SAVE FOR LATER
Renovating a room in your home by yourself can save you a lot of money. With the average kitchen conversion costing at least $15,000 in the US, and a bathroom remodel costing at least $3000, you can spend half of your yearly income or all of your savings in one go!
That’s why putting your DIY skills to the test, and deciding to take on a room renovation alone, is a worthy pursuit. Of course, if you’re not sure you’re up to the task, you may need to strengthen your DIY muscles first off. But if you’re an old hat at DIY by now, and you’re happy to give a project like this a go, we say go for it!
It’s going to be a challenge, as all great things in life tend to be, but that’s something we can help you with as well. A DIY room renovation can be tricky, but when you know about the most difficult elements and the problems they pose in advance, you’ll be more than ready to take them on.
Most Jobs are Simpler Than You Think
DIYing your home’s renovation can be quite simple. Most jobs are simply a case of remove the old thing, replace it with the new thing. Stripping off old wallpaper, for example, or removing old tiles and scraping off the old grouting. The same goes for paint stripping, changing light fixtures, and taking out old windows and doors for better versions.
Most of the time, you’ll just need to get rid of what was there before and put something new in its place. However, sometimes you’ll have to double check what’s going on below the surface, and that’s where it can get complicated.
It’s also why we recommend splitting your renovation timeline into two phases. Phase one should be removal, phase two should be replacement.
This will make the rest of the project much simpler, as you won’t be removing the old look just before applying the new look. You’ll have gotten all of that work out of the way now, have time to rest, and also allow yourself the chance to check for any problems.
Getting a glimpse of your home’s potential structural issues right now will ensure you don’t have to halt work very suddenly down the line!
Invest in the Right Tools
If you try to complete a DIY renovation without the right toolkit, you’re just making things harder for yourself. It might seem cheaper to try and go it manually, using just a craft knife and a hammer you’ve seemed to own forever, but it’s going to take ages to get anything done.
Plus, it’s a lot easier to get quick and efficient precision cuts when you’ve got the right tools under your belt. Power tools, in particular, speed up DIY renovations by double, without compromising on safety or skill at the same time.
For example, buying yourself an oscillating tool to cut floorboards with will be a godsend! You won’t be using a handheld saw to make the cuts, so you’re not going to spend hours on this one job, nor tire yourself out. Plus, if you set up a woodworking table with some tarp underneath to catch the dust, it’ll be a very simple clean up too.
If You Could Get Hurt, Stop Straight Away
Some elements of a room renovation can be genuinely harmful. If you’re working in a room with exposed wiring, or you’ve hit a pipe and it’s burst, and now the space is being flooded with water. If you could get hurt, stop straight away.
You’ll need to run to switch things off, especially if electricity and water are collecting in the same room. But otherwise, try to contain the issue before it spreads, and then assess the situation. You may need an expert here.
DIY Room Renovation? Let’s Do it!
You can more than apply your own DIY skills to a renovation project going on in your house. Just be sure to anticipate difficulties and some slow progress along the way. You should also be hypervigilant in the face of making mistakes; these could be costly when you’re going it alone.
As such, be safe and steady in everything you do. Similarly, follow a renovation plan to ensure you’re making progress according to a general timeline. You don’t want to still be renovating the upstairs floor in a year’s time, and that could happen if you’re not actively tracking the timeframe!