When it comes to creating value in your home through remodeling, two of the best projects you can undertake are minor remodels of your kitchen and/or bathroom. Instead of spending $25,000 to $50,000 — or even more — for an entirely new kitchen or bath, you can spend a few thousand or even less to make improvements that will give you the most bang for your buck.
If you have vinyl flooring in your kitchen or bath, installing ceramic tile is a good upgrade that doesn’t cost a lot of money. If you have even modest home improvement skills, you can do a ceramic tile job yourself, but even if you have to hire someone to do the kitchen or bathroom tile installation for you, it won’t cost more than a few thousand dollars, unless you have a huge kitchen or bath. If you want to get more adventurous and spend more money, you can expand your ceramic tile job to include a new backsplash in your kitchen or tiled walls in your shower. This will add significantly to your tile installation cost, but if done right it also can create a lot of value.
A project that can really spruce up your bathroom for not a lot of money is refinishing your bathtub. Damaged bathtubs are not only unsightly, but they can be a place where germs, such as mold and harmful bacteria, build up, so fixing them can make your bathroom cleaner as well as nicer. A bathtub refinish is a lot cheaper and easier than replacing a bathtub, and a tub that is properly reglazed can last for 10 years or more beyond its original expected lifetime.
If you are looking for ways to spruce up your kitchen for not a lot of money, concentrate on your cabinets. Refacing or refinishing your cabinets can be done for anywhere from several hundred dollars to a few thousand, and it can make your cabinets look like new at a fraction of the cost. If you want to spend less than that, another way to make an impact is to replace the cabinet hardware. New handles and drawer pulls can give your kitchen an updated look for just a few hundred dollars or less.
These are just a few of the many inexpensive small projects you can do in your bathroom or kitchen. The key is to add as much value as possible for as little cost as possible.
