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House renovations can be the key to gradually building your existing home into your dream home. With a bit of effort and spending money, the opportunities to improve your house are endless.
When people have decided to go ahead with home renovation, many find themselves in the position of wondering where to start. Things like knowing your home renovation costs, developing a renovation budget and taking into account the right considerations along the way can be difficult, especially if this is your first reno project.
In this article, we’ll outline how you can spend smart on renovations to maximise your property’s potential! Topics we’ll go over include:
How Much Will The Renovations Add?
Renovation Projects That Will Cost Less
Top Tips For Maximising Your Renovation Budget
Let’s dive in!
Before you start, it’s important to get clear on why you’re renovating - is it for comfort in your own home, or to add value to the property so you can rent it out or sell it? Things like a bedroom refit, redecorating or re-carpeting are great options to breathe new life into your living space, but larger jobs like kitchen renovation and bathroom renovation or installing insulation will add real value to the property if you are looking to renovate to boost your homes resale value.
First things first - you have to do some research on how much value your renovations will actually add to your property. Make a house renovation checklist, draw up a budget and see if your findings will be worth the investment in the long run.
Before making your renovations, you should assess how much value the renovations will add to your house. Will it add more value than the actual cost of making the renovation? If the answer is no, then you might want to reconsider making the renovation.
Certain renovations will also add more value than others. Things like bedrooms and outdoor renovations won’t add too much to the property, whereas kitchen renovations and bathroom renovations will add significant value.
This is the part where you crunch the numbers, with your preferred renovation in mind. How much investment vs. return are you looking to see? Is the goal to keep living in the property, or rent/sell after the renovations are complete? You should factor all this into your cost analysis.
Not all projects will make a great financial return, but some are still worth it if you plan on living there in the medium to long term - maintenance, roofing, adding square footage or updating insulation and flooring all help make your home more comfortable - meaning you’ll enjoy the benefits of the upgrades while you’re there.
If you think you still need help getting your reno goals in order, check out this guide on tips for making a renovation plan.
Setting a budget is the start of your renovation project. This is the part where you’re going to have to get realistic with your expectations and analyse just how much you can spend on what.
Here, work out what your maximum spend is to avoid over-capitalising on your property. There’s nothing worse than getting halfway through a renovation and realising you have run out of money and can’t afford to complete it in the way you had planned.
Think about the age of your house and the cost of getting it up to code - especially if you plan to re-sell it. There may be unexpected costs involved with older properties. Any renovations you plan for your property will also have to comply with the building code, so it pays to not skip corners when it comes to doing things properly.
Know the importance of having cash flow for paying contractors on time - you may have worked out that your income can support renovations, but it’s important to line up the days you get paid with the days that your contractors will invoice you. Paying tradies on time is super important for your working relationship, you don’t want to get caught out!
Budget for the unexpected. As mentioned earlier, this is especially relevant when working on older houses.
There are several great tools online that can help you make a budget for your renovations. Click here to access a free cost estimator, or here for a general quiz to find out if you’re financially ready to renovate.
Experiencing a budget blow-out is a common symptom of not planning a renovation properly. Expectations, budget and a timeline should all be completed before you start. You’ll want to avoid blow-outs when starting a renovation by any means necessary.
Here, we’ll outline three of the most costly renovation jobs that you can do. Bear in mind, these jobs will also give you a great return on investment if you decide to rent out your house or even sell.
The bathroom, by its nature, often contains lots of utilities and appliances. Bathroom renovations will end up costing more than the average room in your house, so budget accordingly. A mid-size new bathroom in New Zealand will likely cost around $30,000 - $50,000. You can always cut down on costs by trying your hand at DIY bathroom renovations like laying vinyl or doing some of the demolition work like removing floor tiles yourself.
In the same way as bathrooms, kitchen makeovers have a lot going on utility-wise, which makes them a lot more expensive than other parts of the house. Expect a lower cost of $10,000 for smaller kitchens, and anywhere up to $100,000+ for larger kitchen areas. These costs vary, so make sure to get a professional to quote you the cost before you start the project. Click here for more kitchen renovation tips.
Adding more square meters to your property is often a costly venture, but one that could see a handsome return if you decide to sell or rent out. Adding an extension to your home or an extra bedroom can be more affordable, whereas adding an extra bathroom may set you back more. Adding the utilities, insulation and infrastructure to a new part of the house is never cheap, but can lift your property value significantly. Be sure to take into consideration the size and scale of your extension, and look into the relevant building consents and permits needed to take on these types of projects.
Just as the parts of the house with more going on infrastructure-wise will cost you more to renovate, other parts of the house are less costly. Read below about these and consider them in your next reno.
A bedroom refresh can often be achieved with a smaller budget - things like painting, updating flooring, swapping out fixtures and updating lighting can make a big impact and can be achieved on a lower budget.
While landscaping may seem like a big job, it’s actually very efficient when it comes to cost and will add great kerb appeal to your property. Check out our lawn & garden hub for expert tips and advice.
Things that revive your outdoor spaces will add to your enjoyment of living in the property and are also fairly cost-effective. Consider something like a new deck, path or patio for your next renovation. You can now build certain structures up to 30sqm such as a garage or sleepout without a building consent, so these are worth considering if you have a larger property.
Laundry renovations are usually cheaper because the laundry space is often smaller. Laying new lino, repainting the walls and even upgrading your laundry machines is often cheaper than renovating other parts of the house.
Here, we’ll go over a few things you can do to maximise the value of your renovation budget. Everyone likes seeing a good return on investment, and we hope these tips will help you save on your project.
There are a surprising number of jobs you can do yourself. From demolition and removing walls or wallpaper, flooring or excavating your back yard, putting in insulation and even re-lining ceilings and rooms. Save your precious dollars by hiring the equipment you need from Hirepool. If you’re stuck on a particular job, no need to worry as we have plenty of handy guides on our blog which can help you with all of the necessary renovation jobs.
Ask around! Often different tradies and home improvement companies will charge slightly different amounts for the same job. By asking around you’ll not only get the best price, but you’ll also have the leverage to negotiate down on your preferred company.
There’s nothing wrong with getting the professionals in, especially for work that needs to be done to code. This might include electrical and plumbing work, insulation or earthquake strengthening. Bear in mind that mistakes here could cost you more if not done right. If you think you’ll need help finding a certified builder, check out this link to find someone that’s perfect for your job.
Leave a healthy buffer in your budget for the unexpected things that pop up when renovating. This could include damage to infrastructure, increased jobs list due to code specifications or discovering some out of sight issue with your property that needs fixing.
When renovating your house, it’s okay to reuse resources, salvage second-hand materials or look for used fittings such as doors, windows and appliances that might fit the age and style of your property. Check out second-hand stores, Trademe, recycled material sellers and even local Facebook groups.
Thinking about a renovation job at your house? Get in touch with your local Hirepool branch to chat about your next job and hire all the gear you need to make your DIY easy and cost-effective. If you need advice on the tools you’ll need for your next reno, the Hirepool team are always happy to offer guidance, give them a call or order gear online now.
