5 Ways to Save Money When Building or Renovating your home

Shortages of supplies, endless shipping problems and staffing problems worldwide coupled with a huge demand for renovating and building new homes across most of the developed world. And you can then start to understand why there have been serious increases in costs for building materials and trade prices.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you must be hearing about the drama in the building industry of late.

On that note, now is the best time to consider ways you may be able to save on your build or renovation project. As a builder who prices renovations and new build jobs, I have put together five ways I think you could potentially save money on your next home project. 

After all, who has an endless budget to work with to ensure we get the build of our dreams? 
We, therefore, need to ensure we are saving money in the build in those areas that we can, to get the MUST haves items we want in other areas.
 
In no particular order, I have listed some ideas for you to help save money on your next home building or renovation project with your builder. 

1. Spend more time designing the home 
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This one seems strange, I imagine, for those who have not built or renovated before. However, let me elaborate.
Spending more time on the design stage of the renovation or building will help you to save money.
Take your time to consider which way to design something and focus on what you want from the home renovation can save you money in the long run.

When renovating a home as a pose to a new build, it is great to live in the home for some time after the initial design is done and before moving on to the next stage. By doing so, you can move about the home and draw imaginary lines of where new areas will be. Spending time in your home and getting a feel for exactly what you want, or need will help you not over-design something and should then ensure you are only spending money on areas you want to or need to.

In the case of a newly built home, you just need to slow down the design phase and look at getting a walk-through of your floor plan, or 3D renders to help visualise the home and ensure you are designing exactly what you want and need. 

2. Engage a builder from the design stage
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As alluded to earlier, none of us seems to have an endless budget for our home build or home renovation. Most of us have A budget that we must stick to. Therefore, it is imperative that you work with a builder and designer at the same time- Collaboration is key!  If you want to avoid budget blowouts through the build.

 More importantly, getting a builder on your side early; will ensure that you do go ahead with what you design, as the builder will work with you from the initial design or earlier through to the final working drawings stage of planning to make sure you are in line with your budget.

The builder will help align your budget from the initial design stage. If the budget needs to be increased or the design needs to be reduced to allow for the budget or materials and fittings “specked” back, it can be done at the initial design stage.

At the initial design stage, it is much easier to change the design to allow for budget rather than wait until you have your final plans and engineering. So, make the person who is pricing your job, AKA the builder, involved as early as possible.

At Distinct Building Company, we engage via a building consulting agreement at the design stage to ensure that we all collaborate to ensure the budget and the project are key! 

3. Consider each room size in detail
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This is very important; while everyone would like larger rooms, you need to remember that each square meter of the building floor plan is more materials and more labour involved. Therefore, the bigger the room, the bigger the budget needs to be.

Do you need a 6*6 master bedroom, or could you comfortably live in a 4.5*4.5m bedroom? The same goes for every room in the house. Take your time to understand how much space you need in every zone or room of the home.

Draw lines on the floor and move about a space sketch out the furniture plan on the floor to scale to ensure everything fits.
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This may seem simple, but not enough people consider each room size on the floor plan. Doing this could save you thousands and thousands of dollars. 

 
4. Consider the method of construction

So don’t just go with what is: “standard” practice in your local area, do your research and talk to builders about other methods and ensure that you are getting the method suited to your proposed outcomes for your build and in line with your budget. 
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There are so many ways to construct a home these days, so many new and energy-efficient ways to construct a home. Make sure you discuss with a builder the different methods and what the cost differences are, along with the other pros and cons.

 It should not always be about saving cost when it comes to the method of construction, but as we are talking about the cost, it is important that you also weigh the cost savings with the other pros and cons of each method.
Distinct Building Company prefers to build with timber frame construction as it is very sustainable and is a flexible and fast way to build homes.

However, you can build using double brick construction, steel frame, SIPS insulated boards, Hemp, and many more construction methods coming on the market each year as technology progresses.
You can even 3D print homes in some parts of the world! 

5. Select more in-demand fixtures and fittings 
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The more in demand a product is, the lower the price, in most cases. This is the fundamentals of economics, and it holds with most items we purchase as consumers.

So why would it be any different when building a home?

At Distinct Building Company, we choose to get most fixtures and fittings from Harvey Norman Commercial, and by working with them, we select products that they order more of. Sometimes, it can be the difference of $500 for an oven of similar spec or $100 for a shower.  Times these savings by 5-15 different items in your home, and you have a decent saving.

So, make sure you work with your builder and suppliers to discuss the options that will save you the most. If you want one-off items that cost big dollars, go for it, but be conscious that you could save elsewhere by choosing the more common items to recoup some of your budget.
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As an example: White 300*600mm tiles are very cheap in most tile shops as they are common and easy to manufacture; choosing these tiles as a main tile on the walls and selecting a more expensive feature tile is a great way to save on cost. 

Conclusion
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The above five ways of saving money on your renovation or home build are not exhaustive but provide you with something to start with. Saving money on your home renovation or new build is important. With inflation sky high and interest rate increases, more and more homeowners are becoming more resistant to building and renovating as their budgets have blown before they even start!

Make sure you work with your builder from the start and spend time focusing on the design with your designer longer than you would normally to ensure that you are designing the build to be exactly what you want and, more importantly, need.

Look at room sizes and ensure you need the space you are drawing- you may find that you don’t need as much space as you think you need, therefore, saving you thousands of dollars on build costs.
Deciding on what construction method you want to build with is important to ponder and must be discussed with the builder to understand the cost savings.

One final way to save on cost is by selecting fixtures, fittings, and high-demand materials so that you pay a lower price for those items in mass production. Then only spend on a few one-off items to create a wow factor and get your must-haves.
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At Distinct Building Company, we believe it is vital to start working with a builder from the get-go of any project; if you have an upcoming project you would like to discuss or have questions relating to anything building and construction, please feel free to reach out to us and chat.