I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this weekend. The past six weekends or so have been spent working on home renovation projects. My husband and I bought a “fixer-upper” back in August and have been putting all of our energy into getting it in shape. Like most people, we are on a budget and have been looking for ways to save money through this entire process. I thought I’d share a few of the methods we have used:
Our kitchen before the renovation
1. DIY: this is kind of a no-brainer, but honestly we have surprised ourselves with how much we really can do on our own. Simple wiring, painting and even installing molding have turned out to be pretty simple projects. And I’m sure we saved a lot of money doing it ourselves.
2. Affordable Labor: For the projects that were over our heads we have used a handyman. He’s a certified electrician, plumber and can pretty much do anything. He has been extremely affordable and reliable which can be a huge battle in home renovation projects. My suggestion is to ask around at church, in your circle of friends, or at work for recommendations for affordable handymen. Don’t just rely on the phone book and chance to find someone good.
3. Get Quotes: For a couple of projects we got quotes from different sources. One of those was to install glass tile on our kitchen back splash. There was a $500 difference in price! That’s not a small amount of money. But we may have missed that opportunity to save if we hadn’t gotten quotes.
Our kitchen after the renovation.
4. Pay Attention: When we ordered the tile for our back splash we had the tile company come out and measure– it’s a free service. They told us we needed 25 square feet. Just to make sure that was accurate my husband decided to measure it as well. According to his calculations, we only needed 19 feet of tile. Curious about the difference, he called up the tile company and told them he felt there had been a mistake. They argued that no, we would only have one extra tile just in case something were to break. But when the job was complete we were left with six whole tiles and $20 a piece that adds up to $120 of extra tiles! Thankfully we were able to get that money back because my husband had paid attention and doubled checked.
5. Use Coupons: I am ALWAYS on the lookout for Home Depot and Lowe’s coupons. I have several 10% off coupons that I have stocked up. We try not to run to Home Depot or Lowe’s for just one or two items. We try to buy several things at once so that 10% off coupon has more value.
While we may be almost finished with the main floor, we still have an attic to convert into a master suite. I’m sure by the time that project is complete we will have many more ideas for saving money.
October 11th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Hey Allison,
Be sure that you check with your local building codes. Some areas require that certain jobs be completed by certified people.
You can also check at salvage yards for great buys on items or scratch and dent stores (we got or frig/freezer for 1/3 of what the new price was because it has a dent on the side that is hidden by the cabinet).
October 12th, 2008 at 2:29 am
Hi, alison this is a big savings for a big kitchen renovation. Great!
November 29th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Wow, these are some ideas that I have never even heard of before. I watch a ton of home and garden network on cable and I love see in how they help people save money by showing how to do home improvements by oneself. I sometimes think that the people on TV know what they are doing and that they make it look extremely easy but I have helped a few friends do some home project and they were not hard at all, so I say why not. Also I cannot believe that the tile company tried to rip you off, 20$ is a lot of money especially when you bought a fixer upper house. Measuring on your own really makes sense after thinking about it, it is something that you would never think would happen. That was smart of you for calling around for prices on the kitchen back splash. The 500 dollars could almost buy you fancy stainless steel appliances which it looks like you did. This was a great kitchen rebuild.
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Jonathan,
Thanks for your kind words! It was a lot of work, but definitely worth it!
Alison
November 5th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
[...] Realities: Converting an Attic to a Master Suite on a Budget Last year I offered up some tips for saving money on renovation projects. We had just completed a kitchen renovation on a small budget. Now we are finally beginning another [...]