Home repairs and renovations that can be done for under $300

Home repairs and renovations that can be done for under $300

When you own property, whether you live in it or let it, one thing you can guarantee is that things will go wrong from time to time. And all too often, you or your tenants learn to put up with them. Usually, because you don’t want the hassle or expense of putting them right. But it needn’t be that way.

There are quick, inexpensive fixes you can carry out to get everything back ship-shape and above board in many cases.

So, let’s look at some home repairs that can be done for under $300.

 

Let there be light

If you’ve ever put off any electrical work because you’re not an electrician, you’re in good company.

But new lights don’t have to mean rewiring or even connecting anything to your existing wiring. Many homeowners freshen up their place with battery-powered LED lights. This transforms the room, provides additional lighting where you want it – and costs less than $300! LED lights are available from all good hardware stores and are easy to install. Buy two lots of rechargeable batteries, and you never need to worry about failing batteries or fading lights.

 

Replace door handles

Broken door handles are more than just unsightly. When you can’t close doors in the home, you tend to put the heating on more frequently and longer. So, they cost you money as well as causing embarrassment when visitors come round.

Fortunately, they are quick and easy to fix – even if you’re not a DIY enthusiast. Door handles can usually be removed by simply unscrewing four screws on either side of the door. After removing the handles, you’ll see a metal bar going through the hole in the door. Remove this and set it down next to handles.

If you only need to replace your door handles, you can take the bar along to your local hardware store. Find new handles that fit it and match your interior décor, and you’re halfway to completing the job. To fit the new handles, replace the bar and slot each handle over the protruding piece. Then, secure them in place using the screws provided.

After removing the bar, if the lock needs replacing, unscrew the plate holding the lock in place. The lock will then slide out. Take the whole thing to the hardware store to make sure you pick up a new one that fits.

When you get home, slot the lock in place, secure the plate, add the bar and screw the handles into place.

Door handles can be bought for as little as $5-7. Compare that with the price of heating, and…well, you do the math!

Don’t fancy taking on the task yourself? A handyman will do it in under an hour, so you can still get the job done for less than $100.

Make your bathroom floor gleam once more.

Your bathroom floor bears much of the brunt of home life and can quickly start to look drab. Regular cleaning is vital to keep it tidy and healthy. However, there comes a time when it just needs replacing. With tiled flooring, labor costs, or the thought of relaying it can put you off getting it done.

Fortunately,  there is another way. These days, perhaps the most affordable option is peel-and-stick vinyl flooring. Removing tiles is a whole lot easier than fitting them. And once you clean and level the floor, fitting your new flooring is simple.

Peel-and-stick vinyl can be used to replace any flooring. And you can pick it up for less than $1 per square foot.

A lick of paint transforms any room.

Whether you paint or wallpaper, walls are a dominant feature of any room. If they look grubby, haggard, or out of date, nothing is going to make the room look its best. The flip side of that coin, though, is that a fresh look of paint transforms any room. All it takes is a few tins of paint, brushes, a roller, some stripper – and a bit of elbow grease. You can overhaul most rooms on the weekend, giving you stunning new décor and a feeling of achievement.

Of course, if you’d rather let someone else do the donkey work and leave you to focus on soft furnishings, you can find a reliable local handyman or painter and decorator to do the hard graft.

 

Make a splash in the kitchen.

Just like the bathroom, your kitchen is a functional room. So, it’s to get caught in the trap of completely refitting your kitchen or making no improvements at all. But there are some quick, inexpensive ways of freshening up your kitchen. For example, you can replace your old tile backsplash with something easier to keep clean. Grout and caulk are easily discolored and difficult to keep clean. But a piece of UPVC hygienic wall cladding provides a far cheaper, easier-to-maintain alternative.

If your heart sinks when it comes to cleaning around the kitchen sink because you know it’s going to be hours spent scrubbing black mold out of the grouting – an afternoon replacing your backsplash with cladding could be just the ticket. And at around $50, you can’t go wrong.

Home improvements don’t need to be laborious or expensive. Often, there are some pretty easy alternatives to splashing the cash. And that means you can spend time instead of money on fixing things around the house. All it takes is a little imagination. If you prefer to get a professional in for home repairs, that’s easy too. Download the Chorerelief app to be put in touch with pre-qualified tradespeople in your local area.

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