Home Remodeling Cost Saving Methods

Put in Personal Sweat Equity

In addition to having a good set of home remodeling plans and a checklist there are a number of other ways to obtain home remodeling cost savings, starting with personal sweat equity. Even a novice do it yourself homeowner can quickly learn to paint. And with a little bit of research, self confidence and a few basic carpentry tools there are a number of other tasks a homeowner can do to achieve meaningful home remodeling cost savings.

Other skills and tasks homeowners can fairly easily pick up and do themselves include hanging closet shelving, installing baseboard, door and window trim and mounting bathroom towel and toilet paper racks. And for the more skilled or daring do it yourself homeowner tasks such as insulating and installing wood floors is even possible. All of these types of tasks can yield significant home remodeling cost savings. Besides saving labor costs you also save on the 20-50% material markups that contractors charge for ordering and getting the material delivered to your job site.

Use Remnant Flooring Materials for Home Remodeling Cost Savings

Another way to achieve significant home remodeling cost savings is to use remnant flooring materials. Often carpet suppliers have remnant carpet pieces that are large enough to cover a small to medium sized bedroom.

You can save dramatically by using remnant carpet as carpet dealers are more than happy to offer a major discount on it rather than scraping it all together for zero revenue. Likewise, wood flooring suppliers often have left over stock that they plan to no longer carry that you can get good deals on.

Ask for Contractor Discounts When buying lumber material check with the contractors desk. If you are planning to buy a large supply of lumber for a home construction project they may just offer you a contractor discount. Contractor discounts are often 10% or more, which can translate into significant home remodeling cost savings for you. In addition, whenever possible use local home improvement centers for ordering materials. The closer they are to your jobsite the lower the material delivery costs. Act as Your Own General Contractor For many larger home remodeling projects a general contractor is hired for doing some of the work, but also for hiring and coordinating the subcontractors.

General contractor costs for just their oversight and coordination activities can add up to 25-30% of the total home remodeling budget. If you think you have the management skills and the time to hire and coordinate the subcontractors then consider cutting out the general contractor middleman for some serious home remodeling cost savings. Be forewarned though that managing subcontractors is akin to herding cats and catering to movie stars. Managing subcontractors is much about having the right personality. If your personality is a cross between a pit bull and a perfectionist than you’re probably a good fit for acting as a general contractor.

To conclude, with proper planning and attention to detail, some willingness to put in some personal sweat equity, and negotiating with home remodeling suppliers and contractors you can achieve significant home remodeling cost savings.