Can You Renovate A House For 20k?

So, you have a tight budget of $20,000, and you’re planning to use it to renovate your house. Of course, there are many questions you’re likely to ask yourself here. One of the main questions any contractor will ask you is what type of property you’re planning to renovate. Is it your primary house where you’re planning to stay forever, or is it an investment property that you’ll sell in the future? With these in mind, the last question you should ask yourself then is; can you renovate a house for 20k?

Now, when renovating your house for $20,000, you need to prioritize the ‘wants’ before the ‘needs’. The ‘wants’ are those things that are mandatory, which if ignored, can result in safety concerns and turn costly in the end. So, that said, this short post will discuss how you can renovate your house with just a small budget of 20k.

Now, How Much Does Renovation Cost?

Now, before we discuss some tips you can use to renovate your house for 20k, let’s first look at the actual cost of renovating a house. In the US, renovating a house will cost you between $40,000 to upwards of $200,000.

Comparing these figures with $20,000, you’ll obviously note that your figures are quite low meaning you’ll have to be very wise about how you spend your funds. If you’re thinking of renovating the entire house, then it means you’ll have to allocate around $5k in every section or just renovate those areas that need urgency.

The Kitchen

Renovating a kitchen will cost you around $40,000. If you have a budget of $20,000, then you’ll definitely ignore the idea of renovating the kitchen completely. Since the kitchen is not the only place that requires renovation, you should check its condition first to see whether you can freshen it up.

So, here, you can consider painting the cupboards and the cabinets, replacing worn-out handles, installing a new laminated benchtop, and replacing the sink and the tap fittings.

Bathroom

The bathroom is another area that can cost you a lot. In fact, a bathroom remodel can cost you upwards of $10,000 depending on what you’re replacing. Remember, a bathroom has cabinets, a shower, taps, sinks, electrical connections, plumbing, and tiles both on the floor and on the walls. Here, how much you spend depends on the quality of the fixtures.

But, with just $20k, you don’t need to do all these. You can refresh the bathroom with just a few changes to make it glow.

Here, you can decide to replace only the damaged tiles alone or re-grout and then paint cracked tiles to hide the cracks. You can also replace damaged taps and shower heads to make them shine then paint the vanity in case it’s not damaged.

Bedroom

Whether it’s the kids, guests, or the main bedroom, you’ll be dealing with things such as the ceiling, the flooring, the walls, the closet, and the wallpapering. Now, if you consider redesigning your bedrooms by replacing everything, then it means you’ll have to spend more than $20k.

So, to stay within your budget, you should replace only what is necessary. Here, you can decide to repaint the walls to give the bedroom a fresh and welcoming appearance, fix the flooring, and maybe add some recessed lighting.

The Basement

The same applies to the basement. Since we’re working on a budget, you need to think of how to cut down the cost to a manageable figure. Your basement will need things like lighting, waterproofing, insulation, plumbing, and painting among others.

To save on the cost, you can think of doing some of the work yourself. For instance, you can think of painting your concrete floor to make it look appealing. You can also think of installing a carpet to make it warm.

As for the ceiling, you can decide to use solid paint to cover any exposed beams, ducts, and pipes. In case of any unfinished walls, you can use latex or acrylic paint specifically designed for concrete to make everything blend.

Living Room

Next, we have the living room. When it comes to renovating your house, you don’t have to necessarily do a major overhaul to give your living room a decent look. A minor, or rather a quick refresh of the living room is better as it gives your house a minor facelift without breaking the bank.

So, the first cost-effective way of giving your living room a facelift is painting the walls with contrasting colors to give it a welcoming visual effect.

About the furniture, you can consider revamping them rather than buying new ones. Provided the frames are of good quality, you can simply buy a new fabric cover and consider fixing worn-out areas. This way you’ll transform the look of your old furniture making them appear modern.

The Flooring

Lastly, there’s the flooring. Now, the floor is considered the single largest visible area in any house. It’s in the bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and basement. Since you’re working on a tight budget, it will be hard to renovate the floor in the entire house.

So, again, you need to check those areas with damaged tiles and tired carpets and try to replace them. Always look for carpets, tiles, or linoleum flooring that suits your budget.

Conclusion

So, can you renovate a house for 20k? Well, from what we’ve discussed, you can comfortably remodel your house with a 20k budget. However, you need to be very clever as you have to identify those areas that need more attention than others. In this short guide, we’ve discussed what exactly you need to do to ensure that your small budget works for you.