Whether you need more living space and are looking to convert a cellar or attic, your existing bathroom or kitchen are long past their best, you’ve decided to embrace open-plan living and transform two rooms into one, or you simply want to give your home a thorough modernization and makeover, it’s possible to save money on your home renovation by following a few simple rules and making the odd (but acceptable) compromise here and there. Whatever the nature or scale of your project by following these common-sense tips and guidelines you can save money on your home renovation without sacrificing quality.
1. Devise a strict project plan and stick to it
The great temptation is to fast-forward straight to the fun part of renovating your home for the better without fully thinking through exactly what’s required, how it will be achieved, and what the result will be. Suddenly deciding that you’ve chosen completely unsuitable kitchen units halfway through their installation is liable to be a costly mistake to rectify. Similarly, modifying your plan with additional extras that you hadn’t thought about beforehand will increase the overall project cost. The temptation to embellish your home renovation as you go should be avoided. Complete the original project to plan before considering and budgeting for any additions.
2. Do it yourself only if you *can* do it yourself
You might rule out calling in professionals to help with your home renovation as an unnecessary expense, but be realistic about your own abilities. Plastering, bricklaying, plumbing, and electrics all require a significant level of skill and knowledge to achieve competent and safe results; the cost of rectifying problems that you’ve caused by doing it yourself may far outweigh the cost of employing a professional in the first place. Use your network of friends, family, work colleagues, and other acquaintances to find out if you know or are related to someone who can complete the professional work you need at an acceptable cost.
3. Shop around for the best quality at the lowest price
It might sound like a statement of the obvious, but there is a distinction to be made between buying the cheapest items for your home renovation and buying the lowest-cost quality items. For example, buying a low-quality ‘trade’-standard gloss paint because it’s cheap won’t represent a saving in six months’ time when it’s turned yellow due to sun exposure and you need to repaint.
It’s wiser to shop around for the best price on a quality branded gloss paint that offers a manufacturer’s guarantee. Note also that buying a £20,000 bathroom suite is unlikely to increase the value of your home by £20,000. Again, with careful and selective shopping it is possible to source high-quality ex-display kitchens and bathrooms at significantly lower prices than you’d normally pay.
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4. Choose the cheapest solution for disposing of home renovation waste
Depending upon the scale of your home renovation project you might generate significant quantities of bulky waste materials such as kitchen units, furniture, bathroom fittings, and even floorboards or bricks. Attempting to transport large volumes of renovation waste to your nearest recycling center via repeated trips in your own car is likely to be impractical (if not impossible), potentially hazardous, and expensive.
If your recycling center is located nearby, a practical and economical solution is to hire a van from a major van hire company such as National; this is likely to be less costly and more convenient than hiring your local man-with-a-van. For significantly large quantities of home renovation waste, hiring a skip of an appropriate size may be a more cost-effective option. Skips are available in a range of sizes (check out www.skipandbin.com for more information) and the cost of skip hire from a reputable firm includes the delivery and removal of the skip and the legal disposal of your waste.
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If you are disposing of furniture or fixtures and fittings such as radiators, light fittings, doors, or anything else that may be saleable, consider selling them rather than dumping them. As eBay has conclusively proved, there is a market for almost anything, and items from your home renovation that you may consider to be worthless may be exactly what someone else is looking for. Many local newspapers offer free classified advertisements, and you may be able to place a postcard in a local shop window or supermarket detailing the items you have for sale.
5. Part-fund your home renovation by selling unwanted items
If you are disposing of furniture or fixtures and fittings such as radiators, light fittings, doors, or anything else that may be saleable, consider selling them rather than dumping them. As eBay has conclusively proved, there is a market for almost anything, and items from your home renovation that you may consider to be worthless may be exactly what someone else is looking for. Many local newspapers offer free classified advertisements, and you may be able to place a postcard in a local shop window or supermarket detailing the items you have for sale.
6. Don’t be afraid to re-use, recycle and upcycle materials
Do you really need brand new furniture as part of your home renovation, or can existing furniture be restored or reupholstered less expensively to give it that ‘as new’ look? Do you need to buy new accessories to finish a renovated room or do you already have items that might be suitable but are currently elsewhere in the house or not being used at all? Recycling and upcycling are both fashionable in the 21st century and represent another great way to help you save money on your home renovation.
