Hi there, it’s Ash and Matt, the @reno_rookies_ here again.
This month’s pearl of wisdom (cherish it, I don’t have many) is to give it a go. There is a lot to be done in a renovation and whilst it can be daunting, much of it can also be DIY’d. There is legitimately a YouTube video for everything these days, so whilst it might seem like you could potentially die, you probably won’t.
Let’s talk tiling. Tiles themselves are cheap. The tiler who lays them – not so cheap. Tiling isn’t dangerous, doesn’t require any special equipment (except for a tile cutter which you can buy for about 20 bucks from Bunnings), and can easily be fixed if you mess it up, so why not give it a go. I’m not saying it’s easy, if you’re not a pro you definitely need to take your time - re-measure and use your level after almost every tile. Keep taking a step back to monitor the overall quality of your work – but you will save yourself A LOT of money and you’ll feel a much bigger sense of achievement once it’s finished.
(The original kitchen with peach patterned tiles)
(A little YouTube and some DIY later)
The same goes for painting. It is awful, but you can do it. When it comes to painting outside, make sure you grab yourself some sample pots and have a look at the colour in different lights. We thought we had chosen the perfect exterior colour but ended up painting the entire house THREE TIMES before we found one that looked perfect in both full light and low light.
(Before)
(During)
(The finnished product!)
For the stuff you really can’t do yourself, try to at least do the demolition and rubbish disposal yourself. You could save up to half the cost of labour, plus, who doesn’t find it cathartic to take a sledgehammer to a heinous built in cabinet whilst imagining their boss’s face! Pro tip – hire a Croc Bag rather than a skip bin for the rubbish and save yourself even more money.
Next month, we will chat about where to spend that money you’ve worked so hard to save!