Home Remodeling Tips to Avoid Overspending

Home remodeling is a significant investment of both time and money. Staying on budget is critical if you want to stay sane during the process and maximize your investment’s value. Are you looking for home remodeling tips to avoid overspending? Start with the four tips below.

4 Home Remodeling Tips to Avoid Overspending

Create a Clear Plan

Creating a detailed plan and a realistic budget should be the foundation of any list of home remodeling tips to avoid overspending. If you’re remodeling with a spouse or partner, start by talking openly about your expectations, goals, and priorities for the remodel. You may want to also speak with a design professional about your goals for the project. They can help you understand and set realistic budget and timeline expectations. A professional can also help you better understand and prepare for any potential trouble spots or seasonal factors that could affect your ability to obtain materials and labor on schedule. Remember that unexpected deviations from the schedule or budget are common in remodeling projects, and your plan, timeline, and budget should account for unforeseen delays and costs.

Add More Space Without Knocking Down Walls

Do you feel cramped in your kitchen or wish you had more space in your bathroom but don’t have the budget for a complete demolition and remodel? Before ripping off the closet doors or knocking down a wall, look for ways to expand and maximize your existing space. 

In the kitchen, for example, you can maximize efficiency by replacing bulky shelves with cabinet-height pullout drawers (with racks for canned goods and other items) — a smaller-scale upgrade that still makes a noticeable difference in the usable size of your kitchen. 

Another way to add space without breaking the bank is to prioritize upgrades or renovations that solve multiple issues at once. Perhaps your wishlist for a potential bathroom remodel includes replacing a bulky bathtub with something more modern, but you also want to create more usable space in your bathroom. Some bathroom upgrades can help you meet both of those goals. For example, a side benefit of replacing an outdated fiberglass tub or shower with a new acrylic bathtub or shower system is that it provides about 30 percent more bathing space.

Donate Your Trash

One under-utilized way to shave off some of your home remodeling costs may surprise you: donating your trash. Contact a non-profit organization like Habitat for Humanity before your renovation begins so they can remove materials and fixtures for resale or use later on. As Habitat’s ReUse program manager in Austin, Texas, B.J. Perkins explained to This Old House, “About 85% of a house is reusable. [Habitat for Humanity] can do a total takedown, or do a cherry-pick job and take the cabinets, the sink, and so on.” You won’t get your money back right away, but the materials you donate can represent a decent-sized tax write-off. Remember, too, that donating old materials and fixtures is free, while you’ll usually have to pay a fee to trash the same materials. You’ll save money while minimizing your carbon footprint.

Don’t Remove and Replace When You Can Convert

Do you have an existing bathtub or shower-tub combo but want to replace it with a walk-in shower? Or, do you have a porch or patio but wish to build a screen room instead? Before you hire contractors to remove your existing bathtub or knock down your existing patio roof, do your research. Some contracting companies specialize in remodels that can convert existing structures or appliances.

Liberty Home Solutions, for example, has a unique wall and roof system for screen rooms that can be installed under your existing roof or perfectly matched and in line with your existing roof line. Plus, in the future, if you want to upgrade your patio, porch, or screen room to a year-round fully insulated sunroom, Liberty Home Solutions can do that, too!

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Planning and budgeting a home remodel can be stressful, but with the right partner, it doesn’t have to be. Liberty Home Solutions offers high-quality remodeling solutions backed with a lifetime warranty, installed by experienced and trained installers, and all for a fair and honest price. With free design consultations and no high-pressure pitches, our goal is to offer our customers the right remodeling solution at a great price. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you with your next project.