Many homeowners are considering remodeling their homes, especially now that they’ve spent inordinate amounts of time in them during lockdowns and quarantines. Some people only want uncomplicated and affordable home renovations, such as a new coat of paint on their kitchen. Others want more elaborate updates, such as building an entire gazebo or installing a hot tub.
Regardless of the complexity of the project, home improvement costs a lot of money. According to experts, home remodeling and renovation projects can cost up to $60 per square foot involved. A standard kitchen remodeling project can have a price tag between $10,000 to a mind-boggling $50,000.
However, you can lower the price of your home renovation with the right methods.
Consider These Five Easy Tips to Ensure More Affordable Home Renovations
Here are five simple ways you can make a home improvement project more affordable.
1 – Rent Equipment
Unless you’re in the construction business, there’s no need to buy a mobile crane or purchase your own cement mixer just because you want to redo your home. It may seem like a good investment at the time. However, most home contractors have access to their own equipment anyway.
Even if you are going to do a lot of the renovation yourself, you don’t need to stretch your resources by buying expensive machinery. There are numerous places where you can rent out tools and equipment should the need arise. Think power sanders and jackhammers you’ll never use again. These companies offer their products at much lower rental prices. Besides that, you don’t even need to worry about maintaining them afterward.
2 – Finalize All Plans in Advance
Put your conceptual skills to good use, and make sure to finalize all of your plans regarding your renovations well in advance of hiring a contractor and buying materials. If you don’t have a finalized plan before you begin the project, you may find yourself making avoidable but affordable mistakes.
For example, you might begin a project thinking you want to install a stainless-steel backsplash in your kitchen. But if you don’t finalize your design and check on all the details before the project, you may find out that your wall is too weak to support a backsplash. Or you could discover that stainless steel does not work well with the kitchen’s new paint scheme.
3 – Check For Unused Materials
If this isn’t the first time you’ve remodeled your home or even done a home construction project, you may have spare materials from these previous efforts in the garage or in a storage unit. Before you go racing off to the nearest hardware store or bulk construction supplier, make sure you do a thorough inventory of all previous material that you have. Maybe you have a couple of bags of concrete left from paving the driveway. Or maybe you have some excess timber from building your kids a treehouse. These materials might be the key to saving yourself hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars in the long run.
4 – Pick Up Materials Yourself
You will rarely be able to buy all the materials you need for your project all in one go. You are more likely to buy materials as you need them, and as such, you may end up relying on delivery features and courier services. However, these can add substantial surcharges to your already considerable costs.
Instead of having to pay for expensive courier services to fetch tools and materials from your suppliers, why not get into your car do so yourself? If you have a pick-up truck or similar vehicle, you may find this process much more expedient. Even with the cost of gas, you will definitely find it easier to pick up the things you need yourself than paying for them.
5 – Avoid Moving Pipes or Wiring
Depending on the extent of your home renovations, you may find yourself considering whether you should move things such as the water and gas pipes, even your electrical wiring. You should take every chance you get to avoid moving these vital and delicate components of your home. Not only would moving these things be difficult and thus time-consuming, making a small mistake with moving them can lead to disastrous and expensive consequences.
A burst pipe can flood your home, a faulty cable can lead to a fire. There are too many variables when it comes to moving these things. So you should always talk to your contractor about exploring every option that doesn’t involve meddling with them.
The Takeaway: Follow These 5 Easy Ways to Make Affordable Home Renovations
Home renovation and construction projects will always cost money. However, tips for affordable home renovations can ensure you don’t overprice yourself or put yourself in financial jeopardy. Keeping a clear head and following advice can help you stay within, and maybe even below, your projected budget.
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificates in Natural Health and Herbology from accredited programs. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
