Mastering the Art of DIY

You don’t have to undergo a major home renovation in order to increase the value of your home. After all, hiring a contractor or a team of construction and design professionals is an undertaking all its own. Not to mention that renovations often run over budget, over time, and can cause mountains of headaches along the way.

If you don’t have the money, time, or the inclination to take on such a project, you can join the thousands of homeowners across the country who have been rolling up their sleeves, dusting off their toolbox, and heading to home improvement stores. DIY is an attractive option for those of us who may not be plumbers, carpenters, or electricians, but can follow instructions and want to keep much of our hard-earned cash in our wallets.

Even if you’re not the handiest homeowner out there, don’t let the phrase “do-it-yourself” scare you. A project can be as simple as painting a door or hanging a curtain. In fact, there are plenty of simple projects that you can undertake to increase your home value, and most of those don’t even require a tool belt.

What’s important to know about DIY is to start small and to not do anything too intimidating. It can be tempting to look at the TV shows, the Pinterest boards, the YouTube clips and the like and think that you can handle it – and if you can, more power to you! – but the last thing you want to happen is to decide you can tackle a bathroom renovation, power through the demolition of the tiles and the dismantling of the sink, and then be at a loss of how to put it all back together.

DIY should be approached like any other project, by looking at your budget, your time frame, and whether or not you have what you need to complete the job. That doesn’t necessarily just mean tools, but also whether or not your skill set is up to the task. If you’ve never laid flooring before, converting your entire living room from carpet to hard wood in a weekend might not be the best place to start. What are the stakes involved if you end up taking a wrong step? If you want to try a funky stencil on a wall, you can always paint over it if it doesn’t turn out right. If you want to or create some holiday décor to deck your halls, you can always trash it and start over again. Paving a walkway, on the other hand, would be a different story altogether, requiring a lot more time, equipment, and manual labor to do the job right.

And let’s not forget that doing the job right is imperative. While cosmetic DIY changes done wrong simply look unsightly, more intensive projects done improperly can cause a lot of damage and can be a danger to the inhabitants of the home, not to mention cost a lot of money to correct the issue. Improper plumbing, for example, can cost thousands of dollars in water damage. Improper wiring can be a fire hazard. Once you have a sledgehammer in your hand, removing a wall can seem like no big deal. But not paying attention to necessary load-bearing supports can compromise the structural integrity of a home.

Remember that DIY doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing endeavor. If you’re remodeling your bathroom, for example, you can always hire a plumber and/or contractor to deal with the plumbing and waterproofing of the bigger items, such as the shower, bathtub, and sink, while you handle more manageable tasks such as painting and installing fixtures. Small scale renovations can be just as satisfying as large-scale ones, and they can also increase your home value more than you might expect. And if you need a little guidance, don’t be afraid to ask for it! Employees at your closest home improvement store – whether it be an independent hardware store or a big box chain like Lowe’s or The Home Depot – are more than willing to share their expertise with you.

DIY improvements can give you even more of a sense of pride in your home and the work that you’ve done, with the added benefit of increasing the value of your home. Pick a project and dive right in – if you choose smartly, you’ll be happy that you gave it a shot.

You can increase the value of your home too with these easy home improvement ideas. Great ideas that won't break the bank!

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