Tips For Saving Money On Home Improvement Projects

Renovating your home is exciting, but it’s also very expensive. No matter whether you’ve got a large budget or a small one for your home improvement project, costs can rapidly spiral out of control. There are a few ways to keep your costs down, however. Here are some tips to help you manage your renovation project and keep the costs in line.

Creating And Sticking To Your Budget

Before you even get started on your home improvement project, you need to create your budget and then stick to it. Make sure you list all the things you need to buy for your project so that you don’t have any unexpected expenses later on. Once you’ve done that, do your research properly to find the lowest cost options for each of your items so that you can save in the areas which most need it.

Doing It Yourself

Whenever possible, try to do as much of the work on your own without hiring professional contractors. This will save you a fortune. Even if you aren’t very good at DIY, there are a few jobs you can tackle yourself like preparing your space and surfaces, skim coating your walls and painting them. If you’ve got average or advanced DIY skills, you can find YouTube videos to help you learn how to do a host of renovation jobs that will save you a fortune when compared to hiring a professional crew. The tools you need to get the job done could already be in your toolkit! Always make sure, however, to used licensed professionals to handle elements like electricity.

Use Reclaimed Materials

If you can repurpose old items in your renovation, you will save yourself a lot of money over buying new items. For example, you may be able to use your old kitchen cabinets by simply repainting them and adding some new handles. If you can’t use your old items, think about using reclaimed materials from a salvage yard. These will be much cheaper than brand new ones.

Waiting For The Sale

There are some times of year when big ticket items are reduced. Power tools and electronics, for example, are always cheaper on Black Friday while the end of the summer season is the perfect time to buy outdoor and lawn-care products. You may also be able to save money by buying ex-display models.

Maintain Your Home’s Footprint

If you want to save on a major renovation, keeping the footprint of your home the same. That means keeping your bathtub, toilet, sink, windows, walls and stove in the same location. If you remove walls, you could have to install a load-bearing beam. If you move your stove, you may need to relocate your ventilation and gas lines. You’ll need to hire professionals and materials could mount up. If you change the fixtures and fittings but leave them in the existing locations, your room will still look just as good but will cost a lot less to modernize.

Sell Unwanted Items

You could recoup some of the costs of your renovation by selling off any old or unwanted items that you aren’t planning on using any more. While it may be tempting to take everything to the dump or throw it in a skip to take away, you could make money from selling it to a salvage yard or to someone who is also looking to save money on their own renovation by buying reclaimed items. Although it can be a hassle to find someone to buy your old kitchen cabinets, you’ll be surprised by how much you can make from doing so, and all that money can add into your renovation budget to put towards buying stylish new items for your modernized home.

Although any home renovation project can be a costly business, as you can see, there are number of ways in which you can make savings without compromising on the quality of the final product. The key is knowing where to make those savings so you can still get great results without breaking the bank. Try our expert tips for saving money on your home makeover project and your bank account is sure to thank you!