Comments on: Where To ACTUALLY Save Money During A Renovation/Build

By: Alix

Alix — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 21:50:47 +0000

Great, common-sense advice. I think far too many people want it all and want it right now. If you’re budget is unlimited, go for it. But for the rest of us in the real world… does having a frameless glass showerscreen TODAY make you a better person? I don’t think so. Patience and compromise are a good way to get through a reno.

By: Jess

Jess — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 03:33:16 +0000

Thanks for having this conversation!! I feel like I never really see or hear about this — saving and making due with what you have until you can afford what you want—in a lot of the DIY/design sphere. I have an older house we are very slowly trying to update and don’t currently have the budget to make it all that I know it could be. I think this is an awesome post to really get my wants/needs prioritized. Thanks!!

By: Kate Hollingsworth

Kate Hollingsworth — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 23:04:02 +0000

Great tips Mandi! We’ve done a ton of renovations over the years and the best place I’ve found to save money is labor. The more you can DIY the more money you’ll save. I realize not everybody can DIY everything (electrical is my limit – I won’t touch anything involving electricity) but if time isn’t a constraint then it’s totally worth learning how to do things yourself. On our current house we’ve saved tens of thousands by doing our own flooring, painting, built ins, tiling, etc. xx

By: carswell

carswell — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 17:13:14 +0000

I did a gut/reno when I built my house. I can identify completely with the need/want/make do compromises. My ex worked with our contractor full time to reduce our costs and we both did a lot of grunt work during the gutting/building phase.

I lived with shower curtains in my master bath for literally years because I couldn’t make a couple of decisions about other things. I always intended to have a glass wall – which I do now – and it was worth the wait, but those clear plastic shower curtains worked just fine and weren’t completely ugly in the meantime.

I’m now at the 20 years in point (how did that happen?) and am starting make some changes from my original choices (updating some stuff in the kitchen and the like) but I’m happy to say the things I wish I would have done differently is still surprisingly short.