Outside of labor and contractor fees, material choices will have the biggest impact on your home remodeling budget. Adding value and new beauty to your home doesn’t have to be cost prohibitive. Making the right material choices could reduce upfront costs, or, in some cases keep maintenance costs low over the lifetime of your home.

Learn more about cost saving materials and plan your home remodeling project with HomeWorx.

Low Cost Alternatives That Could Reduce Your Home Remodeling Bill

One of the most effective ways to reduce costs is to look for alternative materials. You can get a premium aesthetic and long-term durability, even with some of the more affordable materials on the market.

Here are some examples that can be used for home remodeling and renovation in Des Moines.

• Prefabricated Panels and Concrete Sheets: If you are making additions to your home, consider working with prefabricated panels and concrete sheets. These are factory made and ready to be incorporated into your home with minimal labor costs. Talk to your contractor about the suitability of prefabricated structural materials. Depending on the size of the addition, this could work out to be the cheaper option.
  
  
• Stone Cladding Veneer: Homes made with stone masonry give an appearance of quality and prestige. Unfortunately, traditional masonry can be prohibitively expensive if you need to perform remodeling on a strict budget. Instead, you could choose stone cladding, a type of veneer that is lighter and less expensive than a solid stone exterior. With stone cladding you’ll enjoy lower labor costs, faster installation time, and extensive customization options designed to simulate traditional masonry.
  
  
• Laminated Flooring: Laminated wood flooring is an obvious choice if you want the look and feel of hardwood, without the cost. Invest a little more for luxury laminate planks and you could even refinish the floor at least once over its lifetime.
  
  
• Vinyl Flooring: Even luxury vinyl planks are more affordable than timber, and they’re relatively easy to install, which will keep labor costs to a minimum. You can use vinyl throughout the home in living areas, bathrooms, and kitchens. As a home remodeling material, vinyl is a great choice because it resists scratching, staining, and is impervious to moisture.
  
  
• Quartz or Laminate Countertops: Quartz countertops can give you the look of high-end stone and marble for a lower cost. If you’re on a particularly tight budget, consider laminated counters.
  
  
• Vinyl Doors: You can save money on your interior doors by choosing vinyl. This material can simulate the look of wood while providing excellent insulative properties. Best of all, vinyl is affordable and will last for decades.

Choosing Premium Materials to Reduce Maintenance Costs

You can also consider some durable premium materials to provide a better return on your investment. These won’t reduce your remodeling spend, but they will result in lower ongoing maintenance and replacement costs.

• Choose high quality hardware for kitchens and bathrooms. Stainless steel, brass, and gold-plated hardware could provide decades of usage without wear.
  
  
• In your bathroom, work with glass and tile as much as possible. Tile materials are relatively low in cost, and they could last the lifetime of your home. You could keep the same tiles and clean or replace grout as necessary. For shower and bath enclosures, frameless tempered glass could last a lifetime with maybe one or two hardware refreshes.
  
  
• Choose low maintenance materials if your home remodeling will extend to the exterior. Stone cladding can be pressure washed to keep your home looking great. Vinyl siding is a low-cost option that will last more than 35 years when properly cared for, and color is injected into the material at the factory, so it’s unlikely to fade or stain.

Choose a Contractor That Works to Contain Costs

Even choosing the wrong contractor could have an impact on your final remodeling bill. If a contractor is inexperienced or inefficient, you could pay more for planning and labor on the project. If they don’t have strong industry contacts, then they won’t have access to wholesale pricing on standard materials.

The best contractors use CAD software to design your home improvements and present them to you before a final decision is made. This can help to prevent setbacks and cost overruns. With advanced 3D modeling, you will know exactly what the finished work will look like, and you’ll be less likely to request change orders once work is already underway.

Always choose a reputable home remodeling contractor in Des Moines if you want to keep costs reasonable and within an agreed budget.

A More Meaningful Home with the Help of HomeWorx

At HomeWorx Iowa, we don’t claim to be the cheapest contractors in Des Moines. However, we do make a commitment to provide the most budget-friendly options based on your needs. We don’t cut corners where it could detriment the quality of workmanship or longevity of your investment.

Ultimately, we’ll ensure that you make the best investment for your budget, with long-term added value and functionality. We can provide a professional design service, 3D modeling, general contracting, and project management for whole home remodeling.

You deserve quality. Whether you choose lower cost alternative materials, or premium options, we’ll make your dream home a reality.

Talk to us today to for a no obligation consultation.