How to strike a perfect mix of DIY and readymade elements during renovation

Renovating your house is a huge responsibility. You need to invest a lot of resources, time, and effort to pull it off. However, which bits should you look after yourself, and what must you hire professional work for? Striking the balance is pivotal to achieving the optimal use of resources and minimizing wastage. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

Know the price difference

Doing things yourself sounds like a lot of time and effort. And you’re right! But at the same time, you also get to save on resources. You only have to pay for the materials. A professional will add a sizable service fee to the cost of the materials. Plus, if you put things together on your own, the professional fee doesn’t feature on the budget! At the same time, a professional might give you a better finish. After all, this IS what they do for a living!

They also have more experience with renovations. And you can’t forget the fact that a professional can save you a lot of personal hassle. So you have to know your priorities. Unless you’re a pro yourself, this difference has to be considered. Cost and mental peace are the two factors that you must note when you decide on the DIY-professional work balance in your renovations.

Chalk out a plan

Now that you have thought things through, you can move on to the next step. To achieve the perfect DIY-readymade balance, you need to know the prospects of each. That means that you have to know exactly which elements you can work on yourself. Because obviously there are elements that you must hire a professional for. With some things, there are too many technical details that you can’t pay attention to unless you have been trained for this kind of work priorly.

So you should have your professionals in the loop too. If there’s something you are planning to do yourself, take your professional’s advice and let them know about your plans too. It always helps to have a professionally trained head working alongside you! Plus, they might be able to guide you as you decide on your DIY elements and your readymade, store-bought ones. For this, chalking out a plan of action is important. It will help to put things in order so that there is no confusion. Just a little step in the process of achieving the perfect DIY-readymade balance!

DIY the fixtures

Now, there are certain things that you can blindly rule out professional work for. Topping this list would be anything you affix to the walls or ceiling. So, say you want to remodel your living room or kitchen. For that, the first thing you want to do is review the shelves and wall cabinets. Now, this is something you can absolutely do on your own.

You don’t need professional help to simply attach something to the wall. The equipment you will need is also minimum. There is no reason to worry about getting it wrong because in most cases, the worst you can do is make a crooked fixture. That too, by the way, is easy to correct. This is something that you can absolutely DIY, without worry!

Do the lights yourself

The lights are, once again, something that you can definitely do yourself. In fact, this cuts out on a lot of costs. Plus, it will help you to maintain a certain aesthetic of your choice too. Getting the kind of lights you want yourself is going to be a sure shot at getting exactly the kind of lights that will complement your overall decor. Lights really can change everything, so make sure you pick them wisely! Working the light is generally a simple process that involves easy wire-to-wire connections at best. In most cases, all you might need to do is mount the lights or plug them in where you want them!

Find a professional for structural remodeling

It’s important that you get the fundamental design right. Naturally, hiring professionals for this is the best idea. For example, if you’re changing the entire layout of your house, that’s some heavyweight renovation. If you’re knocking down walls or restructuring them, there’s no doubt that you would need a professional to take care of all that for you.

Leave the plumbing and electricity to a pro

Plumbing and electrical connections are, once again, things for the pros. Of course, you might have sufficient knowledge about these things. But in general, the layman is very likely to not be aware of the ins and outs of the technicalities involved. Plus, these are the elements that set the very foundation of a building. These are the functionally basic amenities. So you ideally don’t want to risk messing it up by trying to do everything yourself. It’s best if you leave these fundamentals up to someone who is trained and experienced for this kind of work.

Get your items insured

Be it a DIY item or one that you bought drilling a hole in your pocket, protecting them is your responsibility— it would be best to get your furniture or other home items insured. Hence, make sure you have HO3 insurance policy, which often covers most of the expensive items in your home and offers you financial coverage in case they are lost, stolen or damaged. Therefore, getting your precious stuff insured is a great way of avoiding additional costs.

Conclusion

The decor you get for your own house, once again, should be according to your own tastes. Not only do you have a fair idea about what you want your home to look like, but you also know what kind of decor will complement a certain aesthetic. Aside from the fixtures and the lights, the decor you get for your house is also something that you can take the entire responsibility for. You could even put together pieces from scratch, especially if the raw material you’re using is some kind of wood! DIYing the interior decor of your house is a great way to save on financial resources, too.