How Many Followers Would You Need to Finance Your Renovation?

Renovating a home, whether you’re doing a full house makeover, or focusing solely on one room, can be costly.

From large projects that include upgrades like an extension, new roof windows or a conservatory, to smaller tasks like building new decking or adding extra insulation - there’s a lot to consider and budget for, with many people deciding to do some of the works themselves to save some cash.

Renovation Inspiration

Many of us turn to social media to find inspiration - whether it’s Pinterest, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube - the world’s most followed home renovation accounts can rack up hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views.

And for those with a big enough following, the benefits can be huge, with brand deals, ad revenue and sponsored posts giving renovators the opportunity to finance their latest projects, just from their social influence.

But just how many followers, views, and posts would you need to bring in enough money to cover the cost of different renovation and building works?

How To Get Your Renovation for Free

From loft conversions, to a new kitchen – we've consulted different industry sources to calculate an average cost for a whole range of different renovation and DIY tasks.

Using social media industry estimates, we’ve then calculated the number of social engagements, including views on YouTube and TikTok, and followers on Instagram, that you would need to finance a whole renovation and each individual task.

On TikTok, it’s possible to earn £0.02 to £0.03 per 1,000 views. On YouTube, the average YouTube creator receives £5.75 per 1,000 views (assuming that everybody watches the ads on their channel), and on Instagram, influencers need at least 5k followers to start earning, and then they can earn around £250 per sponsored post.

woman sat behind wooden kitchen table

Our research shows a full renovation would cost around £70,000 for a three-bed house (for all labour and materials) and that would include:

Renovation	Cost
Full Kitchen Renovation	£11,500
Bi-Fold Doors Out Into the Garden	£5,500
Full Bathroom Renovation	£5,500
Replastering Walls and Ceilings	£12,000
New Windows Throughout	£3,500
Full Electrical Rewire	£5,750
Internal Painting Throughout	£2,600
Painting All Internal Doors	£350
Replacing All Skirting Boards	£1,925
New Wooden Flooring Throughout	£5,850
New Central Heating System (Boiler and Radiators)	£3,500
Decking in Garden	£2,600
Patio in Garden	£1,950
New Lawn	£875
TOTAL	£70,200

To completely fund this level of renovation project from sponsorships, sponsored posts and ad revenue from your social media accounts, you’d need to rack up 3,052,173,913 views on TikTok or 12,208,696 views on YouTube or have 1,404,000 followers on Instagram.

Top 15 Renovation Projects That Require the Biggest Social Following to Finance

modern loft conversion bedroom

Unsurprisingly, it is the bigger projects that are the most expensive, and therefore would need the most views and followers on social media.

Ranking as the most expensive part of a renovation, is a loft conversion, costing on average £45,000 to complete. To cover the cost, you'd need just under 1 million (900,000) Instagram followers, or a whopping 1.9 billion views on TikTok. To finance the project via YouTube, you would need 7.8 million views, so it’s fair to say that you’d need to go pretty viral or have built up a hefty following over time, to finance a new loft entirely from online activity.

For an extension, you’d need 750,000 Instagram followers, a garage conversion requires 290,000 followers on Instagram and to replaster your walls and ceilings, you need to get to 240,000 Instagram followers.

Rank	Renovation	Installation Cost (£)	Materials Cost (£)	Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
1	Loft Conversion	45,000		45,000	1,956,521,739	7,826,087	900,000
2	Extension	37,500		37,500	1,630,434,783	6,521,739	750,000
3	Garage Conversion	14,500		14,500	630,434,783	2,521,739	290,000
4	Re-Plaster Walls & Ceilings (Re-Skim Existing)	12,000		12,000	521,739,130	2,086,957	240,000
5	Kitchen Renovation	3,500	8,000	11,500	500,000,000	2,000,000	230,000
6	Rendering Home Exterior	10,882		10,882	473,130,435	1,892,522	217,640
7	Conservatory	9,000		9,000	391,304,348	1,565,217	180,000
8	Underfloor Heating Throughout	2,100	5,600	7,700	334,782,609	1,339,130	154,000
9	New Roof	6,750		6,750	293,478,261	1,173,913	135,000
10	Engineered Wooden Flooring Install	2,350	3,500	5,850	254,347,826	1,017,391	117,000
11	Full Electrical Rewire	5,750		5,750	250,000,000	1,000,000	115,000
12	Bi-Fold Doors Out Into the Garden	800	4,750	5,550	241,304,348	965,217	111,000
13	Full Bathroom Renovation	4,500	1,000	5,500	239,130,435	956,522	110,000
14	Water Feature Installation	2,000	2500	4,500	195,652,174	782,609	90,000
15	Wet Room Installation	1,850	1,698	3,548	154,260,870	617,043	70,960

Top 15 Renovation Projects That Require the Smallest Social Following to Finance

The least expensive renovation work is tiling above kitchen work surfaces. Costing around £275 on average for both installation and materials, you would only need 5,500 followers on Instagram to finance a new look for your kitchen surfaces, or around 11,956,522 views on TikTok.

For a slightly more luxury renovation, prospective renovation Instagrammers would need 33,500 followers (or around 291,304 views on YouTube) to install a TV in the bathroom – perfect for wind-down after a long day of renovating houses (and posting about it afterwards, of course).

Painting internal doors, a new front door and replacing a bath all feature in the top five, and each need under 13,000 Instagram followers and less than 115,000 views on YouTube.

Rank	Renovation	Installation Cost (£)	Materials Cost (£)	Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
1	Tile Above Kitchen Work Surface up to Wall Cupboards	275		275	11,956,522	47,826	5,500
2	Painting All Internal Doors	350		350	15,217,391	60,870	7,000
3	New Front Door	85	350	435	18,913,043	75,652	8,700
4	Replacing the Bath	650		650	28,260,870	113,043	13,000
5	Underfloor Heating Fitted in Kitchen	300	500	800	34,782,609	139,130	16,000
6	Garden Shed	300	550	850	36,956,522	147,826	17,000
7	New Lawn	875		875	38,043,478	152,174	17,500
8	Repainting Kitchen Cupboards	900		900	39,130,435	156,522	18,000
9	Retile Bathroom - Floor and Walls	750	360	1,110	48,260,870	193,043	22,200
10	External Painting	1,300		1,300	56,521,739	226,087	26,000
11	Artificial Grass	1,350		1,350	58,695,652	234,783	27,000
12	Knocking a Wall Down	1,475		1,475	64,130,435	256,522	29,500
13	Installing a Downstairs Toilet	1,000	650	1,650	71,739,130	286,957	33,000
14	Bathroom TV (including the TV)	175	1,500	1,675	72,826,087	291,304	33,500
15	Replacing Skirting Boards (per Room)	1,925		1,925	83,695,652	334,783	38,500

Social Following Required to Finance Bathroom Projects

ceramic bowls on wooden bathroom counter

If you wanted to completely transform your bathroom with a full renovation, it would cost around £5,500 – to finance this, you’d need over 239 million views on TikTok, or almost 1 million views on YouTube or 110,000 Instagram followers.

For other individual bathroom renovation projects, a wet room installation would cost you just over £3,500 or 70,960 Instagram followers, and a bathroom TV would need just 33,500 followers (or £1,675).

Renovation	Installation Cost (£)	Materials Cost (£)	Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
Full Bathroom Renovation	4,500	1,000	5,500	239,130,435	956,522	110,000
Wet Room Installation	1,850	1,698	3,548	154,260,870	617,043	70,960
Bathroom TV (Including the TV)	175	1,500	1,675	72,826,087	291,304	33,500
Re-Tile Bathroom - Floor and Walls	750	360	1,110	48,260,870	193,043	22,200
Replacing the Bath	650		650	28,260,870	113,043	13,000

Social Following Required to Finance Kitchen Projects

In the kitchen, again, it’s a full room renovation that will cost you the most, with the average kitchen renovation costing £11,500. This is the equivalent of 500 million views on TikTok or over 2 million views on YouTube, meaning you’d have to get creating some great content to finance this particular renovation work.

A smaller job in the kitchen would be to just repaint the kitchen cupboards – this would sert you back by around £900 on average, or 39 million views on TikTok.

Renovation	Installation Cost (£)	Materials Cost (£)	Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
Kitchen Renovation	3,500	8,000	11,500	500,000,000	2,000,000	230,000
Bi-fold Doors Out Into Garden	800	4,750	5,550	241,304,348	965,217	111,000
Repainting Kitchen Cupboards	900		900	39,130,435	156,522	18,000
Tile Above Kitchen Work Surface Up to Wall Cupboards	275		275	11,956,522	47,826	5,500

Social Following Required to Finance Full House Projects

messy room dilapidated

When looking at renovation projects that cover the whole house, replastering the walls and ceilings is the most expensive job, with the work costing £12,000 on average to carry out. This is the equivalent of over 520 million views on TikTok or a fairly large following of around 240,000 on Instagram.

Renovation	Installation Cost (£)	Materials Cost (£)	Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
Re-Plaster Walls & Ceilings (Re-Skim Existing)	12,000		12,000	521,739,130	2,086,957	240,000
Engineered Wooden Flooring Install	2,350	3,500	5,850	254,347,826	1,017,391	117,000
Full Electrical Rewire	5,750		5,750	250,000,000	1,000,000	115,000
New UPVC Windows Throughout	3,500		3,500	152,173,913	608,696	70,000
New Central Heating System (Boiler and Radiators)	3,500		3,500	152,173,913	608,696	70,000
Internal Painting Throughout	2,600		2,600	113,043,478	452,174	52,000
New Carpet Fitting Throughout Home	270	2,238	2,508	109,043,478	436,174	50,160
Replacing Skirting Boards (per Room)	1,925		1,925	83,695,652	334,783	38,500
Underfloor Heating Fitted in Kitchen	300	500	800	34,782,609	139,130	16,000
Painting All Internal Doors	350		350	15,217,391	60,870	7,000

Social Following Required to Finance Building Works Projects

grey tiled roof

On the smaller end of the scale, knocking down a wall (great for opening up space in your home) is the least expensive way type of building renovation work. Costing around £1,475 on average to carry out, you would only need 29,500 Instagram followers to finance the work.

At the other end of the scale, a loft conversion – typically costing around £45,000 – would require almost 1 million followers on Instagram – the highest number of followers and views required of all the renovation works we analysed.

Renovation	Average Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
Loft Conversion	45,000	1,956,521,739	7,826,087	900,000
Building an Extension	37,500	1,630,434,783	6,521,739	750,000
New Roof	6,750	293,478,261	1,173,913	135,000
New Staircase	2,750	119,565,217	478,261	55,000
Knocking Wall Down	1,475	64,130,435	256,522	29,500

Social Following Required to Finance Garden Projects

outdoor dining set on garden patio Renovating your garden is a great way to create more space to live in, particularly in the summer months, with projects ranging from a small garden shed, to the installation of decking.

New decking in the garden would cost around £2,600 – the equivalent of 52,000 Instagram followers or over 450,000 YouTube views. For those just starting out with their social profile, a garden shed costs just £850 - the equivalent of 17,000 followers on Instagram.

Renovation	Installation Cost (£)	Materials Cost (£)	Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
Water Feature Installation	2,000	2500	4,500	195,652,174	782,609	90,000
Summer House	1625	1750	3375	146,739,130	586,957	67,500
New Garden Decking	2,600		2,600	113,043,478	452,174	52,000
Laying a Patio	1,950		1,950	84,782,609	339,130	39,000
Artificial Grass	1,350		1,350	58,695,652	234,783	27,000
New Lawn	875		875	38,043,478	152,174	17,500
Garden Shed	300	550	850	36,956,522	147,826	17,000

Social Following Required to Finance External Works Projects

two level british home exterior

For work on the exterior of the home, it was a new front door which ranked in as the cheapest project to undertake. Costing around £435, budding influencers would only need just over 75,000 views on YouTube or 8,700 followers on Instagram.

For bigger projects, including a garage conversion or rendering the outside of a house, you’d need to build up 290,000 followers or between 1.8 and 2.5 million views in order to finance the work.

Renovation	Installation Cost (£)	Materials Cost (£)	Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
Garage Conversion	14,500		14,500	630,434,783	2,521,739	290,000
Rendering House Exterior	10,882		10,882	473,130,435	1,892,522	217,640
New Porch	200	1750	1,950	84,782,609	339,130	39,000
External Painting	1,300		1,300	56,521,739	226,087	26,000
New Front Door	85	350	435	18,913,043	75,652	8,700

Social Following Required to Finance Ground Floor Works Projects

patio and conservatory in a village property

Building a conservatory would require you to have the biggest following. Over 1.5 million YouTube views or 180,000 Instagram followers are needed to finance the conservatory building works, which on average cost around £9,000.

Renovation element	Installation Cost (£)	Materials Cost (£)	Total Cost (£)	TikTok Views	YouTube Views	Instagram Followers
Building a Conservatory	9,000		9,000	391,304,348	1,565,217	180,000
Underfloor Heating Throughout	2,100	5,600	7,700	334,782,609	1,339,130	154,000
Installing a Downstairs Toilet	1,000	650	1,650	71,739,130	286,957	33,000

Tom Pallot, a Digital Strategist at Definition Agency, recently renovated his home and started a renovation Instagram account.

“Our renovation took just under a year. To save on costs, we got quotes for every single aspect and then trimmed down to suit our budget – including allowing for an extra 10-15% for the inevitable extra costs.

We also carried out a lot of the smaller jobs ourselves. We stripped wallpaper, washed down walls, filled in and then painted. We also sanded down and varnished the wooden floors and completely cleared out the overgrown and coal bunker filled garden - relaying lawn and replanting the border.

The whole renovation cost around £60,000 and we saved around £10,000 by doing some of the work ourselves.

To find inspiration, we followed property Instagram accounts like Farrow and Ball, Louise Roe Home, and Home and Gardens UK.

We did start a renovation account on Instagram (@seeking_southsea) – but it was too much of a commitment to maintain!”

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Methodology and Sources:

We used building industry sources (listed below) to reveal the labour and material costs of completing a range of building and home renovation works. We then, using leading social media industry insights (also listed below) on the monetary value of one follower or view, calculated how many followers and views you would need on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to finance each of the renovation works.