Home renovation looks different for everyone. Your ideal home renovation method will depend on your budget, what you want to achieve, along with your time constraints and personal preferences. Before you get started, make time to think about how to renovate your house in a way that will work best for you and your family.  

Whether you plan to go all-in and renovate the whole house at once, or take your time to work away at it and save as much money as you can, below you’ll find some top tips on choosing a renovation method.

Going all-out: a total home renovation

If your property needs a lot of work, it may require an extensive renovation job, involving stripping it out and potentially remodelling. This may be the case if the home is very old, damaged, or unsuitable for your lifestyle.

Before you get stuck into it, consider what professional services you’ll need to engage, and if it will be possible to complete a full home renovation within your budget. You may need to hire several of the following contractors:

• Builder
• Architect
• Tiler
• Plumber
• Electrician.

You probably can’t do the above services yourself as they require special expertise and, in some cases, licences or permits. Get a few different quotes for each service and ask your friends and family for recommendations. You don’t want to get stuck with a dodgy contractor for the entirety of your renovation.

If your home is undergoing major works, you’ll also need to think about where you’re going to live. If all your major living spaces are being worked on at once, you’ll probably need to find alternative accommodation. This may mean living with family for a while, looking into short term renting opportunities or moving into a friend’s granny flat.

If you rent out the property to tenants, your best opportunity to complete these extensive works will be between lease agreements. Keep in mind that you won’t be receiving rent payment while the renovations are underway. But at the same time, consider how much your property will be worth once it’s been improved.

Do it yourself

DIY renovations can take longer to carry out but, when done right, can save you a lot of money. This is a great option for people who enjoy getting hands-on and creative. However, don’t assume that you are capable of doing everything yourself.

For example, a botched bathroom tiling job can cost you thousands of dollars to repair, so it’s often worth hiring a professional tiler to get the job done right the first time. Electrical and plumbing works need to be done by a specialist, so shop around and get a few quotes to find the best price, while making sure you’ll still get a quality service.

The main aim of DIY renovation is to save money, but for many people it can become a hobby! Have fun with it, explore your personal style and enjoy finding creative ways to source materials.

Many people will live in their home while doing DIY renovations, but if you choose to do this be prepared to live in a very dusty environment until the job is done. DIY renovating is hard, messy work, but definitely rewarding at the end.

A phased approach

Renovating in phases, often room-by-room, rather than all at once, has certain benefits. It allows you to change contractors if you aren’t happy with their services, and also gives you the chance to figure out what work you could complete yourself to save some money (if you want to).

Phased renovation means you can take breaks between renovation jobs, so you can have a rest and resume normal life for a while before you move onto the next phase. This method also allows you to take your time getting everything done. Can’t bring yourself to renovate the bathroom after your kitchen has been out of action for 4 weeks? No problem! Leave it for now and come back to it in 6 months.

The potential downside of phased renovation is that you may not be able to book the contractor you liked for the next phase of the job, as they may be booked out when you want to use them. It’s also a good idea to keep all samples and colours you’ve used in one place so you don’t end up with inconsistencies between rooms.

If you rent your property out, you can complete phased renovations in between lease agreements, improving the property (and its rental yield) with every additional renovation.

Whatever method you choose, you may want to consider a construction loan or home equity financing. A Suncorp Bank home lending specialist can help you choose a way to finance your renovation project. All consultations are 100% obligation-free.

Discover renovation loan options

Published 19 August 2022