If you’re in the market for home renovation tips; look no further. We’ve got you covered for your 2020 home renovations. Read on and let us know what you think in the comments!
If you are unfortunately having surgery, you put your life in your doctor’s hands and hope for the best. Unless you are lost in the wilderness and have to practice DIY medicine on your own body, medicine is one thing you are going to totally leave to the pros. If you’re moving, you likely will consider getting help from the pros, but this is sometimes a DIY project that you’re comfortable with.
When renovating your home, however, even if you have hired a top contractor to do the work, there are still some things you can do to save money and even expedite the project. Check out our 10 favorite DIY home renovation tips that you can either suggest to your contractor or actually implement yourself.
Do the Demo Yourself
We’ve all seen those HGTV shows where the real estate agent picks up a hammer to demolish a wall, and frankly, it’s easy to tell if they’ve never done demo work before. You, however, might be really good knocking down walls, and there is no reason to pay anyone else if you have time to get the job done.
Ask About Skylights
Windows can be expensive enough but cutting a hole in the kitchen wall to add a new window can be very costly. Alternatively, consider a skylight that can be as small as a floodlight fixture but when properly placed can allow a great amount of natural light to enter your space.
Find Used Stuff
Distressed fixtures, doors and flooring can look great, and you don’t have to spend big money to get that look. Go to the recycling center and see what you can pick up. Sometimes it’s good to go there even before you make any final plans so that you can see what materials are available to you.
Trade Efficiency for Size
Sure, you may want a giant closet for all of your clothes but consider using a smaller space while designing it to handle significant storage. Smaller spaces mean cost savings.
Donate That Trash
Check with your CPA, but there are legit ways to deduct donations of your trash to recycling centers. If a door has some value to someone else, you may be able to save tax dollars by donating it.
Pick It Up
Freight costs are expensive, and if you add your contractor’s employees to the delivery mix, you’ll probably find that you can save a lot of money by gathering construction materials yourself and then delivering them. It may be cheaper for you to go to the Home Depot with some helpers, rent a pickup truck and move a load of drywall by yourself, for example.
Clean Up
If you are not skilled in demo, and you don’t want to move materials, at least you should be able to help with the basic construction cleanup. According to Bin There Dump That (USA), in today’s good economy, basic construction labor—even for cleanup only—can be very expensive—so you can save big dollars by doing it yourself.
100 Wall Patches v. a Bulk Fix
If you have a very ugly wall, it can be a big challenge to patch every hole, smooth each rough area, and then coat the wall with the proper paint or sealant. There are textured wall finish materials that come on a roll that can easily and cost effectively cover a wall like the one pictured above.
Wait Until Your Pro Needs the Work
Friends of ours called a contractor about renovating a bathroom and the person that answered the phone said, “Oh, I don’t know if they are taking any new work now.” That should be an obvious red flag that it’s time to call someone else. If all of the contractors you call seem really busy, it’s a signal that it’s time to wait until they aren’t.
Contractors as a rule don’t like to turn down jobs so if they are overbooked, they may just throw out a high price because they don’t care if your sign up or not.
Use Your Contractor’s Sources
You walk a fine line when you step into the construction process. You want to help so that money can be saved, but, at the same time, you don’t want to get into the contractor’s way. Do check into their material sources, however, because your contractor may have access to some deals that you would not.
Home renovation tips can lessen your stressful time when making home updates. You’ll have new messes every day, and you’ll have to work hard to keep the project moving along, so consider our ten tips above as you manage your project.