DIY renovations??

Hi, I’ve seen monay people mention on here that doing as much of a renovation yourself as you can, can save lots of money.  As I’m considering a house I’ve just seen that needs lots of work — and I’ll be looking at it with a professional because who would go on my say-so? not me! – I’m wondering what sorts of things a NOT so handy girl can do herself to move things along?   So far I’ve come up with:  pull the old flooring up; re-paint ugly paneling and kitchen cabinets white. Any other thigs someone without lots of construction know-how could do to help her cause?  I am quite crafty, though I have no construction skills.  EG I’ve made elaborate tile mosaic art, though never tiled a backsplash.  is that something i might be able to accomplish? Thanks for your thoughts, you many experienced renovators, architects, and contractors, and enthusiasts!

elm_bk

in Brownstoner Renovation 13 years and 5 months ago

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callalily | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Agree with BHS. Find a finish carpenter who is a contractor. If you don’t have construction experience, stick with decorating such as painting, stripping, small tile projects (entry, backsplash, hearth), wallpaper, etc. Had we NOT gone the DIY route we would have saved $5,000 to $20,000, lots of time, and moved into a finished house rather than living in a construction site for years.

BHS | 13 years and 5 months ago

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nobody cares for your house the way you do, but that’s where taking the time to interview, back-ground- and reference-check and hire great people and overseeing their work comes in. The demo team your GC hires will most likely be guys, that’s why I said guys, though I would certainly be in favor of hiring a team of strong women. I (female) wanted to do a lot fo this work myself but as I mentioned, one person with a day job isnt able to get much done. The idea of a demo party is rediculous. I had a bunch of friends come over to help me paint 2 rooms (primer only) and they didn’t get through more than a fraction of it during a weekend and needed a LOT of coaching and of course all the materials and tools aready on site. For me, without a van, tools, and more than two hands it was extremely limited what I could acomplish myself. I’ve hauled a ton of trash to the curb, refinished doors, stripped a lot fo paint, painted several cabinet units, and done tons of wall painting and paint prep, but it’s taken me more than 2 years. Even an experienced couple renovating full time could spend 5-10 years working on a house if it was just the two of them, and that’s assuming they had the trade skills required, not to mention a way to get materials to the site, etc.

rh | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Yeah Mopar, stop being such a Debbie Downer. Not for nothing, but it sounds like you weren’t meant for DIY. When we hire contractors, we are never satisfied and end up fixing their work plenty of times. That’s high end as well as low end. Bottom line is, nobody is going to care for your house the way you do.

callalily | 13 years and 5 months ago

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DIY is overrated unless you have endless amounts of spare time, e.g. you do not work, and/or you have prior construction experience and know-how. The whole idea of going slow and doing it yourself is a myth. I mean, you can do your own decorating. You cannot do your own construction, not even skim coating, unless maybe it’s in a little closet somewhere. All we ended up doing was delaying, screwing things up, and laying down pink paper and cleaning over and over and over again…. What a waste. Though I guess Door Sixteen does somewhat prove me wrong. Maybe I just need a better iron supplement?

callalily | 13 years and 5 months ago

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In retrospect, I recommend paying someone up front to do everything. You can handle the painting. Unless you don’t work for a living.

northofditmas | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Ripping up a few things and painting cabinets will cover less than 1% of the work that will happen.  By all means enjoy doing it but it won’t hurry anything up.  If you want to make a contractor’s life easier, do lot of demolition and fill a 20yd dumpster to the top with debris.  There’s nothing easier than starting from studs with the demo mess out of the way.

rh | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Hmm, slightly disagree with the above posts. A team of PEOPLE is better than doing it yourself. It doesn’t necessarily have to be GUYS, but y’all should be strong. Rent a dumpster and have a demo party. Buy your friends some pizza and beer and take the weekend to do it. You may want to try to recycle what you can. If you’re pulling up wide plank and taking down molding, this could be salvaged, so do so carefully. It sounds like you have experience in tiling. That was actually one of the first things I picked up (after painting) and I found it to be pretty easy. On the cabinets and wall paneling….just make sure to sand and prime properly before painting. You’ll be fine. Buy yourself that big orange Home Depot book. 🙂

wyckoff | 13 years and 5 months ago

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Agree with bhs.  Stick to the painting & finishing work.  A team of guys can rip up your old floors in a couple of hours – it could take you weeks.  You’d be surprised how low the incremental cost is of the hard labor.

BHS | 13 years and 5 months ago

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You should target managing the general contractor and doing some cosmetic things yourself, as long as they will not hold up the reno parts that you are paying others to do. What I discovered through my own reno was that it was much more efficient to have most of the demo (wallpaper removal, carpet removal, junk hauling, linoleum removal) done by a crew of strong guys. While this was a catagory of work I could technically do myself, it would have taken an eternity as a single person, especially working in poorly lit, dirty, and unheated conditions at night and on weekends. Painting cabinets is exactly the type of thing you should be thinking of. However, your management of the GC and oversight of the work done by his crew will be the most important thing you can do and the fact that you are handy and willing to get your hands dirty will make you good at this.