Important Home Improvement Projects that You Can Do Yourself
Are you looking to give your home a fresh, new look? Are you looking for some ways to do that without spending a fortune on materials, labor, and contractor costs? There are plenty of options when it comes to things you can do yourself that will give your home an immediate facelift. Obviously, there are some tasks you’ll want to have a professional do, but everything doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
Bathroom Makeover
It’s not only possible but easy to give your bathroom a new look without having to bring in a certified plumber. As long as you’re not wanting to change the layout of the bathroom by relocating showers, sinks, and toilets, the bathroom is a great spot to start for a DIY enthusiast. Generally, they’re one of the smaller rooms in your home so you won’t be overwhelmed by trying to revamp a large space.
You can land some great new countertops for bathroom vanities for very affordable prices. If you can land a cheap one that isn’t the color you’re looking for, a can of spray paint (to avoid brush marks) will do the trick. My wife and I love looking for mirrors and other accent pieces at yard sales that I use in my contractor business all the time. Most of these items can be cleaned up and updated cheap and ready to use in a client’s home. Round up all of your supplies (NEVER start a room makeover until you have everything that you’re going to use), start taking out one item at a time, repair any damage to walls, and install your new finds.
By the time you install your new bathroom fixtures (vanity, mirror, faucets, etc…), you will have about 2 days invested and can get by with spending less than $400!
Light Fixtures
I’ll never forget the day my wife and I closed on the home we now live in. It had everything we were looking for as far as layout, square footage, and location, but she absolutely hated the Brady Bunch-esque light fixtures that were in literally every single room. Of course, we wanted to put some paint on the walls to make it our own, but the only major change we needed to make were the light fixtures. I’m fully aware that retro-style has made a huge comeback in the last few years, but it just isn’t my style at all.
Track lighting provides a much more modern look and affords you the ability to put the lighting wherever you want in any room. The best part? You don’t need a contractor to handle this quick, easy upgrade for you. The price of track lighting has dropped significantly in recent years, and most newer models are made to run on standard home electrical capabilities. Standard track light bars come in 4 or 8-foot-long sections, so all you have to do is decide where you want to install your new lighting, connect to any existing junction box in the ceiling, and choose between spotlights and pendants, and install it yourself.
Light fixtures can make an immediate upgrade to any room in your house in both style and practicality. You can find track light systems at any home improvement store and online for between $150 and $200.
Sealing Your Own Countertops
Odds are, if you’re looking for DIY home improvements, it’s because you’re trying to upgrade on a budget. There are some areas where we always recommend you call in a trained (and insured) professional, but there are even steps of that process that you can complete yourself. I always encourage clients to allow a professional to handle really complex jobs like installing granite countertops in the kitchen because the surface area is so large and there are a lot of corners and fixtures that have to be accounted for, but installing the granite isn’t the last step in the process.
Remember, when doing room makeovers, every dollar counts! Granite countertops have to be sealed after they are installed to ensure that the granite doesn’t absorb water and oils used during food preparation. You can pick up a sealant at any hardware store; it’s just important that you find one specifically designated for use on natural stone (it will say that on the label).
Applying the sealant is incredibly simple. Clean the granite surface and let it sit for about 24 hours (you can use special stone cleaner or water and dish soap), spray the surface with your sealant (I generally encourage people to start in a small corner) and rub in the sealer with a clean, linen-free cloth. Most types of sealants encourage you to apply two coats but, you can usually tell if you need to after about 20 minutes.
No matter how many coats you need to apply, wait 15-20 minutes after the last coat then wipe the entire surface with another clean, linen-free cloth. This will prevent an ugly haze that can sometimes appear on the granite.
There are certainly some tasks you’ll want to bring a contractor in to handle for you, but there are plenty of options for you if you’re looking to make some improvements in your home on your own.
Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs.
