subject: Before Hitting Home Depot, Lowes, Follow These Construction Tips [print this page] Before Hitting Home Depot, Lowes, Follow These Construction Tips
With the state of the housing market these days, many homeowners choose to renovate the home they already own, rather than swap for a new one. If you need more space or are really just tired of the kitchen, renovation might be the ticket. You can increase the equity on your home, as well as give it a new fresh look. If you need ideas, the folks at Home Depot are always willing to give advice. You can't walk through a Lowes these days without finding a helpful employee to make the job easy.
Start Now
Face it. You've been talking about that renovation project for months, and still haven't made the trip to Lowes. Often, the thing we need to get us started is the idea and a way of implementing it. Make a trip to Home Depot and plot out what you need. Once you start realistically assessing the possibilities, you'll be inspired to get to work. Why put that screened-in porch off another summer? Get it done now.
Take a Look at the Neighborhood
When doing construction, you don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. Take a look at the styles of the neighborhood. It's wise to look into any zoning regulations to make sure your renovation project is even allowed. Don't wait until you've already shopped for materials at Home Depot to find out you'll have to scrap the project.
Kitchens and Bathrooms: More Bang for the Buck
If you're looking to increase the equity of your home, start with kitchens or bathrooms. It's the surest way to improve the value of your house, dollar for dollar at any Home Depot. Take a look at your kitchen cabinets and ask how you can improve them. A well designed kitchen is what sells a home should you decide to later put it on the market. Lowes is a great place to start.
Old plumbing depreciates a home. Replacing the pipes is quite an endeavor, but it's the best way to turn a fixer upper into a valuable piece of property.
Know When to Hire a Contractor
It's important to realize when a job is too far over your head. If you don't do the work correctly, you can permanently damage your home, crashing the equity value. Just because the Lowes employee makes it look easy doesn't mean it is. Don't assume you can just wing it reading directions on the Internet. Ask the people at the Home Depot store how hard the job really is. They'll be honest with you. Many of these folks are contractors themselves.
