7 Ways To Save BIG MONEY on Your Remodeling Project
Authored by: cat
of http://www.2greenthumbsup.com
Right from the experts - those brave souls who are remodeling their own spaces and just so happen to be contestants in the Remodel, Blog & Win online contest!
- Do The Work Yourself - Sam from Off Like a Herd of Turtles has done some calculating and figures he and his wife, Kim have saved themselves a minimum of $150/square foot because he’s done the work himself. He’s also going above and beyond minimum code requirements.
- Repair Old Windows Instead of Replacing - Gary from This Old Crack House chose to repair the old windows on his main floor. New windows were expensive and they weren’t available in the sizes he needed. He would have had to make the window openings smaller to accommodate replacement windows.
- Use Formica for Countertops - Jerad of Drummond Home Restovation saved money in his kitchen by going with Formica for his major countertop areas. That way he could do a more special finish on the island bar countertop that is front and center.
- Watch Craigslist - For lack of anything better to do one Saturday, Creede from Grassroots Modern thought he’d check out craigslist to see if there was anything good up for offer. He lucked into a load of free sod!
- Re-Use Vintage Fixtures - Mindy and Teague from Our Fixer Upper had a salvaged clawfoot tub given to them by friends. They had it refinished for use in their master bathroom. The Pictures speak for themselves!
- Shop on Ebay - Jennie von Eggers of Creative Homeschooling shopped for lighting on ebay and found two gorgeous hanging fixtures at very reasonable prices. One hangs in her stairwell while the other adorns her dining room.
- Use the Right Tools For the Job - Time is money, so it only stands that if you’re saving time, you’re saving money. Using the right tool for the job will save you both. The author and resident expert at 10K Kitchen Remodel relies mostly on economically priced tools for his projects.
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2GreenThumbsUp was created for the purpose of sharing adventures about gardening and backyard living. It’s also a platform for reviewing and recommending interesting gardening and backyard living products (green whenever possible).
August 28th, 2007 at 4:15 am
This is a really good list of money saving tips. The first one is especially true! If you can manage to learn how to do renovation projects yourself, you will save massive amounts of money. If it’s something more complex and you find you just can’t finish the job, you can always call in a pro later on…but when you do manage to complete a task on your own, you also get a great feeling accomplishment in the end!
September 15th, 2007 at 11:48 am
You’ll also find a number of interesting basement design and finishing tips, from the point of view of a qualified plumber, on the Basement Design & Finishing page at http://www.Basementsaver.com . You’ll also learn that many people, when finishing their basement, fail to take the final step of properly protecting their investment from flood damage. However, a decent and reliable backup sump pump is not very expensive and can be very easily fitted by the average homeowner. The Basementsaver website offers an excellent range of water powered backup pumps and another line of battery backup sump pumps, along with Easy Fit Instructions, so you can be be sure to protect your finished basement with the optimum emergency backup pump. I hope this advice helps somebody avoid flooding their finished basement.
January 14th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
These tips are an excellent start. I especially like tip #2 on reusing or repairing old items. Another good tip is to try to keep your changes to a minimum. The accuracy of a contractor’s bid will go right out the window when you start changing your mind during the project. Every time you do, expect the contractor to bill a “change order”, ultimately adding to your final cost.
Brent S.
Classic Clawfoot Tubs
June 30th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Steve, as mentioned above, has the right idea about protecting the space from flood damage, but it’s not just the flood aspect, it’s also controlling the moisture content in the rest of the space. http://www.homebasementfinishing.com has the right idea in taking care of the moisture first, which includes waterproofing the basement.
Once you do that, use non-organic materials in the build of your basement finishing project, then the air quality will increase and you’ll notice a large change in the rest of the house as well.