Home Improvement Heroes

Every home needs one – a home improvement hero who can fly in with his magic toolbox and fix all the things that can go wrong in the home.

From plumbing to plastering, from tiling to turfing, it takes a range of skills to remodel a home. Even the simplest of tasks can prove a challenge for the unskilled DIY-er.

A recent survey revealed that there are a few things that have blown people’s budgets when undertaking home improvement tasks.

For the bigger home improvement tasks, like extensions, 59% of the contractors surveyed said that altering plans during construction is the biggest, mostly costly mistake people make. The key to success is to work through the detail of the job before any contractors are employed and involve contractors in the initial brief so they can be your personal home improvement heroes and help point out any potential pitfalls.

Accredited contractors and those already used by family and friends are key to ensuring that a job will get completed and finished to perfection.  And don’t forget to negotiate on price – if you don’t ask you won’t get.

But the real Home Improvement Heroes are the self-trained, do-it-yourselfers that just have a knack for DIY…it could be your dad, your partner, your sister or even the neighbour down the road. These people – once found – are to be cherished forever. These are the people that can sand a floor in a weekend, tile an en-suite in the blink of an eye or even fix a boiler on the blink. And, of course, are often on hand at weekend and at ‘family rates.’

Once you’ve found your own Home Improvement Hero, it’s essential to maximise on their skills but also upskill your own armoury of DIY dos and don’ts. There are a huge amount of ‘how to’ videos on YouTube which can help sort the simplest of DIY jobs and complete with step by step instructions provide a handy guide to home improvement bliss.

Often one of the biggest mistakes people make when undertaking renovations in the home is that they try and purchase cheaper materials. As in every walk of life, you get what you pay for and when embarking on home improvements in your home that has to deal with a lot of traffic through it, it makes sense to do the job properly; to save for all the materials you want – and then add an extra 10% contingency on your budget for the little extra you may have forgotten about.

Inaccurate measurements can also add costs onto a project. If your dimensions are even slightly off, it can affect the materials you buy in or even how the final room will look. Taking time to measure all aspects of the room will ensure that the finish will be perfect. If you are unsure on your measurement, get your Home Improvement Hero in to sense check all your calculations.

Getting the prep work done, is often the most boring aspect of any renovation but putting the effort in at this stage will often save time and money later down the line.

And finally buy the right fixtures and fittings to suit the size and stature of your project. Remodelling an en-suite might mean you need to check the sizes of the toilet and basin. Invest in a corner unit to maximize on space – and don’t try to squeeze in your ideal Pinterest board if it won’t be fit for purpose – as you’re the one that will have to live with it day in and day out. 

When in training to become your own Home Improvement Hero, it’s important to marry form and function to design a renovation that suits your lifestyle and your needs.