Home renovation tips from Bryan Baeumler

Bryan Baeumler's home renovation tip #4: Rube Goldberg plumbing. True, a bad plumbing job may not be as dangerous as faulty wiring, but a leak in an upper floor can cause a tremendous amount of damage, and if it's inside the walls, you might not even see it until it's too late. Plumbing looks straightforward, but there are many little tricks of the trade that an amateur might not know about. This is another job that should, in most cases, be left to the pros.

Bryan Baeumler's home renovation tip #5: Not planning, budgeting or scheduling the home renovation job properly. Baeumler says one of the best time and money savers in any home renovation is sitting down beforehand and working out a realistic plan of what you're going to do. Start with a realistic budget, and allow another 10-15% contingency fund for the unforeseen (and there is always, says Baeumler, something unforeseen). Once you have your budget, create detailed plans or drawings; when you have a plan on paper, it's easier to stick to it—and stick to your budget in the process. Next, map out a schedule that accounts for each step of the project. And above all, he says, be prepared to adjust all of these things—budget, plans, and schedule—as you go along. Every renovation, just like every home—and so far, every enterprising DIYer Baeumler has met—presents a unique and completely different set of challenges.


Image of Bryan Baeumler courtesy of HGTV

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