Some people buy homes intent on fixing it up. Others are simply forced into action as their home’s rooms and features age over time. Whatever the motivation, many homeowners ultimately find themselves facing renovation or remodel work in their home. These fixes aren’t a total loss of money, because they can increase your home’s appraised value and net you a higher price when you go to sell the property. But if you really want to save on costs and maximize your gains, your best bet is to do the work yourself.
While it can be intimidating, home renovations don’t have to be overwhelming, especially if you’re only tackling one room or a feature of a room. What’s more important than past experience doing remodeling work is familiarizing yourself with what you want and the process required to get you where you want to go. Of course, you’ll also need the right equipment to minimize mistakes and produce the best end product possible.
While every remodeling job likely has its own unique needs, some equipment will be standard in any scenario. Here are the basics you’ll need to gather before you tackle a home renovation.
Concrete, specific plans
Never start a renovation project if there are certain aspects of the job that you haven’t quite figured out. If you do that, you’re begging to have a nightmare. Instead, you’ll want to develop a very specific plan for your finished renovation or remodel. In addition to considering the structures involved, the appliances and other larger implications, you’ll also want to know smaller details like finishes, materials and colors — these will be very relevant to your budget, and they’ll be key to making sure your plans work with your home’s larger scheme.
The right tools for the job
When you know the different tasks you’ll have to complete, make a list of all the tools you will need to have on hand. Some items, like hammers, screwdrivers, crowbars, sledgehammers, levels, tape measures, and squares are likely to be used in the vast majority of projects, but other equipment like saws, vices and more like-scale equipment may be necessary in your situation. Once you have your list, visit a local hardware store to see what these tools will cost. In the case of some larger items, it might be more economical to rent the equipment for a one-time use.
Clothes
It’s sometimes tempting to thrown on a pair of old, worn clothes, and in some cases this might be adequate. But the process of completing a home remodel or renovation can face you with a variety of tasks, each presenting challenges in different ways. In some cases you’ll be working with dangerous equipment and will need to exercise caution. You’ll want to have the proper safety clothing on hand, and that means work coveralls, work boots, safety glasses, gloves and possibly hard hats as well.
Other important materials
It’s important to protect yourself from harm, but you also want to make sure your renovations don’t affect other parts of your home that you don’t plan to address. You’ll want to lay down tarps over your floors and possibly hang plastic coverings over doorways to keep fumes, smells and dust contained to one room. Painter’s tape can help you block off certain sections of rooms without ruining your walls. Think about the particular hazards that come with your renovation and take the necessary precautions.
With enough planning and preparation, even novices can pull off an impressive renovation to rival any professional job. Because you’re dealing with the high stakes of your home’s value, it’s always best to exercise caution to minimize mistakes. And with experience, these processes will become more familiar to you, and you’ll become more adept at managing the potential problems and steering the project toward a successful completion.