Home Remodeling

If you have to ask, you should probably hire out.

That being said though...I called Dun Rite kitchens to give me an estimate on refacing my cabinets and it was 14K for just the kitchen. So I hauled out my sander and sanded down a bathroom cabinet door. I stained it, urethaned it and WOW did it ever come out nicely! And I'd never done anything like this ever :) The way I figured it, I was set to spend 14K to replace the doors anyway, and if I screwed them up while experimenting with a new finish, oh well. So I went ahead and refinished all the cabinetry and had so much $$ left over I got new appliances, granite countertops and tiled in all the bathroom floors.

So, when in doubt hire it out. But, if it doesn't really matter if you screw something up, try your hand at DIYing it. And demolishing old stuff is fun! GL!!

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If you're planning on putting in new counter-tops or cabinetry - anything that requires percision and accuracy - get a professional.

The same advice if you need to do complicated electrical work such as running and installing wires for lighting under cabinets or in areas where you will have to cut the dry wall out to run and connect wires to already established sources, or if you need to put in updated ground-fault outlets for heavy appliances like a refridgerator or oven.

The people we bought our current house from did all of the above themselves and it was a disaster. All of our countertops were poorly mounted if at all. None were flush to the wall because they didn't know how to plane the counter. The drywall was wavy, and poorly insulated. Worst of all, our wiring wasn't up to code...so when we had problems we really had big problems. All the electricians we called to repair everything remembered the family and had nothing but horror stories about how they were caught between the owners and the city inspector because of the many code violations and weird short cuts they took trying to save money, or because they didn't know what they were doing.

Nothing looked good, and it was very expensive to remedy. The only good thing about their bad handy work was that it made our house very affordable considering the neighborhood it's in. NO one wanted to pay what the house should have been worth because of the shotty work they had done..so we got a good deal on a "fixer upper."

If you have plans on doing the upgrades to improve the value of your home, get a professional! It's costly up front, but that cost pays you back in other more important ways.

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I just finished with upgrading my masterbath. I hired a handyman (a family friend that is a handyman) for the big stuff, and I am doing the smaller stuff. He put in new flooring, new bathroom panels for the walls (my walls are in bad shape and I have to put up panels), new mirror, new light, and crown molding. I did all the caulking, resealing my bathtub, painting of the trim/molding, and just finished redoing my cabinets (removing old dark stain and putting new lighter stain on).

There is a lot more to redoing/upgrading than I originally thought. Just the removal of the toilet to lay down new flooring is a HUGE and NASTY job. And the toilet is VERY heavy.
Anyway, all this to say, that unless you know all about the "little" things that need to be done, I would suggest hiring someone for the big stuff and do the little stuff yourself.
It's been hard, but my bathroom is now part of the 21st Century and I love it.
Best wishes,
R.

1 mom found this helpful

It depends on how quickly you want it done!

It depends on what and how much you are doing and how talented you are. If you don't know much about design I would not do it yourself.

If you decide to do it yourself, just realize that you likely won't have time for anything outside of the remodel and your normal work/dinner/taking care of the family stuff. If you don't have any experience in home remodeling, expect it to take a little longer and find someone who can help you...some of the stuff you can certainly figure out on your own, but some of it, it is very helpful to have someone with know-how involved. That said, it just depends on what you're planning to do...if you're just painting the cabinets and walls and putting in a few appliances, yes, you should be able to handle that (though it will certainly still take time), but if you need new cabinets put in or anything structural, consider getting some help. If you have the money it is much nicer to just have someone else worry about all of it, but it's also sort of nice to step back and look at the finished product and realize that you did it yourself ;) (this coming from a woman who renovated 2 kitchens and 2 baths with just her husband and father within 3 years of each other - BEFORE I was a mom ;) Good luck whatever you decide!

Your question is to vague. What do you consider "upgrading", it can mean new cabinetry, new flooring, new lighting or it can mean just painting, changing handles, new wall art, new window treatment. Therefore it depends how handy & precise you are & how much time you have. Whatever you decide have fun with the planning & good luck.

I would start in one area (a bathroom) and get quotes from several differnt contractors. Have them list out EVERYTHING and what it's going to cost. You should be able to look at the project list and see what you can reasonably do youself (paintbrush anyone?) and what is outside your skillset/timeframe (such as setting granet countertops). A good contractor will work with you throughout the project. Just don't overestimate your abilities - if you don't know plumbing, let a proessional do it.