Home renovations can cost $20,000 for minor renovations and stretch into the hundreds of thousands for major refits. Even on the low-end of the scale, that’s a lot of money. Still, there are clever hacks to help you save money on your home renovation and increase the value of your home.
1. Create a budget
Before you begin you have to first sit down and make a budget. This is a no-brainer, you have to decide how much you can afford to spend, determine what work is required, and where the budget will be allocated. It isn’t going to just help you determine where to spend, it’s going to keep your budget in check, and it’s going to save you money. Once your budget is complete you have a strict guide to follow to ensure everything is in check.
2. Consider the home’s structure
Renovations can get complicated when homeowners prefer particular layouts. The structure of your home might not allow you to make major changes to your layout. Before you get too adventurous with your ideas, you want to consider your home’s structure.
This is particularly important if you are dealing with kitchens and bathrooms. Plumbing can complicate things and if you want to knock down walls or change plumbing, then you are introducing disruption to the total structure of your home. This may require a rerouting of your pipes, electrical rewiring, or even rebuilding structural beams. That comes at a heavy cost.
Think about it this way, the average hourly rate when dealing with home renovations is $50 an hour. Any work that messes with the structure of your home is going to add hours upon hours of labor on top of the existing work which adds up quickly. So, your best bet to saving money on major renovations is to stick with the existing structure of your home.
3. Hunt for deals
You might not be a bargain hunter yet, but if you want to save money on your home renovation project or renovate to sell for profit, you should start bargain hunting now. Year-end sales are perhaps the best time to get big deals, but you can start researching at any time.
Look for the typical price for each item on your list and find the stores with the best prices. You can bookmark them, create an account to add them to your basket or go searching for discount codes. Watch to see if the prices change and be ready to strike when the iron is hot. Many retailers will chase you with an offer or a price-drop if you leave an item in your basket long enough.
4. Do the renovations by yourself
There are certain jobs (such as plumbing and electrical work) that are best left to the professionals. Painting might not be the most complicated task, but it is time-consuming when you’re not used to doing it. It takes time and effort to tape everything off, move the furniture, and get the area ready. It’s important that you know your capabilities.
In some cases, you can reduce costs by taking care of some of the pre-work so that the professionals have less to do thus costing you less overall. And, there are certain tasks that sound expensive but will be far more expensive if you attempt them yourself and it doesn’t go well.
5. Look at what can be recycled
As tempting as it is to dump everything and start fresh, don’t jump in just yet. You can sand down old cupboards, cabinets, and bookcases and repaint them (or even wallpaper them), and have what looks like a brand new piece of furniture on your hands.
That’s why it’s important to consider recycling objects before you throw them away, as you might be able to turn something that’s old and refresh that item into a masterpiece. Plus, not to mention, it’ll save you a lot of money too.
