Not only is your home one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make, but it’s where you’ll spend most of your time. It’s a safe haven for you to hone your hobbies and raise a family. Sentimental and practical value aside, it is essential to make sure you take care of your home by keeping up with necessary repairs and maintenance. This will help you keep your home’s value and avoid bigger problems in the future. But, if you want to increase your home’s value, you must first invest in a few renovations. Money can be tight these days, so there are several ways to renovate your home without breaking your budget.
- DIY demolition
With proper precautions, you can save some dough by being your own demolition team. Make sure you’ve done your research beforehand and don’t go taking the sledgehammer to walls willy-nilly. Safety is key. Always scout the scene before you begin, be sure to turn off any electricity or running water. Evaluate the building material for quality, as some material may be salvageable. However, no DIY demolition should be performed without consulting your contractor first. The last thing you’d want to do is mess up plumbing or electrical systems by accident.
2. Go for efficiency over size
There are plenty of valuable articles out there encouraging you to add home additions, but it’s not for everyone. Reorganizing your kitchen, bathroom, or living space doesn’t necessarily translate to building more space. Sometimes a solution is as simple as replacing your current shelving with concealed cabinets or pullout drawers. These solutions provide you with extra storage without taking up too much space.
3. Be smart about lighting
Your gut reaction may be adding extra windows or doors to create more light in your home, but this requires smashing walls and can consume time and money. There are several solutions that are far less expensive to add more light into your home. You can add light to hallways by simply installing a solar tube skylight which is significantly less expensive than installing a new window.
4. Evaluate long-term expenses
The easiest way to save money can simply be evaluating the reality of the project and maintenance these renovations will require. Any good contractor can help you out with these steps from start to finish. If you get pre-finished materials, they may be costly up front, but can save you heaps in finishing costs. This can be helpful when deciding to invest in something like primed and painted weatherboard, skirting, deck boards, or prefabricated wall finishes.
5. Timing is everything
Make sure to consider timing when planning your renovation project. Aside from the realistic timeline, renovation jobs are more expensive during peak season and contractors often charge double if they are in high demand. Create a timeline to present to contractors so you can show you’ve done legwork and exercise bargaining power. Be sure to talk to more than one contractor as well to compare and contrast costs and services.