How to get more – for less
Home renovations – even major structural projects like adding a second storey or ground floor extensions – don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Many of our customers have big dreams but small budgets so over the years we’ve become pretty good at identifying ‘bang-for-buck’ opportunities and delivering cost effective solutions.
In this article we’ll take a look at some of the things you can do yourself to reduce the cost of your renovations, and show you some great options for adding first floor additions on a budget.
What can you do to reduce your costs?
DIY
Are you able to handle some elements of the project yourself? The more you can do yourself, the more you’ll save. Be sure you can complete the work you undertake before the next stage commences, you don’t want to cost yourself time and money by re-doing substandard work and putting your schedule behind.
Don’t get over-excited with the mallet if you’re not sure which walls are load bearing. Maybe you’re a dab hand with a sander and a paint brush or you’ve conquered curtains previously? Perhaps you could plan a post-renovation party (aka a working bee) and your mates can help with the rubbish removal before they get fed and watered.
But be over-cautious and do your research, as they say ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail.’ Check out the DIY portal on HomeDesignDirectory.com.au for advice. It features a wealth of information which will either give you the confidence to undertake certain elements of your build or learn that you’d bite off more than you can chew…or finish!
Buy off the peg
Don’t go overboard with bespoke furniture or fittings. When it comes to doors, windows and storage systems, especially in kitchens and bathrooms, familiarise yourself with stock sizes and buy off the peg. Being prepared to go flat-pack for your cupboard carcasses will save you hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars.
Be sure to specify exactly the products that you want to use when discussing the project with your builder. Tradespeople aren’t mind readers and their idea of what will suffice may be very different to yours. Avoid the cost, both time and money, of ripping out something you hadn’t specified but now find you can’t live with by making your aesthetic choices early on and making sure you communicate your decisions to the people who’ll be doing the work.
Go recycled
Another way to minimise cost is to tap into the recycled, reclaimed and the refurbished market. eBay, Gumtree and Grays Online are useful sites to keep an eye on, as is your local paper and demolition yard. If this appeals to you, be sure to source the materials well before the work commences, otherwise you may face the prospect of not having the items when they’re needed and you may inadvertently cost yourself more money by having to source alternatives at short notice which could affect your timeline and of course, your budget’s bottom line.
Make sure any reclaimed items will withstand the rigours of time and weather – that federation window may look great until the builder discovers it falls apart upon installation due to dry rot!
Sell sell sell!
Alternately, you could raise some additional funds by selling any items being replaced in the renovation. You may not have the inclination to buy second-hand yourself, but it does appeal to many home renovators so this avenue can be a clever way to bump up the balance sheet. Again, eBay, Gumtree and your local press are the places to start.
Also consider holding a garage sale. It’s the perfect way to streamline what you’ll need to store during the process. You may not make big bucks but you just might find yourself with that little extra in the kitty for when a splurge situation comes along.
Moving On Up
Henry Ford revolutionised car manufacture by standardising production on a production line. We’re not saying we’ve done the same for home additions, but the idea of standardisation is simple – design and build to standard specs to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
In response to our budget-conscious customers’ needs, we developed our Classic Design and Construction range that gives home owners a choice of four standardised designs, at a significantly lower cost than a custom-designed addition.
The designs you see below cater for the needs of many Sydney families. Best of all, they have been specifically designed to take advantage of the Housing Code for Complying Development so if your current house and land meet certain criteria we can obtain approval within 10 days of submission.
The low cost of the additions below might surprise you – to find out what it would cost to add one to your home, call us on (02) 8765 1555.
A few more money saving ideas:
- Do you really need that many more square metres or would increased efficiency and storage improve your situation?
- Do you need two bathrooms in your new upstairs addition? If you already have one bathroom downstairs, that makes three in total (that’s a lot of cleaning on the weekend!). Maybe one bathroom upstairs will be sufficient.
- Maybe you can bring more natural light into the space by installing a solar tube or skylight, instead of installing costly bi-folds.
- When it comes to renovating a kitchen or bathroom, is it possible to keep sinks and toilets in the same place? Moving plumbing around can get very costly, very quickly.
- Investigate whether the price of pre-finished materials such as primed and painted weatherboards, decking boards and skirtings would work for you, the upfront investment might off-set an expensive paint job at the build’s completion.
Got another money-saving tip for renovators? Let us know by posting a comment below!
