Home renovations seem to be all about bleeding out your bank account. But there are techniques you can use to save money on your kitchen renovations that slow down the hemmoraging. These are techniques that homeowners have used for years.
Reduce Need for Second Mortgages, Personal Loans, and Credit
When funding your remodel, it’s nearly impossible to avoid a home equity line of credit or second mortgage if you’re tackling an addition. But you can avoid it for the smaller projects. Keep in mind that by rolling those french doors into a 15 year loan, you’ll be paying for those french doors for many years to come. Avoid personal loans and be careful of credit cards. Cash is always the cheapest choice.
Use Structural Elements as Finish Surfaces
Perhaps you have interior brick walls, ceiling beams, concrete floors, or wood floors that may be, um, decoratively aged. If so (and if this is your intended decorating style), refurbishing these surfaces will always be cheaper than building up new finish surfaces.
Build the Addition Up or In
It’s almost always more expensive to build your addition outward than upward. Foundation work (for building outward) is expensive. And it’s even cheaper to build inward than upward. Got any spare rooms you can repurpose for other uses? If function rather than space is what you’re looking for, seriously consider building inward.
Avoid Moving the Plumbing
After you get the estimate from the plumber, you may have second thoughts about moving the kitchen sink five feet to the left. Plumbing work is expensive on its own; moving the plumbing can double the cost, or more. Admittedly, easier said than done, since half the reason for remodeling is often to redesign the kitchen floor plan.
Use Existing Electrical Work As Much as Possible
Like plumbing, electrical work is expensive. Instead of completely abandoning and redoing your current wiring, explore the possibility of supplementing it.
Use the “Free” Home Remodeling Consultants
You’re seen them–the kitchen planners at The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and local home improvement stores. Even if you don’t plan on using them, you’ll walk away with a nice printed kitchen design layout. Get product samples of siding from siding companies. Get hardwood and laminate flooring chips from flooring companies. For a short time commitment, flooring installers will come to your house and give you a dead-on floor measurement. Sure, these services come with a cost: the sales pitch. But you’re not shelling out any bucks (though make certain that they’re not charging you for the estimate, as some companies have begun to do recently).
Is there simple, non-building work you can do yourself?
Things like site cleanup when they’re done. They have to pay someone to clean up the site, and they’ll charge a commission on top of that. Is the contractor going to spend all day in the permitting office and charge you for it? Who knows, maybe you’ve always longed to spend a vacation day in the permitting office.
More at How to Save Money on Your Kitchen Renovation
