DIY Home Renovation Projects that Will Cost You More than Hiring a Professional

During this lockdown period, are you having renovation design ideas for your home in Singapore? Maybe you want to update your bathroom, refurbish your floor or finish out a spare room? As enthusiastic as you are right now, do not forget that it is also important to think about the steps required to plan, execute and complete the project.

While homeowners typically take on DIY projects to save money, it turns out that many of them are breaking their fixer-upper budgets and spending much more than they planned, and the homeowners who went over budget, spent more than planned. Good money that could have just gone with hiring an interior designer company in Singapore.

Here are examples of DIY projects that could actually just cost you more.

1. Bathrooms

Bathrooms can frequently be affected by the “Pinterest Diet”, in which homeowners begin shopping around and decide they must have what they see on imageboards. This can turn stock vanities into custom built pieces, simple tile into intricate designs, and solid walls into glass.

People get really excited when picking out items for the bathroom. It is fun for them to do a brief walkthrough in a home improvement store and establish their budgets based on the products they see in the store. But then, it is advisable to just go home, do more research, and decide to start swapping out light fixtures, sinks, etc. because if not, you would find your overall total expenses surprising, simply because you saw a Pinterest renovation idea and wanted to do it on your own.

2. New appliances

Shopping for appliances can be fun, and a newly remodeled kitchen, or updated range, oven, and fridge can all make an old kitchen feel like new, but if you are buying with the renovation illusion that you would save money on energy or because you think they would automatically boost your home’s value, you are probably wasting your money. Of course, if you are buying new appliances because you want them and can afford them, then go for it! But if you think there is going to be a quick return on your investment, by simply increasing or updating your appliances, then that is not the case.

3. Roof

Your roof could be hiding numerous problems. It is hard to guess what is hiding under your roof, that is why roofing renovation projects tend to go over budget. If water has been leaking through, there could be a lot of plywood to replace. Improperly installed crickets can lead to water getting behind chimneys. Roofs become expensive when they become framing jobs.

Also, this is another case in which DIY efforts may be counterproductive. Homeowners first try to complete the job themselves until they quickly realise that they did not have the knowledge or the proper tools  to finish the job, and needed to bring in professional interior renovation service in Singapore.

4. Personal permanent changes

While we generally advocate making changes to your home if you want them and know you would enjoy them, there is something to be said for avoiding extremely personal, expensive alterations that will be costly to reverse, make your home difficult to sell if you ever need to, and that you cannot take with you if you move.

We mentioned some of specific renovations before, like adding in a pool or converting a bedroom into something difficult to turn back into a bedroom. The same rule applies to other personal additions, like a massive aquarium, space-eating permanent storage, or extremely colorful and splashy kitchen or bathroom remodels. They may all be fun, but they can also be really expensive for little utility or payoff. If you can do it on the cheap to suit your needs and then change it back when you leave, by all means go for it.

Do not start on a project in a whim

A successful remodel should create a functional, aesthetically pleasing living space that will last for years. Avoiding costly mistakes, knowing the market value of your supposed projects and selecting a reliable interior designer in Singapore would contribute to success. There are plenty of home improvements and maintenance projects worth doing, so make sure you’re not throwing your money away.