DIY Home Renovations Executed Like The Pros
DIY renovations can save you a lot of money or cost you extra if you’re not careful. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can render a lot of your materials useless by installing them incorrectly. Raw materials are expensive and should be used with care, if you make too many mistakes and pass a certain threshold, it would be cheaper to pay a pro to come and do it right.
Even if you don’t make any material wasting, disastrous mistakes, there are still other pitfalls, like time. A complicated DIY home reno could take twice as a long as a pro. One of the most off-putting aspects of home renos is the inconvenience of losing access to sections of your home, executing them yourself exacerbates that.
One problem that is seemingly unattainable is having your job look professional. Common wisdom would dictate that the professional’s experience allows them to build the right muscle memory and understand all the nuances that make a job look clean. There are ways to duplicate the polished look of the pros, as long as you follow certain techniques. Follow our tips on how to execute these common home renovations and have them look professional:
1) Painting
It’s very easy to tell the difference between a professional and DIY paint job. You’ll notice drip lines on the walls, drips on awkward, immovable pieces like toilet bowls and vanities, messy lines and painted hinges. To avoid these pitfalls of your DIY paint job, you will need cotton swabs, saran wrap, a hair dryer and petroleum jelly. Cotton swabs should always be on hand to quickly touch up any drips streaming down the wall as you go. Awkward, immovable pieces like toilets and vanities should be draped with saran wrap to avoid direct drips. When removing painters tape use a hair dryer to warm the tape up as you pull it off, to avoid cracking and uneven lines. Finally, put petroleum jelly on screws and hinges to serve as a barrier that can be wiped off after the paint is dry.
2) Kitchen Cabinets
Redoing your kitchen cabinets gives your kitchen a completely new facelift, but if done improperly, you will end up with eyesores like crooked cabinets and gaps between the cabinetry and the wall. If your cabinets have good bones and all you need is a facelift, it’s not necessary to tear down all your cabinets. Instead, unscrew all the doors and drawer covers and replace them with new ones. If you purchase the new ones from a big box store, they’ll have standard sizes and you’ll save a pretty penny.
3) Hardwood Flooring
If your hardwood flooring is worn out it’s very tempting to rip it out and have them redone. Redoing your floors as DIY project is as difficult as it sounds. You will likely end up with small gaps at the wall and an uneven walking surface. Pros understand all the nuances of installation from experience, duplicating that as an amateur is near impossible. Instead, sand down your current hardwood floors, stain them the color of your choice and seal them.
Looking for more DIY tips? Make sure you avoid these 5 common mistakes of DIY home design.