ARE YOU SOMEONE WHO LOVES A PHYSICAL CHALLENGE, WORKING WITH YOUR HANDS, AND LOVES THE CREATIVE PROCESS? This describes my daughter.
It started with a broken toilet hose in January. My daughter and her husband came home to a completely flooded upper floor and the water had quickly found its way to the main floor and to the basement through light fixtures and any conceivable crack it could find. This started a path of decision making, past simple replacement and repair to removing walls and repurposing reincarnates such as old barn board and recylced dressers for the base of a kitchen island and bathroom vanities.
An opportunity, they determined, to fix what was bothering them for so long about their home.
They both agreed if they did some of the work themselves it would make it affordable and be a practical way to stretch their budget.
I do not advocate that this is for everyone, but, in their case, it has taken them through first time lessons on laying tile, hardwood floors, space planning and innovation to a personal satisfaction of "Doing it themselves"!
Five "do it yourself" pieces of advice:
1. DETERMINE YOUR BUDGET (reality will determine the scope of your vision)
2. PLAN YOUR LAYOUTS ON PAPER (measure to account for traffic flow and electrical outlets)
3. DO RESEARCH ON PRODUCT PRICING ( recycled fixtures instead of brand new ones can save)
4. DETERMINE WHAT YOU CAN DO YOURSELF AND WHAT TO HIRE OUT (electrical)
5. BE REALISTIC ON HOW MUCH TIME IT WILL TAKE TO COMPLETE
I will post a few before and after pictures once they have completed their projects.
Good luck with a "DO IT YOURSELF" experience that can be the hardest thing you can undertake for the first time HOWEVER, it also has the potential to be the most satisfying kind of labor!
