Well, I am back in my home after a 2 week remodel. Yes, frugal people remodel too. We just do it frugally.
You may have noticed that I spent some time whining in the home blog about my trials with water damage and the insurance company, well they finally paid off and we were able to get repairs done. Since we were dying to have some other things done in our home, we piggybacked those changes with our insurance repairs for a great price from the contractor.
Since our ceilings were getting repaired and painted, we got the walls of the 2 story rooms painted too. Since our carpet was getting replaced, we had hardwood floors put in.
Had we put in the wood floors at a different time, or had the walls painted later, it would have cost twice as much than it would have it we had not piggybacked the work.
We saved a few other items we are doing ourselves to as well. We did not ask the contractor to do anything we were capable of doing.
There is one caveat to be aware of: If you do piggyback repairs on top of insurance repairs you should be sure to keep good records in case the insurance company wants to inspect and make sure you are not trying to pull a fast one on them.
If you don’t want to spend the extra money to do some remodeling while you are doing insurance repairs, here are some other things you can do to freshen your home during a time of insurance covered repairs.
If they have approved wall repair and repainting: Pick a new color for the room. There is not rule that you have to paint the room the same color.
If they have approved new carpet: Change your carpet to something completely different (at a comparable cost)
If you have a kitchen fire (God forbid)and the insurance company has approved the repairs: move a couple of cabinets and appliances around if it will serve you better.