Looking to make some DIY home improvements?
Beware! Renovating your space can be a great way to improve the look and value of your home, but can also be super costly and stressful.
Don’t get caught up in pricey, unnecessary upgrades or budget pitfalls – below are 6 renovation tips for first time home buyers that you shouldn’t ignore.
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6 Renovation Tips For Your Home Remodel
1. Home Improvement Planning Is Essential
My husband is a great planner when it comes to home improvement and he loves thinking about all the different angles of a renovation for weeks on end (and when I say weeks, I really mean weeks, no exaggeration). While he’s the planner, I’m the doer. This means that we often butt heads about when to do what and how when it comes to home improvement (and everything else).
I want to get started and finished on the work ASAP, while he often gets lost in planning and is will not start until he is satisfied that he has thought of just about everything. As unexciting as the planning phase can be, it’s essential to a successful renovation. What you do to one room can often affect how you need to finish or fix another.
For example, there’s no point in finishing the kitchen if in a couple years you plan to fix the bathroom above it and need to rip down the kitchen ceiling to get access to all the plumbing. Depending on how many areas of your home you want to address, you need to consider how they all relate to one another and how the changes you’re planning will impact your next reno project.
Create a renovation plan that identifies everything you would like to remodel in your home and the timing of each project and how each will impact the other before tearing up your space.
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2. Know Your Renovating Limits
On top of being a great planner, my husband is also super handy. Now, there are pros and cons to doing a lot of the home improvement work yourself. While it’s much cheaper, it can also take A LOT longer. My husband is a perfectionist and a procrastinator; this deadly combination means that it takes him FOREVER to finish things (and by forever, I mean YEARS).
This is why it’s important to know your limits. The cost savings and great work that my husband brings to the project also comes with stress and frustration at how long things take to get done. Having two young children in the mix doesn’t make things easier either.
Consider your current situation and how your home improvements will impact your life. You may have delay your project if you’ve just got too many things on the go. Also think about what work needs to be done and who can and should be doing it.
Don’t try and do things that are simply way out of your reach and be realistic as to when you need to bring in professionals to get certain things done.
This is especially important if you or your significant other are not handy and intend on doing things yourself to save a few dollars. Some home improvements are better left to the professionals, especially if you can’t do them properly or safely yourself.
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3. Set A Reasonable Home Renovation Budget
Home improvement can be exciting, but are often costly depending on just how big a change you’re planning. You need to consider how much your renovations are really going to cost you. Setting a renovation budget is a must to ensure that you have enough money to complete the project exactly how you want. Are you hiring people to do the work for you?
Go out and get a few quotes from reputable contractors/trades before you decide to rip out all your kitchen cabinets.
Dreaming of updated fixtures and finishes? Consider the types of materials you’ll need to achieve the look you want and actually price them out. Sometimes what you think you can afford is much more expensive than you originally thought.
I also recommend including at least a 10-20% contingency in your budget – e.g. a small “buffer” amount, if you will, for unexpected issues that may arise and need to be addressed. As difficult as setting a budget can be, sticking to it can be even harder (even for me, the accountant)!
Try not go overboard and decide on the finishes you can’t live without, as well as the things you can spend a bit less on and still be happy with.
Just like a happy marriage, sticking to a budget involves flexibility and compromise.
4. Focus On Items That Add Value Or Need To Be Fixed
If you purchased a fixer upper like me, then you probably want to change every last inch of your home. Unfortunately, my budget doesn’t cover all the things I’d like to change. That’s why I’m trying to focus our time and $$ to the areas of our home that (a) need to be fixed and (b) will help increase the value of our home, while avoiding things that really don’t need to be changed at all.
In terms of adding value, most people would agree that improving your kitchen and bathrooms is a great way to get a better return on the money you’ve put into your renovations.
Consider the types of features people look for in a new home and consider how your planned renovations may attract buyers and demand a higher sale price down the road if and when you decide to sell.
In other cases, you may have a number of things in your home that need to be fixed to maintain the safety and structure of your home. For example, I know that there are areas of our house that have water damage.
Not only can water damage create mould, but depending on how bad it is, it can affect the stability of whatever is around it. While fixing water damage isn’t what I had planned, it’s something that has to be addressed before anything else. There’s no point in fixing my kitchen if the walls around it are crumbling, right?
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5. Properly Dispose Of Any Junk
As part of the home improvement process, you’re bound to encounter a world of junk, demolition items and other stuff you don’t need anymore. It’s vital that you properly dispose of any junk during a renovation to ensure you don’t clutter up your garage or home with useless things (like my husband does, another one of my least favourite traits).
You also need to ensure that you dispose of certain items safely and properly – not everything can just be tossed in the trash.
There are loads of junk removal services out there that can help you clear out your home (and when you’re done with them, please send them to mine).
6. Be Patient – Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day!
Probably the most important advice I can share about home improvement is the need to be patient during your home improvements. Renovations can be long and stressful depending on the extent of the renovation and who is doing the work. Tradespeople don’t always show up when planned, costs can increase due to unexpected problems, things may not turn out the way you expected – any number of things can (and probably will) go wrong.
You need to stay positive and focus on the end result and why you started the renovation in the first place. Sometimes these positive thoughts are the only things that keep me sane during my maternity leave.
Stress and frustration can put a strain on your mental health and your most important relationships, so take care of yourself and try to visualize what your project will look like in the end during those times when you curse the day you decided to start your reno!
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Hope you found these renovation tips for first time home buyers useful! How do you plan a home renovation?
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