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home renovations
We are looking to renovate our kitchen this coming spring, which also comes with moving walls and will change our living room as well. We will have a large sum of cash saved for this but until we get someone in to give us figures i am not sure if we will have it all. If we don't we will probably hold off till we have all the cash, but I wanted to get some of your thoughts...
I would like to start buying stuff as I see them on sale (windows, fans, lights, and other small stuff) we have plenty of room to store this stuff and I thought it might help us save some money if we do it this way. We will be doing some of the renovation our self but leaving the large stuff to the pros.Also my DH HATES shopping and looking at everything he wants to go once and just get the 1st thing he sees, so i thought braking it up would make it a little easier for him to deal with me wanting to look around for the best deal and what i like the most.
Do you think this is a good idea or should we just wait to buy everything at once?
Did you guys wait to have all the cash in hand or did you take some type of loan out?
we have never done a huge renovation and will be using people that are close friends and have done a large addition to dh's parents house so any other tips you ladies have would be greatly welcomed!
Re: home renovations
Hi our entire time as home owners has been one (mostly incomplete) renovation at a time.
We have little to no storage space so buying things and putting them away has not worked for us.
As for money, there are somethings we had $$$ for, somethings we charged (like no interest at home depot stuff). We have not taken out any loans for renovations.
if you have a old home like us, be prepared for surprises.
good luck.
I wouldn't buy anything until you have (at the very least) had your floorplan drafted and blueprints drawn. Unless you know where things need to go to be up to code, you could potentially waste money and time. Also, it would suck to buy 2 of something only to discover that you need more and they are no longer available.
I work at a kitchen and bathroom design showroom and as a good rule of thumb, you'd want to spend roughly 10% of your home's value on a kitchen remodel. (more if you plan to bust down walls or add on to the existing kitchen) Does everyone do this? No, but it's a good place to start when you're working on numbers. Like Sugar mentioned, you'll want to have money set aside for the surprises you'll inevitably discover along the way but that is the case in all renovations, not just older homes. A good way to save some money is by leaving plumbing and any gaslines where they are and just update/upgrade as needed. It's not always possible though.
Good luck on your renovations!
we are planning to keep everything where it is. i just have no clue what cabinets or anything else costs.
Oh good! To be honest, cabinetry costs what you want to spend. Cabinets for an average sized kitchen can cost $4000 or $40000 depending on what you choose. There are many many many options out there. Just make sure you buy something made in the USA out of actual wood. You'll be happy that you did in the long run.
FWIW, when we redid our kitchen we had the money on hand but knew we would get a better discount by opening a credit card with HD (where we got most of our stuff) and we paid it off with 0% interest.
I would NOT purchase stuff ahead of time.
A) its a total hassle to deal with returns
b) you might change your mind or what you originally picked might not fit/work
I had made a binder with all of the stuff I liked/wanted. I would shop around online and see where I could find the best prices (faucets, recessed lights, cabinets, etc.) I think you would be wise to spend your money on a few magazines- consumer reports for appliances, kitchen/living room design and decor.
That way when you find a contractor you can say I like this look, with this type of ____ and _____. If they are experienced they will usually yay or nay what you had in mind and will probably recommend a place/ person who will give you a good deal on what you want.