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Stories / Home & Living / Running a home renovation project with Aโ€ฆ
EC
Ethan Clark
June 26, 2026 ยท Home & Living
SKILL LEVEL
Beginner
AI TOOL
๐Ÿค– Claude

Running a home renovation project with AI. Didn't expect this to be so useful.

We're renovating our kitchen. Not a small job โ€” full gut, move some walls, new everything. We have a budget, a builder, and about 600 things that can go wrong. I've been using Claude as a project management thinking partner throughout. The first useful thing: before we signed contracts, I pasted our quotes and asked Claude what questions I should be asking the builder and what's missing from the scope of works. It flagged three things our builder hadn't mentioned โ€” waterproofing under the sink, the junction to the existing drainage, and who was responsible for rubbish removal. All three ended up needing to be clarified. During the build: I ask it to help me understand what I'm being told. "The builder says there's a structural issue with the wall I wanted to remove โ€” he's explained it but I don't fully understand. Here's what he said: [paste]. Can you help me understand this and what questions I should ask?" We're halfway through and under budget. The prep we did before starting was exceptional. AI helped with that.

๐Ÿ’ฐ Money saved: $3,000 in avoided surprises (so far)
โœฆ WORKFLOW STEPS
1Before signing: paste quotes and ask what's missing and what to clarify
2During build: use AI to understand technical explanations from tradies
3Keep a running log of questions that come up and ask them in batches
4Ask for a checklist of things to inspect at each milestone
๐Ÿ“‹ THE PROMPT
Here is a quote/scope of works for a kitchen renovation: [paste]. What important things might be missing from this scope? What questions should I ask the builder before signing? What are the most common things that blow out kitchen renovation budgets?

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