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Home Remodeling Cost Saving Methods
How to Save on Home Remodeling Costs
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Home remodeling cost savings is much
about planning and paying attention to details. This said, the first and
foremost important thing you can do for home remodeling cost savings is to
generate a detailed set of home remodeling plans and a checklist. The home
remodeling plans should include all the necessary information for obtaining home
remodeling contractor quotes and for pulling building permits. In addition, it
should also include a detailed cost breakdown for all the various phases of the
home remodeling project, including a comprehensive material lists.
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The home remodeling checklist should
effectively map out a detailed set of plans and schedule of activities for the
home remodeling project.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Push Back on
Initial Contractor Price Quotes
Regardless if you are hiring a general contractor or going to act as your own
general contractor, always carefully evaluate each home remodeling contractor
bid and push back on the initial price quotes. In many cases the contractors are
testing you to see how much you’re willing to pay. Also, don’t necessarily go
with the lowest bid, at least not without fully understanding the materials they
plan on using and conducting a thorough reference and background check first.
Sometimes the lowest bid results in the least home remodeling cost savings.
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Photo by Mark Donovan |
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.
More Information on How to Hire a Contractor and Manage a Home Remodeling
Project
If want more information on how to hire home remodeling contractors see my
Home
Addition Bid Sheets. Besides helping you find the best home remodeling
contractor for your project, they also include an invaluable checklist tool and
information on managing a home remodeling project. In addition, for larger home
remodeling projects, each bid sheet includes a separate home remodeling cost
breakdown spreadsheet, in Microsoft Excel format, for estimating and managing
your own home remodeling costs.
How to Finance your Room Addition Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required.
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Additional Home and Room Addition Resources from Amazon.com
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