the oven and dishwasher were installed, remained the same as the original design.
Sweeten general contractor Domenico, also servicing Miami, recently completed a kitchen renovation in this price range. It included a countertop made from Dekton, a stain-, scratch-, heat-, and UV-resistant material. The cabinets were custom with self-closing doors, which took $40,000 from the budget. The appliances were from GE.
- Sweeten has seen high-end kitchen renovations in Miami start at $650 psf or $65,000 for a 100-square-foot space. The 2021 Cost Vs Value Report quotes $145,718 for this finish level, adding the same amount of value to a home’s resale value—50 percent—as a mid-range kitchen remodel. This included custom cabinets, built-in sliding shelves, stone countertops, and imported ceramic or glass tile backsplashes. The appliances were also upgraded, including a commercial-grade cooktop and vent hood, plus designer faucets and a water filtration system.
How much does it cost to remodel a bathroom in Miami?
- At the budget level, expect a solid rip-and-replace bathroom with no behind-the-wall surprises to come in starting at $10,500 for a 35-square-foot room. Contractor Hancen specializes in bathrooms for the Miami area. He has completed a very basic 50-square-foot bathroom for $300 psf, he said. However, this is contingent on the layout staying the same and having no issues like leaks or mold discovered once the project begins. If you’re after this price, stick to a prefabricated vanity and ceramic tiles, which come out to about $2 psf. When it comes to faucets, toilets, and bathtubs, the brand American Standard is a good example of affordable, quality products. “These are the most well-priced materials I’ve seen and the most popular,” said Hancen.
- The next step up is a mid-grade bathroom renovation. Expect the starting costs for this finish level to be $570 psf or $19,950 based on a 35-square-foot space. According to the 2021 Cost Vs Value Report, the average cost for this type of bathroom remodel in Miami is about $22,567 and about $644 psf. The example bathroom the report gave was a 5’ x 7’ space and involved installing a new porcelain-on-steel bathtub, ceramic tiles, and a lit and recessed medicine cabinet. A renovation in this vein can add about $12,051 to a home’s value.
- A high-end bathroom remodel in the Miami area starts at $630 psf or $22,050 for a 35-square-foot space. According to the 2021 Cost Vs Value Report, the average price in this category is around $70,286. For this budget, you could expand your bathroom to around 100 square feet and can play around with elements like a freestanding soaker tub and a shower with recessed shelves, a frameless glass enclosure, and body spray fixtures. You’re also likely to afford a double sink and double-mirror vanity with custom drawers, and wall cabinets.
The cost of tiles can add up. On a recent project, Domenico’s client picked out a tile that had the appearance of wood and cost $20 psf. Another client wanted a wave pattern created out of tiles. “It was more difficult to install adding to the labor costs,” he said. “Occasionally, breakages happen, so that also needs to be covered.”
The good news is this is an investment with about 48 percent of the budget added to your home’s sale price.
Adding outdoor space to your home
In Florida, there is plenty of sun and enviable weather to take advantage of by renovating or adding an outdoor space to your home. Many Miami residents will use these spaces as an additional living space and even kitchen.
- For one project, Sweeten contractor Adrian added a 900 square foot patio to a house that had a budget of $50,000. “It was essentially another room to the house without the walls,” he said. It had a tiled roof supported by four columns, which was necessary so the structure could withstand a powerful hurricane. The flooring was Cuban tiles and there were fans and lighting so electrical work was required.
- According to the 2021 Cost Vs Value Report, a 16′ x 20′ wood deck costs $15,216 and $20,879 for a composite one in the Miami area. If you went for a simple wood deck in a simple linear pattern, you could recoup close to 67 percent of the budget in the bump it gives to your home value. For this price, you could get a built-in bench and planter with stairs and railings.
Permit costs in Miami
The cost of permits, from a typical building permit to electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits, are calculated in different ways. Some permit costs are calculated by square footage. Some are calculated by the value of a project so an exact figure can take some time to figure out. That’s why general contractor Adrian puts an estimate in the initial budget. For example, with a $250,000 renovation, he puts a budget placeholder of $1,500 for the main building permit with an additional $500 each for plumbing, electrical and mechanical, if the project requires it.
Miami-Dade county covers a huge amount of land and almost three million people. Each city—such as Miami South and Miami Lakes—in the county has a building official who issues permits for projects located within that city’s jurisdiction. Residential permits typically take 30 business days to process.
These Miami remodeling costs are a launchpad so you can begin creating an initial budget. Sweeten’s Renovation Checklist is a downloadable roadmap to organize all of the moving parts of a renovation. (Don’t forget to include your “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves”!)
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FAQs
Many Miami homeowners use their yards as additional living spaces or kitchens. A 16’ x 20’ deck remodel will cost between $15,000—$20,000; whereas a bigger patio or outdoor kitchen project could cost upwards of $50,000, with electric and wiring costs included.
Costs for a basic bathroom remodel in Miami start at $10,500, or about $300 per square foot (psf). This reflects a rip-and-replace project with no behind-the-wall surprises. For a mid-range bathroom, expect to pay $19,000-$22,000 or about $644 psf. For a high-end bathroom, costs will start at $70,000 and increase.
