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8 Home Renovation Tips From The Professionals

By: Tonya Bruin

Before taking on any home improvement project, no matter what size, it’s important to make sure you’ve thought of everything beforehand. From budget to skills, not only should you have a full plan, but you should also consider your limitations. There’s no shame in admitting you can’t do it all yourself!

For a smooth home improvement project, we at To Do-Done recommend that you do yourself and your family a favor and follow these 8 home renovation tips… you’ll no doubt save yourself time, money and a lot of undue stress!

1. Budget well

Underestimating how much you’ll spend is a common downfall of many a home improvement project, so creating a full and realistic budget is a necessity. If numbers aren’t your strong suit, find someone in the family who knows what they’re doing, or at the very least, double and triple check your projected figures and materials costs.

2. Have a plan
This might seem like an obvious one, but don’t get your sledgehammer out on a whim one day and start whacking down your plasterboards… even if the temptation to get started straightaway is a strong one. Instead, you should make a plan based on which rooms/projects are the biggest priorities and how much time you have to complete each step.

If you’re not the best planner, the easiest solution is to hire someone locally who is, such as an Ottawa handyman from To Do Done, who can provide you with a breakdown of jobs along with knowledge of time and budget estimates to keep you on track.

3. Preparation, preparation, preparation
Of all the home renovation tips we could give you, this is the chief. Because, as we all know from our high-school days, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. In addition to planning and budgeting, preparation is ensuring you have all the right materials in place at the right time, saving you from damaging existing surfaces, cutting materials that are better left uncut or buying things you end up not needing.

4. Know your limitations
Some jobs are simply just best left to the professionals. Plumbing and electrical work should be avoided by anyone not qualified (even a skilled Ottawa handyman will subcontract these jobs!) or you put yourself in risk of an injury, or, at the very least, a badly plumbed toilet.

We know the incentive to save money can be a big one, but for any big home improvement project you should also consider the time and worry you can save by looking into professional handyman services. Sometimes, opting for help at the start can also save you from making expensive blunders that take even more money to fixed! If you live in the Ottawa area and you’d like a pricing estimate from To Do-Done handyman services, contact us here.


5. Get the right tools

Do you have the tools for the job? As well as skills and knowledge, we’re also talking tools, tools. Although taking on a solo project can seem cheaper, often, if you don’t have the right tools, you risk making a small job into a large one, maybe even a dangerous one!

Call us biased, but opting for handyman services can be a way to get the right equipment for the job at the lowest prices. Instead of paying for the tools and making inefficient progress, if you choose to hire handyman services you’re simply paying for the labor with none of the hassle of buying (and learning how to use!) your tools.

6. Do your paperwork

So admin isn’t the most glamorous of home renovation tasks but it still needs to be done if you’re going to be making any large structural changes and need planning permission. This is another area in which handyman services can save you time, hassle and and maybe even a huge fine from the council!

7. Be safe!

If you take any of our home renovation tips away with you, it’s that safety should be your number one priority! As well as ensuring you and your tools are up to task, don’t be tempted to take risks in favor of saving time and/or money.


8. Design

You might have a great idea of what your newly renovated home could look like, but that’s not to say you have the means to make that vision a reality! If you’re an ideas-man/woman but have never worked in design or construction you might be better off explaining your vision to someone with the means of making it a reality – and that’s where we come in!

Hire an Ottawa handyman from To Do-Done

To Do-Done provides professional handyman services across Ottawa offering renovations, refurbishment, painting and decorating, drywall and plastering, doors and windows, tiling, indoor and outdoor maintenance, and carpentry. If you’re living in Ottawa and looking to start a home improvement project that might be slightly too large to go solo, hire a licensed and fully vetted Ottawa handyman from us. Contact us now for a full quote.