7 Ways To Save Money On Your Renovation Cost

[The_King]

Buying a house is a big purchase but for most of us, it is a planned purchase that we budgeted for. The cost that often throws us off our budgets is the subsequent renovation. Renovation costs can be highly variable with different quotations from different interior designers and contractors.

Depending on the size of our flat and whether it is a new or resale unit, average renovation costs can range from $40,000 to $80,000. This is not a small sum, and it is likely to be higher than usual due to the current construction manpower crunch.

For those of us planning to renovate our homes during this period, here are 7 ways to save money on your renovation cost.

 

Read Also: Guide To The Cost Of Renovating An HDB Flat In Singapore

#1 Minimise Hacking

For most of us, the conventional HDB layouts are functional, even if they are not the most aesthetic. As much as we may wish to have an open concept kitchen or expanded living/dining space, we may wish to reconsider major redesigns of the floor plan that would involve hacking of walls.

Hacking will involve paperwork submission for HDB approval (and additional time to get the approval), it also increases your cost. You would have to pay for the hacking works as well as the debris removal.

Assuming it costs about $1,000 to hack away the walls of a room and $300 for debris removal, this can easily add up in the overall renovation cost. It will also delay the completion as other works will have to be paused when hacking is in progress.

Read Also: 5 Things Homeowners Can Do During Renovations That Will Save Them Money Over The Long Term

#2 Consider Overlay Flooring

For many of us, the flooring choices of the previous owner (or the bare floors of a new BTO flat) aren’t ideal for our new home. However, instead of taking the more typical route of hacking away unwanted tiles, we can consider overlay flooring.

Today you can find many options for overlay flooring from tiles, laminates, engineered wood to vinyl. Overlay flooring options may be cheaper in some cases. For example, they may use veneers or thin layers of wood instead of solid wood, to create the same effect as wooden flooring.

While vinyl flooring had a poor reputation for being a lower quality material, the newer generations of vinyl flooring have improved both in material quality and design options that can mimic other materials.

By using overlay flooring, we can not only potentially save on the cost of the new flooring material, but we can also save on the cost of hacking and debris removal. However, do note that this option is only suitable if the existing flooring is stable (no popping tiles, water seepage issues, etc) and level.

#3 Reduce Built-Ins

Built-in carpentry lends itself to the feeling of customisation and many homeowners assume that it is a necessary or even value-enhancing renovation. However, freestanding furniture may actually be a better choice for many homes, as it gives flexibility as our homes change in purpose as we grow and age. For example, a home office today can be more easily converted to a future child’s bedroom if there isn’t much built-in carpentry in place.

Even for areas like kitchens and toilets, there are free-standing options that can look as good as built-in options. For instance, you can buy off-the-shelf bathroom vanities, even stainless-steel varieties, that can be easily installed instead of having a carpenter custom build one.

As carpentry tends to be one of the priciest items for a renovation, minimising the number of built-ins can save a substantial amount of money. You can also consider a mix of custom and off-the-shelf solutions whereby the contractor can fill in the gaps between your freestanding wardrobe or vanity to make it look flush and custom-built to the space.

Read Also: Should You Choose The HDB’s Optional Component Scheme (OCS) When You Buy A BTO Flat?

#4 Reuse Old Built-Ins

For resale flat buyers, we would have to tackle the issue of old built-ins that are undesired, such as dowdy wardrobes and kitchen cabinets. Instead of hacking them away, we can freshen up their look as long as the cabinets are still functional.

One way is to apply veneers to built-in cabinetry. Changing up the look of existing built-ins is easy with the wide variety of veneers available. You can easily switch up from Japandi wood veneers to slick modern glossy cabinet doors.

The material cost of veneers is much cheaper than fabricating new cabinets. We would only need to pay for the labour cost of the carpenter which we would be already paying for a new cabinet installation.

#5 Plan Wiring To Avoid Rewiring

An explosion of extension cables is never a good interior design concept, and most homeowners would take the opportunity of an renovation to add new power points and conceal wiring. With the abundance of tech devices and household electronics we use in our everyday lives, a poor wiring plan can be a headache that would be hard to solve later on.

While most interior designers would advise on placements for power point, switches and other wiring considerations, the onus is really on the homeowner to decide on the use of space and thus the need for wiring. A bedroom would have different wiring needs from a home office. An avid cook or baker would need a lot more power points in the kitchen compared to someone who rarely cooks at home.

While wiring may be adjusted later during the renovation process, it may be at a significant cost, especially if the wiring is concealed behind cabinetry or false walls or ceilings.

Read Also: 7 Little-Known HDB Renovation Guidelines That Singaporean Homeowners Should Know About

#6 Minimise False Ceilings

Many interior décor designs feature beautiful homes with nary a wire in sight, especially for the ceilings. This tends to create an impression that false ceilings are a necessary renovation expense for a beautiful home.

Design features, such as cove lighting and recessed lights, require false ceiling installation which can add up substantially depending on the size of the room. However, you can minimise the use of false walls or ceilings by embracing the look of exposed wiring.

Source: Pinterest

Industrial design styles tend to lend themselves better to using exposed wiring as a design feature. This can be done by using wiring to create a pattern or accent feature on the ceiling. Newer BTO flats may also come with pre-built lighting points in the ceiling which reduces the need to install a new false ceiling.

#7 Paint A Feature Wall

Another popular interior design idea is the feature wall. It is often used to create interest as well as conceal wiring for the TV.

Instead of building a false wall, many new TV sets already feature slick designs that won’t look out of place on a TV console. A good cable management box or system can also solve the issue of cable clutter without needing the expense of building a false wall. It is also more flexible if you have to change your layout or TV later on.

Source: Pinterest

To create interest, you can use paint which is a much cheaper option than building a false wall. Just search online for design inspiration and there would be many paint ideas that can be done by DIY or with the help of a professional.

 

 

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/7-ways-save-money-renovation-040054744.html

[Bigbird]

@The_King

For your new home, you meet how many of the above tips???

[The_King]

20 minutes ago, Bigbird said:

@The_King

For your new home, you meet how many of the above tips???

only 1 i need to do. cause i hack a bit. the rest i dont hv or not planning

[Bigbird]

On 12/13/2021 at 10:07 PM, The_King said:

only 1 i need to do. cause i hack a bit. the rest i dont hv or not planning

 

As long as u are comfortable. 

 

What about the flooring??   I also remember u changing your window to "heat reflective"?

[The_King]

38 minutes ago, Bigbird said:

 

As long as u are comfortable. 

 

What about the flooring??   I also remember u changing your window to "heat reflective"?

As long as money in wallet I will be very comfortable.

 

 

Flooring just normal homogeneous tiles and solar firm is buy from taobao to ownself diy