Remodeling your beloved home is an exciting time with amazing rewards, but it can be very expensive. And breaking the budget can be disastrous for your reno and your future life, yet it happens so often and even to the best of us. So how do you cut costs on your reno without ending up with subpar results when it comes to durability, quality and aesthetic appeal? Here are a few ideas and tips to follow to stay under budget for your new home renovation:
Create a budget and stick to it
Flexibility is important in all renovation projects, but there’s one part where you need to be stern and stubborn—your budget. To create your budget, make a spreadsheet of everything you will need for your remodel: flooring with waste disposal and installation, fixtures, new cabinets, improvement to electrical works, tiles with installation, etc. Your spreadsheet will allow you to see the most costly areas and adjust your expenses. Also, add 10% on your budget to cover unforeseen events (these are almost guaranteed) and that’s it. Stay true to that final number and don’t go over it.
Resort to DIY
The cheapest way to renovate would be to just do everything yourself. However, it’s safe to say that you’re not an amateur contractor and you don’t have any tools or knowledge in building and tiling. But while you might know how to put drywall or lay tiles, you certainly can do other things to save money. Most contractors are paid by the hour, so make sure to reduce the time they spend on your project by prepping the site. For instance, you can do some demolition work, clear out the space, scrape surfaces and prep them for work, and paint the walls.
Reduce plumbing costs
Many renovation projects involve the kitchen or bathrooms (maybe even adding new rooms to your home). Whenever you need to mess with pipes, you’ll need the help of an experienced plumber. To reduce the costs of plumbing, consider using existing soil pipes or lay new ones so they can be joined with the old ones. In many cases, people who think they need pipe replacement might only need pipe relining. In places like Australia, this is a normal procedure that involves lining old pipes with new material to prolong their life. If you find experts in pipe relining in Northern Beaches, you won’t need to do any digging on your property. This procedure is simple, quick and harmless to your property so you can save money on fixing expensive disturbances to your land and backyard features.
Boost natural light
Boosting natural light is great for your health, your electricity bill and the environment, but adding new windows to your home can be quite expensive (between $1000 and $5000). On the other hand, adding a skylight or a light tube to windowless rooms can be much less expensive (around $500). This addition is less invasive yet just as effective at capturing the light as windows.
Reconsider your expansion
You want your home to be efficient and fit for all your activities, so you might be ready to conduct an expansion of certain spaces. Let’s say you need more space in the kitchen because your current one is cluttered. Instead of settling for a costly expansion, you can order custom-made kitchen cabinets and counters with dividers, pull-out shelving for pots and pans, built-in Lazy Susans, etc. The entire kitchen renovation with custom cabinets will cost a fraction of a larger expansion and achieve the same efficiency results in your kitchen.
Consider look-alikes
Imitations are not always bad, but they are always cheaper. For instance, instead of spending $1000 on mahogany, you can get a $400 eucalyptus hybrid that looks just like mahogany and can be used for everything from flooring to cabinets.
Donate things
Instead of paying for landfill space, you can donate many things from your renovation that would otherwise end up in the trash. Organizations like Habitat for Humanity take materials, furniture, appliances and fixtures and reuse them to build new homes for the less fortunate. By donating, you’ll save landfill money and space, help a good cause and even collect a charitable tax credit.
Pay cash
You might be wondering how paying cash will save you money on your renovation, but in the long run, it can make a difference. By spending only money you already have, you can save a ton on loan interest and credit card fees. If you’re renovating before putting your house on the market, then you can take out a loan and pay it off quickly with the return on the investment. However, if you’re renovating your forever home, stick to renovations you can afford now and pay with cash. If you can’t pay off certain elements, start saving and budgeting your reno spreadsheet better.
There you have it, interesting ways to save money on your renovation and still end up with more than impressive quality, comfort and aesthetic results.