Readers' best 100 remodeling tips - Doing It Yourself
Doing It Yourself
• Finish one project before you start another. In the middle of installing our new floors, my husband and his father built new cabinets in the dining room. So now we're trying to get the cabinets stained and the floors done and we're behind schedule on everything else because now nothing is completed. (Stephanie Buhler, Las Vegas)
• Make reciprocal agreements with your friends: I'll help you put new tile in your kitchen, and then you help me put new tile in my bath. (Mike Johnson)
• If doing it yourself, double the time you think it will take to do the job, then add a zero at the end. (Brent, Hawthorne)
• Painting parties can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to paint the interior of your new remodel. Do all the prep-work in advance. Then call some friends a few weeks in advance, order up some pizza or tacos, pick up some beer and turn up the stereo. (Stephanie Buhler, Las Vegas)
• Don't be too proud to hire out the tasks you really, really hate, such as plumbing, or tasks that take extra artistry, such as plastering or drywall taping. (KPR)
• Attend workshops at Lowe's or Home Depot to learn such tasks as tile setting. Watch videos from the library, or peruse the HGTV site for instructions. In the Information Age, there's no real reason to learn on your job by making mistakes others have already made. (KPR)
• Tackle a smaller project first (such as replacing the vanity in a bathroom, or building bookshelves) before tackling a larger project (such as a kitchen remodel). (KPR)
