https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:32:40 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2647655 Thu, 03 Nov 2016 19:04:05 +0000 cat620 2647655@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for all the advice! I think we are going to try to get all the big stuff done before we move in. There are things I know I won't want to live with, and I agree with the PPs who said having small kids around makes renovations harder to complete. I want my house to be pretty much finished when I move in. </p> <p>@Ms. RV: That's a good tip about the smoke alarms. I'll have to check on those. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646944 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 19:09:19 +0000 Ms. RV 2646944@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>List everything you want done with the house and then score them as needing to get done ASAP, can wait a few months to a year, can wait over a year. Also make budgets for each (as reference). This will help put an order to when to do each part of the renovation.</p> <p>Also- most hardwired smoke alarms (which most 1990s homes have) are only good for 10 years. Check those for a date and see if they are too old and replace before you spend a night there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646892 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 16:45:22 +0000 SugarplumsMom 2646892@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I echo @petitenoisette: tips. Try to do as much as you can going in. Don't wait. If I had a do-over, I would have demanded that we prioritized the renovations instead of putting them off one at a time. The faster you get it done, the more time you have to just sit and enjoy your new home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646887 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 16:39:09 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2646887@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Look into what you can do store bought that goes a long way. After we purchased our Florida home I walked through Home Depot or Lowes and saw our bathroom vanity. Here I thought the prior homeowner had to really coordinate finishes and woods. Nope, he selected an updated vanity with great, soft close drawers, stone counter top, and updated fixtures. The big box stores have good stuff if you're handy. </p> <p>When we were house shopping some people would do two things that made all the difference in their 80/90s bathroom. Add beautiful granite counters and frame out the mirror. The sins of the small tile shower or floors and not so exciting cabinets instantly went away. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646869 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 15:40:34 +0000 winter_wonder 2646869@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I haven't read all of the posts yet, so I apologize if someone has already said this.</p> <p>I think doing all major renovation work before you move in is ideal. We did that with our last house. It was so much easier not having to work around our stuff. It was also nice to leave projects as they were and then come back to them the next day (instead of having to put everything away, haul it back out, etc.).</p> <p>In the house we're in now we planned to do some things over time but it seriously hasn't happened (we moved here in June). We haven't even touched up paint. Part of this may have to do with DD being so little but I strongly encourage you to do as much before you move in! I think it's so much easier that way! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646865 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 15:32:51 +0000 catomd00 2646865@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>One thing at a time, prioritize, do floors before you move in and paint last if doing it all at once. I think it's good to live in the house for 6montjs or so before doing anything major so you get a feel for how you utilize the current space, what you need to have, what you can live without, etc. Have fun! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646732 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 12:21:52 +0000 mediagirl 2646732@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: I'm currently in the middle of a kitchen reno. I found all of our contractors, scheduled the dates for the installations, we did the demo ourselves and it is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper doing it this way than having a middle man. </p> <p>We have a 4 year old and it's not that bad having the kitchen torn out. We are eating on paper plates, using a microwave and toaster oven and our daughter hasn't even blinked an eye. </p> <p>I would suggest doing one thing at a time. What's the most pressing thing for you right now? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646716 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 12:01:55 +0000 MaryM 2646716@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with living in it for a year before doing anything that isn't necessary. </p> <p>Who knew sliding glass doors were so freaking expensive? We ended up finding one with a huge gap so it was a "this has to be done now before a blizzard" kind of fix. Had we done some of the "we'd like to" projects already, there's no way we could have paid for the new doors </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646712 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 11:58:56 +0000 BadgerMom 2646712@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>One step at a time, you don't have to do everything at once.</p> <p>If it can't kill you, don't be afraid to try it yourself. Do your research online and chances are you'll get it done and the worst thing that can happen is you screw something up and have to call someone. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646705 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 11:54:33 +0000 petitenoisette 2646705@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DIY house renos with children is extremely difficult and frustrating. If you have help from your FIL it is doable. You'll probably be gung-ho about it all in the beginning which will help get things done. Use that momentum to get everything you can do yourselves done as quickly as possible. Because after a while you don't notice all the little jobs that need to be finished and then suddenly it's a year later and your kitchen walls are stripped of wallpaper but still unpainted. Not that I speak from experience or anything :silly: </p> <p>Assuming your husband will be doing more of the work just be mentally prepared to spend a lot of your weekends taking care of the kids so they can get stuff done. I must admit this gets old really fast. </p> <p>@Smurfette: Second this. Especially with DIY everything takes 3-4 times longer than I think it will and is about twice as expensive. </p> <p>Good luck! It is worth it to have a house you love and to save a ton of money in the process. :grin: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646669 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 11:11:41 +0000 Smurfette 2646669@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1) Is is going to cost more then you budget (whether you hire or DYI). figure at least a 20% cushion.<br /> 2) It is going to take longer as well. </p> <p>We redid a bathroom last summer DIY. Took way longer then we expected. We currently are waiting for our basement to be finished, we hired it out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646561 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 09:00:01 +0000 cat620 2646561@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Banana330: @Foodnerd81: @mamabolt: We plan to do the floors before we move in! We are currently renting, so we have some time where our lease and our mortgage overlap, so we don't have to move in to the new house right away. I wanted to do the kitchen reno before moving in as well, since I don't want to live in a house where there isn't a usable kitchen, and there's a big mess or construction tools everywhere for my kids to get into. Our budget isn't huge, but I think it's big enough to cover everything we want to do if we are doing a lot of it ourselves. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646558 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 08:55:01 +0000 mamabolt 2646558@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Third doing floors first. We were carrying two mortgages when we moved in and so it wasn't in our budget to refinish them then, and now the idea of moving all our stuff to refinish them is just overwhelming so we've been living with floors we hate for six years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646556 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 08:50:12 +0000 Foodnerd81 2646556@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree to do floors before moving in but the rest live with and see how it feels. We are in a similar boat- house was built in 74but decorated in the late 90s. Tons of wallpaper to remove over time but we can live with it and do most of it ourselves as we have time. We have decided to hold off on a smaller kitchen Reno so we can do a really<br /> Big one a few years later (like knocking down walls instead of replacing cabinets). </p> <p>But we are Lso living with the old carpeting for now as well. Houses are expensive. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646553 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 08:45:57 +0000 Banana330 2646553@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: Floors and painting are both easier done before you move in and have furniture. My dad gave us some good advice when we first moved in, unless it's a major safety issue live in the house for a year or so then decide what to renovate. We did paint the kitchen cabinets but waited on major reno's until after the first year. It was good we did because our priorities changed and we ended up doing something that wasn't even on our original list first. And the things that bugged me about the house weren't so bad once living with them (we are still going to renovate them soon once budget allows). IF you don't have a large budget I'd figure out exactly what you have to fix, would like to fix and what might be improved with a cheap temporary fix that you can do properly at a later date. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tips-for-home-renovations#post-2646533 Wed, 02 Nov 2016 08:22:36 +0000 cat620 2646533@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My family and I are closing on a house next week! I'm excited, because it's exactly the type of house we want in a great neighborhood. However, the house was built in 1994, and most of the interior is original, so it needs some cosmetic updates. We want to renovate the kitchen, bathrooms, replace the carpet, refinish the wood floors, paint and change out the fixtures. It seems like we have a lot of work ahead of us! </p> <p>We have looked into using a contractor, but our renovation budget isn't huge, and they automatically take 20% of our budget for themselves. So we are planning to do a lot of the work ourselves, with help from my FIL who is handy with renovations, and hire people to do specific tasks like the tiling work. Has anyone done large renovations before? Any tips for me? </p>