DIY Home Renovation Tips

Home renovation often increases property value. This is one of the most common reasons for renovations, in addition to updating a home and making it more suited to your personal tastes. When it comes to renovations, some homeowners opt to utilise the services of professional contractors. Renovation projects can be very costly, especially where you enlist the services of a professional builder, interior designer or other specialist. This is why some people prefer DIY (do it yourself) renovations, which can be more cost effective, especially where you have the skills to do some of the tasks. So if you are thinking of DIY home renovations, here is a list of renovation tips that may help you renovate your home.

Plan

Having a plan for each step of your renovation allows you to renovate in a more cost effective manner, giving you the ability to budget accordingly before you start the project; an outline of the project will help during the renovations.

Appropriating funds from your budget is extremely important. Kitchens and bathrooms are huge selling points in a house, which means you should spend the bulk of your time and resources renovating those rooms. Often a new coat of paint or new carpet can change the entire look of your bedroom and living rooms, and both are relatively inexpensive ways to improve a place.

If you are looking to increase the property value, talk to a realtor before you start your renovations. Your realtor can provide you with insight as to which renovations are worth the money and which ones will not turn a profit. Additionally, your realtor can provide you with current real estate trends so you can see what aspects of a house are selling points with buyers and which ones are not.

Improve instead of renovate

Before you start the project, think about what you want and decide whether or not you have to replace things or simply reface them. For example, if you are renovating your kitchen, ask yourself if you need all new cabinets or if painting or staining your current cabinets will provide your kitchen with the update you are looking for. In addition, you can remove the doors of your current cabinets and attach new ones for far less than the price of installing a complete cabinet system.

Cost

One of the biggest costs in renovating your house comes from materials. By purchasing and transporting materials on your own you can save hundreds of dollars. A contractor or other third party will charge you delivery fees among other hidden fees to pick up and deliver materials to your home. In addition, doing this yourself gives you the option of shopping around, comparing costs and finding items on sale or clearance.

The best way to reduce cost is to go to places and source second hand building material. If you can’t access used materials, then head to thrift stores or larger outdoor stores that sell cheaper items.

Design

Creating a design for your renovation is perhaps the most important aspect in the remodelling process. Use resources of the internet to get an idea of how you want to design things and speak to professionals to get expert advice and tips on how best to approach the renovation and how to work with the space that you have.

Extra help

Some renovations will inevitable require the use of a contractor. If you are not accustomed to working with plumbing or cabinetry, it is wise to invest in a contractor to handle those aspects of the renovation for you. The low cost of doing it yourself is gone, but not knowing what you are doing can cost you a significant amount of extra money in the long run! If you must go the route of hiring a contractor, you can still get things done cheaply by doing smaller tasks yourself. For example, if you hire a contractor to handle your new kitchen, you can paint the kitchen yourself, which will save you several hundred dollars.

Consider these tips!

Before you start your renovation project, consider these DIY home renovation tips. Each will save you time and money on your renovation. Adhering to them will help you increase the property value of your home and maximise your profits by allowing you to see a return on the money you spent remodelling, should you decide to sell your home.

Sara is an independent writer who works for the Home Loan Experts, mortgage brokers who specialise in helping people obtain finance to renovate or improve the value of their property through renovation