Cost
Perhaps the main driving force behind wanting to renovate your own home is the notion that it will save you money. General contractors certainly don’t come cheap, and it’s true that cutting out that expense will have a huge effect on your project budget.
However, the financial side of renovations is not always so clear cut, and there are other costs you need to bear in mind. For instance, will you have to take time off work to do your own renovation? Will you need to buy or rent tools? Will you need to stay elsewhere for any period of time? You should always factor in these additional costs before deciding whether it’s worth the saving to do it yourself.
Skill
It takes a highly skilled individual to carry out good, quality work around the home. Before deciding whether to do your own renovations, think about any other DIY projects you have done. How did they go? How much construction knowledge do you already have? Be realistic about your current set of skills and how much you will have to learn to do the work to the standard you are looking for. Fortunately, it’s never been easier to teach yourself, with a wealth of free online videos out there for almost every job.
Certain tasks can be dangerous if not carried out correctly, and others may even require a permit or license, like electrical work. Only you can decide if it’s worth the risk for you to do it yourself. A good compromise may be to undertake some of the more basic work, like prepping surfaces and painting, and hiring a professional for the more specialized tasks.
Time
One thing that many DIYers underestimate is the amount of time it will take to complete a project. If you are in a position to be able to take your time, it will make doing your own renovation a great deal easier. It means that unexpected hiccups won’t completely throw you off course and that you can take advantage of things like seasonal sales to help you lower your costs.
If you are working full time or looking after children while renovating your home, it’s good to be honest with yourself about how much free time you are realistically going to have for your project. It’s also worth considering whether you really want to use that free time essentially doing more work. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to spend your time on other things if outsourcing is an option.
Motivation
If you are thinking about doing your own renovation, ask yourself why. Is it purely to save money? For the sense of accomplishment? To learn something new? There are no right or wrong answers here, but whatever the reason, it needs to be enough to sustain your motivation the whole way through the project.
Rather than diving headfirst into a complete home renovation, why not pick one room and do that through to completion before deciding whether you want to do the whole thing? This will give you a good sense of not only how the rest of the renovation would go, but also how happy and comfortable you are doing it yourself.
Conclusion
It is absolutely possible to renovate your own home (and get great results!), but it takes careful planning, time management and budget to make your project a success. As long as you go in with both eyes open and have researched down to the last detail you can go into your DIY renovation confident that you have made the right choice.
You can always bring in the pros further down the line if you need some help with certain rooms or tasks, or even if you just have a change of heart. Whichever route you choose, the end result will be the home of your dreams that you and your family will enjoy for many years to come. One of our ASK cabinets designers would be happy to answer any questions that you might have so please give us a call.