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Innovative Ways To Save Money When Renovating

Whether your renovating for an upcoming sale or just to make your life a little easier, no matter how you slice it, a home renovation is going to cost you. How much, however, is totally up to you.

You’ve got to do a little legwork when you’re looking to get more bang for your buck, and these few tips will help you along your way:

Head To The ReStore
If you haven’t heard of the ReStore, you’re missing out. Whether you are hiring a contractor or doing it yourself, you can seriously cut down on costs by buying your supplies from the ReStore. Run by Habitat for Humanity, the ReStore is a building supply store that resells quality new and gently used building supplies, appliances, and furniture, often donated by contractors. You can pick up materials at a reduced cost, usually at least 50% to 80% of the original value.

Find a ReStore in your area.

Scour The Classifieds
At any given time there are hundreds and thousands of people, just like you, at various stages of home renovations. Sometimes overzealous homeowners completely destroy their materials, but in rare circumstances, smart homeowners take their cabinets, flooring or other supplies and put them up for sale or offer them for free on classified sites like Craigslist and Kijiji. They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and in this case, one man’s discarded kitchen could be what saves you a few thousand dollars on your reno.

Do It Yourself
If you aren’t afraid of a little elbow grease, there are a lot of little (and big) things you can do yourself when you’re renovating. Tearing down plaster and drywall, installing laminate wood flooring, breaking up cabinets, painting, even applying a sealant to an asphalt driveway – these are all tasks you can conquer over a weekend. Not 100 percent on proper procedure? Not to worry – that’s what YouTube is for. You’ll find hundreds of tutorials for every task.

Rent The Equipment
Following along from the above tip, if you plan to do it yourself, you don’t need to fork out a ton of bucks on tools you may only use once or twice. Home Depot and other stores offer most tools for a reasonable daily rate – considerably cheaper than hiring a contractor to do the work for you.

A Little Help From Your Friends
Is there a better way to spend an afternoon than with a few good friends? Way back in the day, it was common for friends and families to come together and help each other build their own homes from the ground up. Don’t consider it free labour, but a labour of love! Invite them over for a pizza and a demo session. Demoing? Bill it as free therapy – an opportunity to work through some of those work-week demons. And remind them that you won’t mind returning the favour in kind when their turn roles around.

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