4 Vacation Rental Home Improvement Tips

Keeping an eye on your budget is vital when improving your vacation home rental or holiday home,

particularly when money’s tight. Whether you’re tackling a minor repair or gearing up for a major build,

thinking ahead, planning wisely and shopping carefully mean it’s easy to make significant savings without

compromising the quality of the work.

Do it yourself. Doing or project managing a job yourself always costs less than paying someone else to do

it. But you’ll need to put in time and effort to make those savings, and should only attempt tasks you feel

competent to do, and always leave gas and electrical work to qualified professionals. You can reduce your

outlay by buying flat-packed products which are cheaper than ready-assembled. Manufacturers realize

that DIY doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and have introduced products designed for novices and

nervous would-be handymen. Examples include easy-to-use fillers and heavy-duty self-adhesive hooks,

allowing you to hang pictures without the hassle of nails or screws.

Learn new skills. Once upon a time, the only place where you could learn DIY skills was a class at your local

adult education center. These days, you can find out how to do everything from fitting wooden flooring to

installing a wet room from the comfort of home, via a myriad of apps and online how-to guides and

videos. For starters, try The Ultimate Handyman, Wickes and B&Q. If you’d rather be taught alongside

others – and have the opportunity to try out new tools and techniques – try enrolling on one of B&Q’s DIY

workshops, which are held at 15 of its larger stores across the country. These are free to members of the

B&Q Club loyalty scheme, and there are even sessions for children aged 7+ so that they can get involved

too.

Work within your home’s footprint. Look at where wasted space could be put to better use before

committing to the more expensive option of adding extra rooms. To expand your kitchen, consider going

open-plan by knocking down an internal wall, and think about the viability of, for example, slotting a

cloakroom in under the stairs, or turning part of the landing into an office area. Converting existing space

is less pricey than extending, so first examine the potential of transforming the loft or garage. Get

recommendations when hiring builders and tradesmen and, if possible, choose a small business that isn’t

required to be VAT registered so you won’t have to pay an additional 20%.

Fake it. Its frustrating when your heart’s set on a top-end product or finish which you can’t justify or

afford. But there are so many good-quality replicas out there that you should be able to source

something very similar that doesn’t break the bank. Porcelain or ceramic floor tiles are a popular

alternative to natural stone, with very good reason – they cost less and, unlike the real thing, require

minimal maintenance. A laminate worktop is far more affordable than granite, and self-adhesive frosted

window film is virtually indistinguishable from blow-the-budget sandblasted glass. Paint effects are back

in fashion, so get creative to transform tired walls and furniture – try applying uniform blocks of color to

make a striking kitchen splashback.