Homeowner Maintenance Cost Planner

Inside the actual 64-page edition

This original handbook follows a complete planning sequence: preface, asset registers, sourced tasks, service and reserve calculations, cash flow, service comparison and annual review. Chapters 2–20 each contain an explanation, an accurately worked hypothetical example and a dedicated planning sheet. The PDF has 95 fillable text fields across 19 worksheets, plus printable space for handwritten notes. Fields do not calculate automatically.

Try the method before buying

A fictional replacement target is $6,000, with $1,200 already designated. Over a chosen 48-month saving horizon, the unfunded $4,800 requires $100 per month, ignoring interest, inflation and other withdrawals. The horizon is a planning choice, not an estimate of equipment life or permission to defer needed work.

Use the free HomeCostEngine calculators for individual arithmetic checks and the contractor quote comparison calculator for matched service proposals. The planner adds the task, evidence and funding records around them.

Complete chapter list

1. Preface: how to use this book
2. Define the home maintenance brief
3. Create a system and asset register
4. Turn manuals into a task register
5. Build a seasonal review calendar
6. Triage observations without diagnosing the home
7. Separate recurring service from replacement funding
8. Calculate annual and monthly service provision
9. Build a replacement reserve scenario
10. Keep maintenance cash flow separate from cost
11. Compare service plans and pay-per-visit scope
12. Track water observations and repair follow-up
13. Organize heating and cooling service records
14. Review envelope and exterior responsibilities
15. Keep a service history and review the next year
16. Build the all-in maintenance funding plan
17. Normalize contractor proposals
18. Review the live cost forecast
19. Approve changes and reconcile the reserve
20. Close out and retain project records
21. Afterword and source notes

What the examples cover

Work through responsibility registers, calendar counts, annual service provision, monthly reserve scenarios, cash less commitments, service-plan comparisons, normalized water bills and year-end unpaid obligations. Six general owner-budget chapters use the HomeCostEngine renovation method with maintenance adaptation; thirteen chapters add maintenance decisions. The planner provides no diagnostic, repair or technical servicing procedure.

What you receive after payment

One 64-page English PDF, formatted at 6 × 9 inches, with a clickable chapter outline and 19 printable, fillable planning sheets. After payment, the order page provides your download and our thank-you email contains a link to that order page. Use a compatible PDF reader, save a local copy before entering information and confirm your saved entries persist. No separate account or subscription is required.

The book purchase is £9 GBP. Project examples use hypothetical USD amounts because the planning guidance is for U.S. homeowners. They are teaching examples, not local price benchmarks.

Editorial scope and sources

Written by the HomeCostEngine Editorial Team and reviewed October 25, 2026. Source notes link to FTC contractor guidance, EPA WaterSense home maintenance and ENERGY STAR maintenance resources. These organizations do not endorse the book.

This handbook organizes planning decisions; it does not replace a site inspection, engineering design, professional installation, local permit review or a written contractor agreement. Personal use includes printing worksheets and sharing your completed project records with your contractors and advisers.