At almost 50, I’m never doing a gut remodel again.

Everyone who has survived one has the same thousand-yard stare. It’s the look of someone who spent two years arguing about grout color and waiting on inspectors who never show up when they say they will.

Remodeling might be the most unpleasant thing you can voluntarily sign up for. Nobody makes you do it. Yet every year, homeowners line up to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege of being miserable.

Cost overruns are common. So are time overruns.

If you’re brave enough to build a house or do a gut remodel, budget for the project to cost at least 50% more and take 50% longer than expected. If you do, you might come out only slightly bloodied and bruised.…