3.5K Views
The Best of This Old House's Budget Upgrades & Money-Saving Ideas
by
ThisOldHouse
(IC: professional)
Every year, as part of our annual reader-remodel contest, we have This Old House magazine readers send us their most clever penny-pinching, DIY hacks. Here are some of the best! And, we hope that YOU will submit YOUR solutions using here at Hometalk for your shot at a $1000 category prize in The Search for America's Best Remodel and a chance to be featured in TOH magazine!
"The previous homeowners left an old dresser in the basement. I cleaned and painted it, then cut out the backs of the top drawers to accommodate water lines. Then I tiled the top of the dresser, put a couple of holes in two ceramic pasta bowls for sinks (make sure they're deep enough to avoid splashing), and found some inexpensive bar faucets to complete the vanity."
Dressing Up Ceiling Timbers
"As we finished the final details of the gut renovation of our 1930s stone house, we coveted copper switch plates for lights and electrical outlets. But at $25 or more each, the price tag was way over our budget. So I bought cheap metal switch plates from the big-box store and copper foil sheeting from the crafts store and used spray adhesive to affix the sheeting to the plates. My husband even embossed a beautiful fern design on some of them. They are developing a patina that gets richer every day, and we still have enough foil to make 'copper' plates for the entire neighborhood."
Budget Backsplash
"Instead of paying a lot of money for a tile backsplash, I measured the backsplash area, went to a restaurant-supply store, and got a piece of stainless steel custom-cut for the space. I glued it on myself, and it fits perfectly and works great. For my countertops, I looked at granite but instead ended up buying butcher block from IKEA and had my contractor cut it to fit. I then stained it to match my floors. With an open kitchen plan, it really gives a finished look to the space."
Faux Carriage-Style Garage Doors
"I was renovating my fixer-upper, which was built between 1900 and 1920, and needed a countertop for a new peninsula in the kitchen. As we demolished interior walls, we found many intact 2x4s made of pine and realized these could be made into a counter easily. After removing all the lath nails, I drilled some holes through them, inserted threaded rods, and glued them together, using wood filler to make repairs where needed."
From Two Old Doors and a Throwaway Cabinet to the Ultimate Home Office
"Instead of buying trim to frame doorways and windows, my husband and I use 3-inch-by-8-foot furring strips. They're inexpensive and come in bundles of six at the home center. The strips can be left as is for a simple, clean look, or you can use a router to create more decorative profiles. So far we've used them for a window, doorways, and baseboards in our foyer and living room. They give us a look that's a little different and unexpected."
From Old Fence to Shutters
"My husband and I split a large full bathroom into a guest half bath and a master bath. After getting several bids from reliable contractors, the price was still more than we had planned. Most contractors supply materials at retail prices, so I asked what the charge for the work would be if we bought materials ourselves. By having our contractor do installation only, and buying materials online or from discount sources ourselves, we were able to afford the renovation."
Leveling Floors With Kitty Litter
Enjoyed the project?
Published March 28th, 2014 3:25 PM
Comments
Join the conversation
1 comment
-
Catherine on Feb 24, 2015I could never decide on a kitchen backspash, although I knew I wanted one but couldn't afford to both buy the tiles and pay for installation so I did a faux backsplash using oil based paint, 1/4 inch painters tape and one sheet of small tiles from Habitat for Humanity - 10 years later it's still holding its own and has withstood a lot of scrubbing.
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?