The biggest worry for homeowners undergoing home improvement projects is going over budget. Even with an emergency fund, it’s easy to spend more than anticipated. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to make your home improvement projects more efficient. You can easily cut costs on home improvements and create a finished product without cutting corners.
Increase your home’s efficiency, not its size.
Increasing your home’s efficiency rather than its square footage is a smart way to stretch your renovation budget. Finding ways to maximize the usable square footage in a space can save you the expense of knocking down walls. The kitchen is the most popular space in the home for major renovations and home improvement projects. A smart way to improve the functionality of your kitchen is to get rid of space-hogging shelves and utilize a more organized, space-conscious solution.
Thoroughly vet any contractors you hire.
There’s nothing wrong with hiring contractors to tackle projects that are beyond your skills. That said, it’s important to compare estimates from several contractors and ask about their approach to projects. Ask around for recommendations, read up on customer reviews, and look over project portfolios to get an idea of each contractor’s work. You want to work with a contractor who has experience with projects similar to yours, positive feedback, and fair pricing.
There are many different types of materials that walls can be created with. Certain materials such as stucco can require more maintenance or repair than others. You can have a great experience updating the color and look of your walls by hiring the right house painting company. Crash of Rhinos Painting has years of experience prepping, repairing, and painting stucco exteriors for residential homes and commercial buildings. You’ll enjoy a great experience starting with a free proposal from Crash of Rhinos through the completion of your project. Crash of Rhinos also uses quality paint colors from Dunn Edwards and offers a 7-year warranty on all of their work.
Work with recycled materials.
Over the years, the use of upcycled materials has been trending in DIY home improvement projects. You can save an extraordinary amount of money by purchasing recycled or second-hand building materials and fixtures. Salvaged materials are half the cost of brand new, home-center prices and by using them you avoid sending them into landfills. You can find everything from prehung doors to partial bundles of insulation perfect for completing DIY projects.
Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore program can remove the old reusable materials and fixtures from your home for you. Local chapters perform either total takedowns or selectively choose materials like cabinets, tubs, and sinks that can be repurposed. It’s free to participate in the program and you’ll enjoy a tax deduction.
Do as much of your own demolition as possible.
The more demolition you can complete on your own, the more money you will save. Demolishing a deck is a far more practical task for an inexperienced homeowner than demolishing interior walls. It’s not ideal to accidentally tear through a load-bearing wall or pressurized plumbing. Do as much of the demolition as you can comfortably manage, and leave the more complex tasks to the professionals.
A great home improvement project for the DIYer is to organize all of your digital content and favorite memories. Backing up all of your digital content from USBs, mobile devices, and external hard drives in one central place keeps your favorite memories safe from vulnerability. The Western Digital My Cloud Home makes it easy to upload and organize your digital content into sharable folders and access it with an internet connection. My Cloud Home is compatible with a range of devices and cloud storage such as Plex Media Server and Onedrive and comes in 2TB, 8TB, or 16TB capacity. You can manage your content with the mobile app and select which of your favorite memories would make a great addition to your décor.
Home improvement projects don’t have to break the bank if you take the right steps to make efficient improvements.
