Home renovations can be expensive affairs with unforeseen circumstances raising costs. Keep your renovation project from burning a hole in your pocket with these simple steps.
Stick to the Plan
The number one reason renovation costs skyrocket? Overspending by changing or adding to your renovation plan midway through the project. Stay as close to your original plan as possible. If your plan does not involve cutting a new window, don’t do it! Anything that is not essential to the home improvement will cost extra time and money, causing both you and your contractor a lot of headache. Study the project, create the plan, and stick to it, Hire Direct Ltd suggests.
Keep the Pipes Where They Are
Unless it’s unavoidable, keep all plumbing fixtures where they are. Moving kitchen sinks, toilets, showers, and tubs means opening floors and walls to remove the pipes and reroute them to the new location. A good architect or interior designer can work around these fixtures and create an updated design for you without the extra cost.
Do It Yourself
Most hardware stores are friendly towards weekend warriors who want to try their hand at doing their own renovations. You can even save some money by visiting an equipment rental company and lease the stuff you need. Before you do this, however, make sure that you can safely do the demolition yourself. In some cases, it is better to spend extra for a professional to handle the project.
Do note that it can be cheaper to tear down and rebuild. Don’t be afraid when your architect utters those words. Major renovations can cost more than starting with a blank slate. The best part? It gives you the opportunity to build everything the way you always wanted.
Lend a Hand
If you have time to spare, you can offer to help with work that does not require highly-skilled labour. Cleaning up at the end of the day is an example of this, and can save you the cost of hiring a clean-up crew. Bottomline is, trust the professionals. Unless you are one yourself, they will always have more knowledge and experience under their belt and can give the best advice for your needs.
There are always better ways to do something, and by extension, cheaper ways to do so, too. The same goes for renovations.