OTTAWA'S HOME RENOVATION BLOG

Okay, homeowners, have you ever thought your house could do with some renovation but are too afraid to get started on it because you think it’s beyond your financial means? Well, not all home renovations require substantial financial input.

In fact, most people confuse renovations with high-budget remodeling, but home renovations are far from the redesigning ideas that home remodeling is. Renovations can be large-scale or small fixes to restore a property to functional repair.

Home renovations are an essential part of maintenance because many things can go wrong with housing properties, from design and construction errors to wear and tear damage. Renovation helps address these issues, making the home safe for its occupants. And not all renovation ideas need you to take a loan to finance them.

For example, here are common functional and cosmetic issues in a house that can be fixed on a budget on your own or with a little input from our general contractors in case you want to meet specific building codes.

Fix up your kitchen

Does your once-lovely kitchen now spot tired back-splash, worktop, tiles, and old cabinet doors? Then it’s the right time to give it a makeover. Here are the renovation ideas for your kitchen.

Replace the countertop

Not all worktops are created equal -or are priced the same, but for low-budget installation, you will never go wrong with laminate or faux marble. Faux wood is a great choice too, it is a classic design that won’t get out of fashion for ages. These are low-budget countertops that are varnished just like their premium counterparts like quartz and granite

While a custom countertop design will cost you thousands of dollars to buy and install, a simple low-budget countertop, won’t cost more than $1000. It is probably not going to boost your house’s value but will do wonders for your kitchen in the short term.

Reface or refinish your cabinets

If kitchen cabinets could talk, they could tell you all about the sauce splatters, spills, and scratches they get from heavy kitchen operations. Kitchen cabinets take a lot while required to remain beautiful. It’s no wonder they always look so worn out beyond their ages.

If your kitchen cabinet is chipped, broken, or just appears outdated, a quality refinishing or resurfacing can restore it to proper repair and extend its life.

Laminate your kitchen cabinets or apply a fresh lick of paint or stain to give them a new look, but if the doors are too old and are starting to make noises when opening, then consider refacing them. Refacing means getting new doors for your kitchen cabinets.

Probably order one drawer and door first to see if they work before paying for the whole set.

Build shelves

It’s not hard to build shelves; there are clear instructions on YouTube DIY videos you can follow to fit shelves in the style and size you prefer. There’s nothing as too much storage space; especially as your family grows, you need suitable cabinets and shelves to keep your home organized. DIY shelve designs have the advantage of having the functionality and look you desire.

Professional custom design shelves and cabinet prices range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The cost of labor accounts for a significant percentage of this amount. If you choose DIY, you can reduce the overall cost significantly.

Replace the sink

So, your old kitchen sink is misbehaving one repair after another? You can get nice sinks under $100 and replace the old one. There are easy-to-follow video guides you can use to get the job done.

You can get some great stainless steel or acrylic sinks at low prices. It’s not going to boost your home’s value, but it’s going to freshen up your kitchen in the short-term.  Ever wonder if you can install an undermount sink with a laminate countertop, click here to learn more

Kitchen lighting

One type of lighting you can install on your own is track lighting. Track lighting goes on the surface of the wall or ceiling, unlike ‘pot’ and recessed ‘can’ lights. Track lighting is a versatile solution for both task and ambient lighting. For track light fixtures, you have many options, including spotlights, floods, and pendants, and you can adjust the lighting experience as you please.

A kitchen chandelier or a bright colored table lamp will also work just fine for a cost far cheaper than track lighting. These can also change the look of the room and warm it up quite well.

Consider adding lighting under kitchen cabinets too for a clearer sight and brighter view. Under-cabinet lighting is easy to do on your own. Just get affordable types that you can plug into wall outlets and attach under the kitchen cabinet instead of one that requires you to mess around with your kitchen’s electrical wiring.

Kitchen backsplash

A backsplash protects your walls from splashes. It is a wise idea to fit a backsplash in your kitchen if you don’t want the extra job of wiping stains and grease off your lovely paintwork. You can also use backsplash to give your kitchen a new look with just a bright selection of tiles.

Use a glass panel for a contemporary look. You can get some adhesive backsplash panels that fit easily for a glossy, shiny look. Stainless steel backsplash is another great choice because of its practicality. Another great choice is acrylic, with incredible color patterns to choose from and ultra-hygienic, durable backsplash. Subway tiles work fine too.

Another cost-effective measure is to fit the backsplash only where it provides maximum protection, usually near the sink.

Update or fix up damaged floors

There are various peel-and-stick flooring designs you can choose from and give your floor an upgrade without the need to pull out existing flooring.

Fix broken and loose tiles

All floors, even the premium superior, could do with some fixing after years of service. Consider fixing those loose tiles and switching out broken ones for brand new tiles.

Re-sealing with a suitable product

Sand dragged in the house by way of feet also eats away at the floor surface, making it lose its original shine. Another reason your floor gets a grimy-look is when mopping water, carrying soil with it settles into the grout. Washing with robust cleaning solutions and re-sealing with a suitable product will restore your floor to shine.

Fix installation errors

Another reason to fix your floor is to deal with the mishaps of previous installations. Building and construction errors can result in tenting where tiles start coming up on their own, sloping or uneven floors, etc. Worry not, though; you can get the services of professionals to fix your floors

Renosgroup provides extensive flooring restoration services on all floors, including vinyl, wooden, and ceramic.

Do up or replace your front door

A few things in your home are as aesthetically important as the front door. It is where your guests come into your house and therefore deserve an occasional fresh coat of paint to protect it from harsh weather elements. Your front door also helps keep the house warm and cozy. Therefore, for home renovation on a budget, consider the following:

A fresh lick of paint

A fresh lick of paint is going to do wonders for your front door, together with fresh paint on the exterior, this is going to raise your home’s aesthetic appeal. Start by applying the undercoat.

Paint cautiously in multiple layers starting with a thin primer, sand it smooth, then apply another layer of coat, clean and repeat for a mirror-finish. Leave a 24-hour gap between coats and use a clog-resistant sanding sponge to smoothen the coat. Once the undercoat looks satisfactory, apply the glossy finish to highlight your door’s best features.

Replace hardware parts

You can also renovate your doors with brand new hardware, including handles, letterboxes, and house numbers attached to your door.

Just ensure that any hardware replacements completely cover the marks left by past fixing jobs. Get a latch, handle, and letterbox that is somewhat larger than you had before.

Interior and Exterior painting and decorations

A fresh coat of paint on your walls with the most recent colour trends will raise the aesthetic appeal of your home. For brick houses, you will never go wrong with rendered exterior walls.

Rendered exterior walls

Just start by taking care of cracks, flaky paint, mold, redundant screws, neglected waterways, and any other defects that are likely to interfere with your paint job. Keep all tools you will need on-site together in one place and pets and kids away. When painting, start at the top of the wall, working your way down with confident brush strokes. In case of doubt, consider hiring a professional to give your walls a blitz.

Removable wallpaper

If you don’t like how your rooms look, how about fixing that with some removable wallpapers. Wallpapers add a pop of color, texture, and accent onto your walls while helping cover up botched paint jobs!

Create an open space floor plan

If you feel like you are living in too many rooms with traffic problems and insufficient fresh air and sunlight you could do with tearing down extra walls to create open space floors.

Demolition is an integral part of home renovations. It’s one of those low-budget renovation projects that, if done right, can help achieve an open floor plan of your dreams without blowing holes through your financial pockets. You can add space in your home or get more light by bringing that living room wall down.

Open Living: What is it?

Open living is the newest trend in architectural designs. The traditional living style where you get a kitchen, dining, and living in separate niche rooms is being faced out in favor of an all in one design where one room serves all purposes.

An open floor plan is how people are choosing to live now. Bringing down those walls between separate rooms is the way to go. You can increase space without messing with a home’s footprint.

Tips for Open Living

Make a plan for art and furniture that hangs on the wall before beginning the project. You don’t want to discover there’s nowhere to put your old piano after renovation.

For cohesiveness, use uniform flooring throughout. Go with light colors to enhance the natural light in your house. Exploit those scenic views by orienting your doors and windows into the yard or pool. One of the biggest trends in millwork design is connecting kitchens and living rooms with the outside using collapsible exterior double doors; that way, you can create a relaxed atmosphere in your house.

Check if your city requires an interior demolition permit. Most building permits also give you the freedom to complete interior demolition, but some cities require special interior demolition permits. In case of lead and asbestos paint, you are going to need additional permits too.

Watch out for your HVAC system. Consider getting specialists to relocate vents and ducts and upgrade your heating and cooling system if necessary.

Use windowless ways to enhance natural illumination in the house.

Do you wish to increase natural illumination in your house? You don’t have to replace your solid exterior doors with garden doors or make large holes on the walls for light to pass through. There are windowless ways to increase the amount of natural light in your house. These include:

Light tubes

You can use a light tube to direct light from the rafter into your living room. Light tubes are especially handy if you don’t have a single-story roof for use with skylights. These are clever, twisty, reflective designs that can reach 30 feet from the rafter to the ceiling.

Another advantage of solar tubes is that no major remodeling of structure or paint is needed. They achieve the same illumination as three 100-watt bulbs, plus they are eco-friendly to boot!

Use bright, reflective colors and paint

Even a dark room, with large windows, is going to appear dreary and dull compared to a room with reflective white, light tan, or light grey surfaces.

It is simple logic; dark colors absorb more light and reflect less while light colors behave like mirrors, allowing light to bounce around the house.

Use light colors in your interior walls, and while at it, make the walls a few shades darker than the ceiling for a taller, larger, brighter interior space.

Add semi-gloss or shinier, satin paint to enhance the reflective surfaces.

Consider painting or covering overhangs

So, overhangs provide weather protection when conditions turn horrible, but they could also be why you are getting less sunlight. To enhance natural illumination in every room, consider painting or covering the overhangs or eaves. A white paint around the overhang or covering with maintenance-free white vinyl or aluminum will do the trick.

Switch out dense draperies for light, airy ones

The days of dense draperies on windows are long gone, light window treatments are in fashion now. Most people work from home now; they serve as offices. So, if you are going to be spending a lot of time indoors, make it illuminated and airy to boot.

Switch out those Roman shades for sheer, fun, single-panel draperies that you can pull back for a breathtaking view of the outdoors.

Alternatively, why not go for blinds. This interior design technological marvel allows the controlling of the amount of light into the home easily.

Trim tree branches that block light

Home renovations are never complete without a bit of landscaping to add the wow factor, and it also helps to remove branches blocking doors or windows so more natural light can get through.

Fix your basement

Basements are always the neglected spaces in most homes, filled with old furniture and boxes stuffed with childhood memorabilia. But do you know that your basement could be a fantastic living space if finished, right?

Fix foundation cracks

If your basement is slightly more humid than the rest of the house, then possibly, air, slipping through cracks on the foundation, has to do with it. It can lead to massive energy bills as the house gets colder than usual. Water may also sip through and wreak havoc on the basement floor and your valuables. Get the help of Renosgroup’s basement renovators to fix foundation cracks in your basement to meet local area building codes.

Bring in natural lighting.

You can use a solar tube to direct light from roof rafters and illuminate your basement. Another way to increase natural light is to adopt an open floor plan, too many walls block light from reaching the basement. Don’t forget about mirrors too, they do wonders, letting light bounce throughout the space.

For further ideas on how to make your basement spacious, comfortable, and cozy on a budget, get in touch with renosgroup to see what we can do for you.

There you go….. home renovations are fun and an exciting way to restore your property to good condition. Just remember to start by cleaning up first, a renovation is easier to visualize and do when the space is clean and free of clutter. For help with your home renovations and other remodeling ideas in Ottawa, get in touch with renosgroup or give us a call at (613)727-9427 We specialize in top quality home renovations, including bathroom renovations, kitchen renovations, basement renovations, and home additions.