Home Improvement: Simple Renovations Tips for a Small Budget

Posted on: 26 June 2018

Renovating your home can be an expensive undertaking, and the costs can get out of control, causing unexpected complications. Therefore, if you are planning on improving your home, you should prepare a suitable budget. Financial planning will help you manage your spending and avoid exceeding your means. Unfortunately, your resources might be limited even if you create a good budget. If you are worried about the total cost for the renovation work, you should use the outlined guidelines to keep your expenses in check.

Plan for Personal Involvement

You should hire a reliable home renovation contractor for your improvement work. However, if you are interested in saving some money during the project, you should not rely on the expert for every task. There are numerous renovation jobs that you can personally carry out without special skills or experience. Handling these tasks during your free time can cut the labour costs significantly. For example, you can paint your walls and polish the floorboards in your house with the help of your family. You can also assemble flat-pack kitchens. If you have some DIY experience, you can handle basic tiling work, property fencing and general landscaping.

Mix Low-end and High-end Features

You should think about balancing high-end features and low-end alternatives during your home renovation. In simple terms, you should evaluate your improvement vision and choose the areas on which you can splurge. If you only choose expensive features, you might not be able to afford the renovation. Moreover, there will be low return-on-investment. On the other hand, too many low-end features can cause the home to look tacky and cheap. A good balance will promote the best overall benefits. For example, when renovating your kitchen, you can purchase a high-end quartz countertop and then balance it out with store-bought composite cabinets.

Check Auctions and Salvage Yards

You should look for building materials in auctions, salvage yards and individual sales. In general, the construction materials required during construction can cause a steep increase in the total costs. If you cannot afford your desired materials from a specialty store, you should check out local markets which deal in materials intended for reuse. For example, new hardwood flooring will be costly, but used timber will give you a beautiful surface at a lower price. You will also find reusable fixtures, rustic furniture and decorative features in the same markets. If you are interested in new store-bought materials, you should keep your eyes on sales and discounts for optimal financial savings.

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