Edmonton Real Estate Blog

These days everyone’s on a budget, so we’ve come up with some inexpensive ideas on how you can remodel your kitchen, bath, or living room for under $1000

Bathroom

If you do the work yourself, remodeling your bathroom doesn’t have to be that expensive. Some projects, like painting, are not difficult to tackle while others, such as tiling a floor, require more expertise.

Here are some of the most common bathroom upgrades with approximate DIY prices:

• Paint walls and trim ($75)
• Replace bathroom accessories ($100)
• Install new sink faucet ($100)
• Replace sink and vanity ($400)
• Tile floor ($225)

When tiling a floor, be sure to buy 10-15% extra for waste so you’ll have plenty of tile to finish the job.

Living Room

Most renovation efforts in living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms involve painting, window treatments, ceiling light fixtures, and replacing the flooring, all of which can make great DIY projects.

For those on a budget, the least expensive flooring to install is either carpet or laminate flooring at about $2 per square foot. Though more expensive than carpet, laminate flooring makes a great do-it-yourself project while installing carpet often requires professional installation. Replacing the light fixture in the ceiling with either a new model or a ceiling fan is the perfect way to finish out the room.

Here’s approximately what it will cost to remodel your living room:

• Paint ($150)
• Window treatment ($50)
• Ceiling fan or light fixture ($100)
• Carpet or laminate flooring ($700)

Kitchen

A minor kitchen remodel is another great homeowner project that has a high rate of return on your investment should you decide to sell your house.

Start with a fresh coat of paint on the walls and cabinets. The kitchen receives a lot of traffic, so a kitchen and bath enamel is the best choice, since it holds up to repeated cleanings. The key to painting in the kitchen is to thoroughly clean the surfaces of any grease or grime before painting. You should also lightly sand or apply a liquid deglosser to cabinets before painting to improve adhesion.

Next, consider updating the knobs, handles, and hinges on your kitchen cabinets with new ones. Take your old hardware with you to home improvement center so you can match the size and holes to the new hardware.

A kitchen floor also take a lot of abuse, so replacing it may be high on your priority list. Ceramic tile is the obvious choice, with prices between $1 to $2 per square foot for materials if you do the work yourself.

If you have any money left over, consider replacing your countertops. There are a number of inexpensive choices available including plastic laminate and solid surface.

Here are the approximate costs to remodel the kitchen in your house:

• Paint walls and cabinets ($300)
• Hardware for cabinets ($100)
• Tile floor ($340)
• Replace countertops ($400-$800)

If you budget carefully and do the work yourself, you can make big improvements to every room in your house without spending a fortune.

Source: www.DannyLipford.com

Tags: getting ready to sell, Home improvements, Home maintenance