How to Renovate Your Home on a Tight Budget

When you want to renovate your home, you probably want to stretch your budget as far as you can. There are many ways to renovate your home on a tight budget. Home renovations can be expensive, but you can make your budget stretch with a few helpful tips. Did you know, the average cost of a renovation project can be $10 to $60 per square foot? According to RamseySolutions.com, if you live in a 1,000-square-foot home, you will likely pay between $10K and $60K to renovate the home completely. That’s a very small home, so expect to pay even more as HomeAdvisor.com has an average range from $18,171 to $76,344. Let’s look at some of the top ways to make renovations without a huge budget.

Top 10 Ways to Use a Tight Budget to Renovate Your Home

1. Think about Small Cosmetic Changes

Sometimes, you don’t have to knock down walls or pull up the flooring in every room of the home. You can use small, cosmetic changes, such as swapping out the hardware on cabinets or even painting cabinets instead of replacing them to make a big difference. Even replacing doors can make a pretty big difference and it’s far less expensive than other renovating projects. If you have some ability to do some remodeling, you can do the installation of certain things yourself to save money, too. Consider installing your own doors or even painting your cabinets yourself. Even swapping out hardware, such as hinges, cabinet pulls, and doorknobs you can do it yourself without spending too much money. Another small cosmetic change you can make is doing some landscaping outside. You can also paint your front door for a small cost, which can help save you money on a full home renovation.

2. Declutter

While decluttering isn’t exactly home renovation, it can make a big difference. Getting rid of things you don’t need or even extra furniture can help you make your home look more inviting. It can also help you to see which areas really need work and which ones don’t. When you declutter, you want to follow a guide to help you completely declutter your home. This will ensure you can get rid of the things you don’t need, which can help brighten up your space and see where you should focus your renovation efforts.

3.  Handle Demolition Yourself

A big expense when renovating your home is the demolition. If you’re a DIYer, you can probably handle pulling up carpet or another flooring, along with other demolition projects. When you do the demolition yourself, it can help you save money on the renovation budget and make your tight budget go much further. According to Hometown Demolition, the average cost of kitchen demolition ranges from about $1,000 to $3,000. This is a pretty nice chunk of cash you can save on your renovation when you choose to do the demolition yourself. When you plan to do home renovation demolition yourself, you want to rent the right dumpster for your needs. A good dumpster rental company will give you an easy place to toss out all the debris and trash as you do the demolition. Consider a good residential dumpster rental company in your local area before starting your project.

4. Prioritize Important Projects

You can look at your home renovation in a few different ways. Prioritizing the right projects can go a very long way to making your home look great without breaking the bank. You can prioritize projects based on the ROI you will get from them or based on what your home needs the most. You can also choose the projects you prefer the most for your own enjoyment. Striking a balance is a good idea when renovating. It’s also a good idea to think about the jobs you can handle. If you can paint and replace doors, then that is a good project to take on as you will save money doing the work yourself. However, if you don’t know how to renovate a kitchen, you can hire professionals for that project.

5. Shop for Materials Yourself

Another way to keep your renovation budget in check is to do the material shopping yourself. When you shop for materials, you can save money and gain more control. Make sure you speak with your contractor first, however. They need to know that you will provide the materials necessary for the job. Some contractors charge more for materials than the cost you can get at a hardware store or from a bulk supplier. If you have the time and ability, shop for your own materials to keep the budget under control.

6. Hire Subcontractors Yourself

If you need multiple contractors for plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, and other services, do the hiring subcontractors yourself. Contractors don’t always hire the best subcontractors for the job. They might hire someone due to a lower price and still mark up the cost on your bill. Hiring your own subcontractors can go a long way to making sure you get just what you want for a fair price. It can help you save money and give you more control over your home renovation project.

7. Flooring is an Affordable Upgrade

Typically, flooring can make a huge difference in any room. Whether you swap out the carpet for vinyl plank flooring or you replace the kitchen tiles, it can be an affordable way to make a big difference in any room. While flooring isn’t the cheapest upgrade to your home, it can still help quite a bit. When you replace the flooring, you can buy the materials yourself and hire a professional to do the work you cannot do. Maybe you can pull up the old flooring, but you need a professional to handle the installation.

8. Use Recycled Materials Where You Can

In some cases, you can buy materials that have been used before that are in great shape. Habitat for Humanity has ReStores throughout the country that sell surplus building supplies and gently used items. You can score brand-new materials contractors have donated for a fraction of the cost. Not only will you be able to renovate your home on a tight budget by using ReStore, but you can also help a good organization. Maybe you find the perfect light fixtures or even the right cabinets and they cost even less than you expected. By using recycled materials and the Restore, you can save money and give yourself more room in the budget to renovate more of your home. When you’re ready to stretch your renovation budget as far as possible, consider these eight tips. If you use these tips and get creative, you can renovate your home on a tight budget and get more work done than you might believe.