Doing a home remodel can be expensive, but if you think carefully about timing, design, and materials, it is possible to reduce your spending without cutting corners. Understanding these ways can help you plan out your project.
Consider Long-Term Implications as Well
Don’t focus only on how much money you can save right now for the project. Think about long-term expenses as well. If you are using siding for your addition, you might pay the extra money to get the pretreated variety, so you won’t need to do as much maintenance on it later. This is especially helpful if you plan on staying in the home for a long time.
Another thing to consider is whether you want to combine projects. It is often more cost-effective in the long run to have multiple projects done at once since everything is prepared for the remodel anyway. If you want to make your home more accessible in the future, you might consider installing a home lift now. Adding a home lift from Stiltz makes it easier to navigate between floors, and adding it now means you’ll have time to enjoy it for many years.
Add Efficiency Instead of Size
If you can rearrange your kitchen to allow maximum use, you might not need to put an addition on in that area. You could remove shelves and replace them with drawers that pull out. This gives you multiple spaces where you might have only had one before. You might spend more money putting in cabinet dividers, lazy Susans, and drawers than just adding a new cabinet, but the more efficient use of space means you might not need to spend several thousand more on an addition to the home.
Consider Recycling and Reusing
Consider purchasing lightly used or recycled items like building materials or fixtures. There are plenty of stores across the country that sell reused materials at lower prices than you would pay for them now. Just know that many contractors do not work with materials supplied by the homeowner because they do not want to be liable if something happens while using them. Electrical items like sockets or light fixtures could be more of a safety issue than repurposed wood.
However, if you are doing some of the work yourself, you could reuse items like insulation, doors, frames, and other items. Consider donating your items as well. Before you start, find an organization in the area that accepts reused building materials and invite them to remove the things you would be throwing away anyway. They might take the sink, cabinets, and appliances you will be replacing. This might mean you don’t have to pay for as much dumpster space, or it might mean you can deduct the amount from your taxes.
Do Some of the Demo Yourself
Doing some of the demolition yourself can be cheaper than hiring someone to do it for you. If you are removing an old deck and putting in a new one, you might be able to remove the old deck yourself. Just make sure you are careful in which areas you choose to do yourself, so you don’t remove a load-bearing wall.
