We all want our house to look the most beautiful that it can. But it isn’t easy to gather enough funds to make everything we want a reality. Renovating a house is a huge investment that will require a lot of time and money. This is why we are going to talk about some of the best ways that you can save money on making your house a better place to live in. Let’s get right into it.
Reconstructing or Renovating?
One of the main problems you need to address when planning a renovation is the scope of the project. In most instances when you are planning on renovating most parts of your house it will be more beneficial to go with a complete demolition and reconstruct it anew. This becomes painfully obvious when you see the price needed for doing a large-scale renovation. So, if you are planning on doing a larger renovation be sure to check how much would it cost if you opted for demolition instead of reconstructing the house.
Lighting Efficiency
Most people want to have a brightly-lit house with natural lighting. However, this can be a rabbit hole in which once you start going in you will sink a lot of cash. One great way of saving money is by getting more efficiency out of fewer light sources. Let’s go over some of the most important factors for lighting in the house:
• Paint
Paint has an influence on how the surfaces in the house will interact with lighting. Glossy finish paint will be much better at reflecting lighting while flat finish paint will make colors look more authentic.
• Windows
Obviously, we want to get larger windows for more light to come in, but this isn’t the case when you are trying to save money. One life hack is to paint your window a brighter color so that the light coming in from the outside is amplified.
• Mirrors
Mirrors are a good way of artificially reflecting light throughout the house. You just have to point it at such an angle that it can illuminate the room well. Aside from just being more efficient for lighting, they also make your room seem larger than it actually is, it’s a win-win. You can use full-length mirrors which can reflect more light than smaller mirrors.
Recycle
Recycling is best done with DIY, get your hands on some barely used materials that you can reuse for your house. Most contracted workers will not work with used materials purely because they fear facing the consequences of liability if something goes wrong. There are a lot of perfectly normal used items that you can find. And they will save you quite the pretty penny.
Talk to an Architect
Not every architect that is for hire involves extensive meetings and huge funds. The best way to save funds on materials and efficiency is to hire an architect to do a one-time consultation for the design of your house. An architect can help you figure out what permits and licenses you would need, whether your building is compatible with the building code, and so much more.
The process is very simple. You meet with the architect, they take a look at the house and examine any possible problems and then give you some simple solutions. It can be anything from getting new material, fixing the foundation, or moving a door. Eventually resulting in moves that will save you money further down the road.
DIY
Doing things yourself always bring out a large sense of pride in an individual. Not only do you feel a sense of accomplishment for your own creation, but you will also save a significant amount of money by not hiring workers and getting the supplies directly. Even if you feel like you aren’t capable of doing a lot of these things like replacing the flooring, you are still able to do the more elementary things. Preparing the surfaces for the workers to arrive will speed things up and inevitably lead to lower costs due to less work needing to be done. Another way of saving money is by simply painting the walls yourself. It’s not rocket science and it can surprisingly save you a lot of money. If you are uncertain about some parts of it you can just look up a guide on Youtube. We live in the age of digitalization, take advantage of it.
For higher-skill chores, you really need to utilize guides. If you are uncertain about any job don’t take the risk of screwing things up, cause then employing workers will be even more expensive than in the first place. Aside from the workers, you will also have the possibility of ruining your materials. It isn’t a pretty sight to see your beautiful mosaic tiles get destroyed. There is a fine line between wanting to save some money on small chores and risking massive failure on bigger ones. If you want to do medium chores you do not need a fancy tool kit. You can even rent one out at your local hardware store, it will last you just long enough to get the job done.
Keep in mind that for a lot of higher-skill jobs you will need the proper licensing. So, before you start fixing your roof, be sure to check out your state laws on making such adjustments and whether it is legal for you to do it in the first place.
Long-term Investments
It comes as a paradox that the best way of saving money is by spending it. In order to assure that you will be paying smaller bills down the line, you need to invest in more expensive materials that will save you money on upkeep. Clapboard sidings are one such example. If you opt for a pre-painted variety you will undoubtedly pay more immediately. Although, you will notice the difference soon enough. These pre-painted materials are made under strictly controlled circumstances which result in their higher endurance to the elements, which in return saves you a lot of paint jobs down the line. Over a period of time, the investment starts paying off as you would spend a lot more on maintenance if you bought the alternatives. The same applies to higher-quality flooring, walls, equipment, etc.
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