Authentic farmhouse remodels seem to be all the rage and for good reason. Restoring these beauties preserves a part of our culture and history. But any home remodel can be costly, especially when those homes are over 100 years old. Based on our extensive home renovation, I am giving you my tips for a DIY old farmhouse home renovation on a budget.
In This Article
Our Renovation Projects and Cost
We have fully renovated a bungalow home built in 1900, remodeled a 1979 mobile home and are currently doing a massive renovation on our farmhouse. Most of the work has been DIY, and our total cost has been extremely low for what we do to the houses.
-
Planning and Paying (read here)
-
Demolition and Prep Work (read here)
-
Updating Instead of Replacing (read here)
For Part 2 of Tips for a DIY Old Farmhouse Renovation on a Budget, I will talk about more money saving ideas from our personal experience.
Finding and Buying Appliances and Materials
DIY home renovations take time, but people do it because it lends big savings (most of the time). So if you have more time than money in your remodel budget (and sometimes it’s a toss up), I highly suggest shopping secondhand first. Of course we still keep hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot in business with how much we spend there, but I almost always look for something on Marketplace before buying in store.
Buy used appliances
You can get fabulous appliances used for a fraction of the cost. Leery about it not working? Search your area for a reputable used appliance store. We have found a great little mom and pop used appliance store where the owners are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. And they have a 90 day guarantee. I call them first when looking for appliances.
We have found shopping for appliances at estate sales and Facebook Marketplace to be great options, though you do need to be a little handy if something needs to be fixed.
Buy antique and refinish instead of buying reproduction
Buying reproduction doors, sinks, lighting and hardware for an old farmhouse or house of any kind can be costly. Sometimes it’s worth it to buy an authentic antique and pay someone to refinish it. We shop our architectural salvage store, and the owner has refinished items or pointed us to good restorers he knows. (It’s worth paying someone to restore who has the skill and time.)
Antique items we’ve restored for less than new cost:
-
Exterior doors ($1000 for door and refinishing vs $2500 new)
-
Clawfoot bathtub ($1000 for tub and refinished vs $1800 new)
-
Farmhouse sink ($350 for sink and touch up paint vs $1500 new)
-
Light fixtures
Read where to buy authentic materials for old house renovation on a small budget HERE.
Shop Amazon, Wayfair and Ikea instead of Restoration Hardware
There are seriously drool worthy companies out there that sell reproduction farmhouse lights, hardware, sinks and anything you could ever want. It looks “authentic.” It’s perfect. It’s expensive. Ya’ know what? My doorknobs and faucets from Amazon, Lowes and Wayfair; my lights from Ikea and Target may not be 100%, top of the line authentic, but you can’t tell. They last just as long, and they have practically the same look.
Skimp on most. Splurge on a little.
Like I said above, most fixtures and faucets are going to be good enough quality to last years and years. They will also be practically the same look for less. BUT, there are times it’s worth the splurge and additional cost. It’s a great idea to make skimping your rule so when the splurge comes, you can do it without guilt or draining your renovation budget.
Keep track of your DIY renovation expenses with my free worksheet here!
DIY Projects
If you’re reading tips for a DIY old farmhouse renovation on a budget, then chances are you’re pretty comfortable with doing at least some projects yourself and have a few DIY skills. Honestly, we (and when I say “we” I mostly mean Caleb) are comfortable with doing most renovation jobs ourselves. But there are times where it can cost you thousands if you don’t do something right. We’ve certainly made a lot of mistakes along the way. Do your research, learn a skill but then know when it’s time to call a professional.
Do the prep and grunt work yourself
Even if you hire a professional, many times they will knock off lots of money if you do the demo and prep work yourself. My sister used to paint cabinets, and sometimes owners would clean and disassemble the cabinet doors to save a bit of money. It’s always worth asking when operating out of a tight budget.
Rent equipment and tools for quick projects
Often you don’t need to buy a tool just to use it one time. Home improvement stores rent machines like floor sanders and insulation blowers. And tool and equipment rental stores will almost always have what you need for any project.
Learn how to DIY jobs from YouTube
YouTube is a DIYer’s best friend. Of course, make sure the person teaching you actually knows their stuff. An easy way to do this is to compare several videos and take your time to learn it right. (Anything from This Old House is pretty trustworthy.)
Do your own tile work
Tile work is actually really simple. Either buy a tile cutter (if you have a lot of jobs) or rent one. Caleb and I’ve done kitchen tile backsplash, flooring, bathroom walls and showers. I will say, take your time and be very detailed. I may have made a few annoying mistakes because I was in a rush (and because I’m not a detailed kind of person).
Refinish original wood floors
You may be fortunate enough to have original wood floors. Restoring these on your own is a fairly straightforward remodeling project. (Hard work but conceptually simple.) If you have damaged boards, try to find the same kind on Facebook Marketplace to patch it. You can also visit a flooring store for just a little bit to patch.
Install your own windows
Ok, this is a doozy, and if you do it wrong it will end up costing you a ton of money. But the astronomical cost of new windows isn’t actually the windows…it’s the installation. And for little good reason except they can. (My sister had windows replaced by a “good” company, and they did some appalling work.)
We replaced all our lower level windows (and will be replacing the second level next year.) Caleb spent hours researching, and he.is.meticulous. Know yourself. Take your time. But he saved us tens of thousands of dollars. Yes, if we need to submit a warranty, someone needs to inspect and decide if he did it right. But he did, so we’re not worried.
Our very large farmhouse windows cost us $700 – $900. They would have been over $2000 each if we had them installed.
Read all about our wood farmhouse windows from Marvin in my blog post HERE.
Getting Help
The main pain point of a DIY home renovation is the significant amount of TIME it takes. We have jobs, normal life and kids just like other people. So trying to fit in hours upon hours of reno work is often difficult. I never suggest taking advantage of people for free or just because they happen to be friends or a family member (ok, maybe I do once in a while but rarely). Here are “extra help” tips for a DIY old farmhouse renovation on a budget.
Hire teens for the grunt work
We are fortunate to have lots of family around with lots of teenagers. But I’ve also seen people post on our town Facebook page wanting to hire teenagers to do short term grunt work jobs. Of course, you need to be careful of the teen (not all are good workers but a lot are) and the jobs you ask them to do (careful of anything that has house toxins involved, such as lead paint). But they can be a great resource at a lower cost.
Jobs for teens:
-
Yard work
-
Hauling limbs after cutting down a tree
-
Clean up after a remodel project
-
Loading trash into a trailer or dumpster
-
Installing insulation
-
Painting the primer coat on walls (detail work on primer is not as important as a fresh coat of paint)
-
Demolition (as long as you’ve tested for toxins first in older homes)
Have a friends and family work day
This is when we miiiiiight have taken advantage of family and only paid them with pizza lunch. But there have been a couple times we’ve had a major big project, and we’ve rallied the family around for a work day. It’s like an old fashioned barn raising mentality. (But we have also returned the favor to them when they need help.)
Network and get advice from skilled friends
I am not advocating getting “free help” from friends who happen to be professionals. But if you know someone in the renovation or construction world, talk to them! Get advice. Ask if they could teach or advise you on your project. Caleb has an extensive network of friends who do construction, plumbing, HVAC and more. They have been gracious enough to come advise him and do a small amount of work. We pay them for their time, but Caleb is then able to finish the job on his own at minimal cost.
I have a nephew who is an auto mechanic and has an electrician friend. They trade skills as a great way to help each other out.
Shop around and do word of mouth for contractors
Yes, there are jobs that are best done by someone who is a professional. Our two story addition was one of those jobs. But there are good contractors and there are “horror story” contractors. In all of our hiring, we’ve asked friends for references. And then we get several quotes.
If you don’t have friends or family who have hired anyone, then go to your local (not big box store) businesses. We asked the carpet store who they recommended for laying the carpet. They didn’t have someone on staff, but they told us of a great third party, small business guy.
Get quotes from several contractors. This way you get the “feel” of a person as well as different price points. (And we go with our “feel” more than we go with price. We want a job done well first and foremost.)
Read Part 1 of Farmhouse Renovating Ideas on a Budget HERE for more great ideas that have personally saved us tens of thousands of dollars. This is just from our personal experience of renovating three homes in eleven years. We have certainly made DIY mistakes along the way, but don’t let the mistakes (or fear of mistakes) stop you! Do your research and take your time. You got this!
And don’t forget to get your free remodeling expense tracker here!
Read more about our farmhouse renovation below
Old Farmhouse Architecture We’re Restoring in Our Renovation
Tearing out Farmhouse Wall and Ceiling Lath and Plaster
Authentic Farmhouse Renovation – How I Chose New Windows
Where to Buy Authentic Materials for Old House Renovation (on a Budget)
Pin for Later Tips for A DIY Old Farmhouse Renovation on a Budget
