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in si de ha lt on .c om O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 8, 2 01 8 |36 Advertorial Ten essential tips for DIY-ers by Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault If y o u 've been b it by th e d o -it-yo u rse lf b ug and yo u 're itc h in g to ta c k le a h om e im p ro v e m e n t p ro je c t th is year, it 's im p o rta n t to f i r s t p re p an d p lan b e fo re you c ra c k th e lid on th a t can o f p a in t. H ere a re 1 0 t ip s th a t e ve ry DIY-er s h o u ld c o n s id e r to e n s u re DIY s u c c e s s . 1. Create a plan: T h a n ks to s ite s like P in te re s t an d Houzz w e now have a c c e s s to an e x tre m e a b u n d a n ce o f DIY in s p ira tio n a t th e c lic k o f a m o u s e . W h ile m o s t " b e fo re a nd a f te r " p ro j­ e c ts a p p e a r q u ic k a nd e a sy to c o m p le te a t f i r s t g la n ce , th e re 's o fte n m o re e lb o w g re a se re q u ire d th a n m e e ts th e eye. It's h e lp fu l to do a lit t le o n lin e re se a rch p rio r to ro llin g up yo u r s le e v e s and s e e k o u t how -to v id e o s th a t w ill h e lp you c re a te a DIY p lan and na il e ve ry s te p . 2. Get advice from a pro: If yo u 're p la n n in g to ta c k le a h o m e im p ro v e m e n t p ro j­ e c t y o u rs e lf, it 's a lw ays h e lp fu l to g e t a p ro fe s s io n a l o p in io n f ir s t to e n s u re a s u c c e s s fu l en d re s u lt. For ex­ a m p le , c a llin g in a d e s ig n e r fo r a k itch e n c o n s u lta t io n can p ro v id e in s ig h t in to th e p ro je c t a nd h e lp you fo re s e e u n iq u e is s u e s and o b s ta c le s . H om e sh o w s , such a s th e GTA H om e & Reno S h o w (F eb rua ry 1 6 to 1 9 ) is a g re a t p la ce to m e e t th e p ro s a ll in o ne s p o t. 3. Determine your budget: One o f th e m o tiva tin g fa c to rs fo r m any DIY-ers is th e po­ te n tia l to save m oney by fle x in g a litt le do -it-you rse lf m u s ­ cle ra th e r th a n h iring a pro. A lthough sw e a t e q u ity m ay be fre e , it's s t ill im p o rta n t to c re a te a re a lis tic e s tim a te o f requ ired m a te ria ls and co m p ile a co m p le te p ro je c t budget. A t th e end o f th e day, your t im e is va luab le to o , and so m e g ru e lin g o r m ore sp e c ia lized ta s k s m ay be w e ll w o rth your in ve s tm e n t in d o lla rs to h ire a pro ra th e r th a n you r invest­ m e n t o f b lood , sw e a t and te a rs . 4. Estimate your time: R e g a rd le ss o f how b ig o r s m a ll a p ro je c t is , m o s t DIY- e rs fa il to c re a te re a lis t ic t im e lin e s to c o m p le te th e w o rk . It's im p o rta n t to s it dow n b e fo re you beg in a p ro je c t and w rite o u t e ve ry s te p in se q u e n c e , th e n m a ke a l is t o f m a te r ia ls / c o s t a s s o c ia te d w ith each s te p , a nd f in a lly a p p ly an e s t im a te o f t im e to each p h a se o f th e p ro je c t. 5. Safety first: H aving s a fe ty g e a r on -hand an d ta k in g ex tra p re ca u ­ t io n s to p ro te c t y o u rs e lf and y o u r h om e fro m a p o te n tia l DIY d is a s te r is m ore im p o rta n t th a n th e a c tu a l h o m e im ­ p ro v e m e n t p ro je c t its e lf. In ve s t in a p ­ p ro p r ia te p e rs o n a l s a fe g u a rd s su ch as g o g g le s , w o rk g lo ve s , a ha rd h a t and s te e l to e b o o ts d e p e n d in g on th e p ro j­ e c t, and avo id w e a rin g baggy c lo th in g th a t co u ld g e t ca u g h t in pow er to o ls and m o v in g p a r ts . W hen it c o m e s to yo u r w o rk e n v iro n m e n t, m a ke s u re yo u r s u rro u n d in g s are c lu tte r fre e an d v a lu ­ a b le s are p a cke d aw ay and p ro te c te d . 6. Don't skimp on the prep work: The a n tic ip a tio n o f re fre s h in g k itch e n c a b in e ts w ith a new c o a t o f p a in t can m ake it te m p tin g to s k im p on th e ever im p o rta n t s te p s o f s a n d in g an d p rim ­ ing, b u t ke e p in m in d th a t th e p rep w o rk is a rg u a b ly 9 0 p e r c e n t o f th e DIY b a tt le . U s ing p re p e s s e n t ia ls w ill e n s u re th a t th e end re s u lts w ill be s u c c e s s fu l a nd la s tin g . 7. Pick the right product for the job: No m a tte r w h a t p ro je c t yo u 're d o in g , it 's im p o rta n t to in v e s tig a te and in v e s t in th e p ro d u c ts a nd f in is h e s th a t a re d e s ig n e d fo r th e e n v iro n m e n t w h e re th e y w ill be go ­ ing. T h e re 's a p ro d u c t o u t th e re fo r e ve ry s itu a t io n , you ju s t need to e n s u re th a t you c h o o s e th e b e s t on e fo r y o u r s p e c if ic jo b . 8. Have the right tools on hand: K n ow ledge and e xp e rie n ce w ill c e r ta in ly h e lp w ith any DIY p ro je c t, b u t one o f th e m a in fa c to rs to e n s u r in g a q u a lity e nd re s u lt is u s in g th e p ro p e r to o ls . M any h om e im p ro v e m e n t c e n tre s now o ffe r to o l re n ta l o p tio n s fo r " w e e ke n d w a rr io r " p ro je c ts , b u t fo r lo n g e r DIY renova ­ t io n s , c o n s id e r in v e s tin g to ow n. 9. Practice makes perfect: If yo u 're tre a d in g in to new DIY w a te rs w ith a p ro je c t o r s k il l th a t y o u 've n e ve r tr ie d b e fo re , it 's im p o rta n t to ta k e th e t im e to p ra c tic e f ir s t w ith sc ra p m a te r ia ls be fo re you a t te m p t to c o m p le te th e f in is h e d p ro d u c t. W h e th e r yo u 're le a rn in g how to c u t c row n m o u ld in g b e ve ls w ith s c ra p w o o d , o r te s t in g o u t a fa u x f in is h tre a tm e n t on a s a m p le bo a rd , it 's h e lp fu l to p e r fe c t y o u r te c h n iq u e p rio r to d iv in g in to avo id c o s tly m is ta k e s a nd w a s te d re s o u rc e s . 10. Know your limit, DIY within it: If yo u 're n o t 1 0 0 p e r c e n t c o n fid e n t a b o u t u s in g pow er to o ls o r g o in g up a ladder, th e n d o n 't . A c c id e n ts h ap ­ pen w h e n p e o p le a re n e rv o u s o r in t im id a te d by an un­ fa m il ia r o r u n c o m fo rta b le ta s k . Luckily , th e re a re m any loca l w o rk s h o p s o ffe re d a t h o m e im p ro v e m e n t c e n tre s th a t can h e lp D IY-ers ga in th e h a n ds-on e xp e rie n ce and kn o w le d g e to s u c c e s s fu lly e x e cu te th e ir n e x t DIY p ro je c t w ith co n fid e n c e . You can m ee t and see Leigh-Ann A lla ire P errau lt and ta lk a bou t how to confiden tly begin and successfu lly com ­ p le te yo u r next DIY p ro jec t a t the GTA Hom e Show on February 1 7 and 1 8 a t 2 p.m. LuisaVolkers Sales Representative 416-270-5430 R E /M A X ABOUTOWNE Joshua Creek • $ 1 ,7 8 9 ,8 0 0 Over 4400sq.ft.Living Space on a premium lot. New Custom Front Door to a Granite Foyer, the Home is Open, Bright & Spacious. Hardwood Flrs, 9' Ceilings, CathedralCeiling, 7 1/2" Baseboards, Pot Lights, Coffered Ceilings, Crown Moulding, Bay Windows, Custom FR B/I's & Wainscotting, Kitchen w/Granite C/T, Stone B/S, B/IDblOvens, French Door W/O to Backyard Oasis. www.propertiesforsaleinoakville.com Thanks to all our clients & colleagues for making 2017 another great year #2 TEAM in our Upper Middle Road office D e bb ie G o n in -B ra u n S a ra h M a cM u rch y Sales Representatives 9 0 5 .8 4 2 .8 0 0 0 in fo @ te a m g o n in .co m w w w .te a m g o n in .c o m Aboutowne Realty Corp., Brokerage *wpwia--yo»fndMidcip»i--a W e're with you through EVERY stage of life http://www.propertiesforsaleinoakville.com mailto:info@teamgonin.com http://www.teamgonin.com Ten essential tips for DIY-ers