Cost Effective Home Improvement Ideas to Think About

27 May 2020

It is normal to be aware of the condition of your home especially when you are spending more time inside its premises now more than ever. As such, you will most certainly experience some space constraints that will lead you to eye a home improvement endeavour. Some home improvement tasks are achievable and affordable. Below are cost effective home improvement ideas to think about.

Convert Your Attached Garage

Taking on a garage conversion is a really cost-effective way to add some more living space to your home, especially if you only use your garage as a dumping ground for stuff that is better off being donated, disposed of or recycled.

For a basic garage conversion you can expect to pay about £8,000 and, done well, it can add up to 20% to the value of your home. Better still, you can normally convert a garage under permitted development rules (but if you live in a designated area or listed building, you may need planning permission so do check with your local authority before starting work).

Remodel Your Interiors

Being immersed in your home for extended periods of time, you can really notice where the layout of your home could be improved, and remodelling your own home is often cheaper than moving. You might want to knock down internal walls for a more open plan layout, or add stud walls to change the flow around your home.

Try sketching out ideas for a new layout (try and do it to scale) – it can be really useful in helping you to visualise the new space and imagine living in it. You’ll also need to consider furniture placement, the flow of natural light and, if you are really keen on an open plan layout, the options when it comes to extraction and soundproofing.

Convert Your Loft

A loft conversion can also be a really cost-effective way to add extra space, providing your current roof pitch and structure lend themselves to conversion (if not, it is still possible to convert your loft, but it’ll cost considerably more than a room-in-the-roof conversion). There is a lot to consider when it comes to converting your loft, so now is the time to plan how you might access, heat and insulate the new space, as well as researching the Building Regulations stipulations around such a project.

Add an Outbuilding for a Home Office

If you are able to, and enjoy, working from home during the lockdown, you may decide that you want to do it more in future. If that is the case, then finding a suitable place for a dedicated home office is a great idea. Working from the corner of a spare room, kitchen or living room can be suitable in the short term, but is, in most cases, impractical in the long term. If a garage or loft conversion isn’t possible and you don’t want to go as far as building an extension, then look to your garden.

A garden room or outbuilding can make a great home office – as it’s separate from the rest of the home, you can avoid unnecessary distractions. You’ll need to make sure it has sufficient electricity supply and sockets, suitable lighting and heating options and reliable internet access.

Build an Extension

If you need to add significant additional space to your home, and you’ve already made the best use of existing square footage, then building an extension can be a cost-effective option (and is definitely cheaper than moving to a bigger property). You might also find it is more cost-effective to build a two-storey extension rather than a single storey – especially when you compare costs per m².

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