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You shouldn’t avoid your prep work. You want to take the time to do it right and right from the beginning. We know its a horrible, tedious process, and nobody likes it, but it saves so much time later on down the way. And that’s what you’re trying to do: save yourself money and time.

20. Using the Wrong Tools

There’re really three problems with using the wrong tool: You can wreck the tool, you can wreck the project you’re working on, and you can wreck yourself.

19. Building a Small Bathroom

If you need a small bathroom, pick the right fixtures, you can buy low-profile toilets and narrower sinks. Don’t try to put full-size fixtures in a tiny, tiny bathroom. It’s just going to be crowded. Also bold colours actually make small spaces feel better.

18. Ignoring Lighting

Another mistake that homeowners will often make is not taking into consideration the lighting in their home. The lighting in your home can completely change the colors, the feeling, the ambiance.

There are really three main types of lighting: general lighting, task lighting and drama or accent lighting. You need a combination to have a really good end design.

17. Going Too Trendy

I know we have said this before however people often make the mistake of wanting to be too hip and trendy in their new home by picking the latest, hottest, coolest things. What they don’t take into consideration is that trendy means that it’s short term.

You want something that’s going to stand the test of time, and you want something that’s going to last for years and years.

16. Building Small Doorways

Make sure you’re looking at the entire floor plan of your home when you’re planning your doorways. Look for, and make sure that every room has multiple exits. Or, if those doorways are in high-traffic areas, make sure they are wide enough to let multiple people to pass through.

15. Failure to Anticipate Chaos

I think it’s really important to anticipate the time and the pacing of your renovation. You probably want to do that up front, get it over with, and then you can slowly start to piece your life and your home back together.

14. Incorrect Storage of Materials

You should always store materials in a cool, dry place.

A roll of plastic will save you a lot of time and a lot of money, when it comes to wood and concrete. When it comes to tools and stuff like that, keep them inside.

13. Not Using Green Materials

People will often make the mistake of not going green with their home project for two reasons: (A), They don’t know how to, and (B), they think that it costs more money.

If you’re doing your renovation green, you’re really ahead of the market right now. So going green is a very smart investment.

People often make the mistake of picking the wrong paint for whatever particular project they may be working on, you don’t realize that there is paint for just about every surface.

Flat is basically for your ceilings and sometimes for your walls, whereas your semigloss would basically be for trim in a bathroom or in maybe a dining room. The glossy will give it a more upscale look.

11. Building Narrow Halls and Staircases

When you’re renovating, bigger is always better when it comes to hallways and stairs.

10. Choosing the Wrong Windows

Windows are really expensive, and a lot of people try to (save) money on them, but that’s not where you want to save your money.

You can always put more emphasis on the windows in the front of the house that face the street. That’s one way to save on money, but do not skimp on quality.

9. Forgetting About Safety

The most important things you can have on a job site for your own personal safety are goggles to protect your eyes; ear protection to protect your hearing; and gloves to protect your hands from splinters, nails and such, (Also) a good set of boots because there are nails and sharp objects everywhere. The last thing is, you must have a first-aid kit.

8. Not Doing Your Homework

You have to know what you’re getting into, even if you’re not doing the work yourself, know what to look for, what your contractor is doing. That way you can keep a close eye on the project and know when something’s getting out of hand.

I think it’s really important to do at least some preliminary work. You want to be able to have enough information to know what questions to ask.

7. Forgetting to Update the Electrical System

I think people sometimes forget about electric when they’ve been renovating because it’s expensive, it’s costly and it’s hidden, you want to walk through the house with the electrician before you start to talk about outlets, where they are, where you want new outlets, three-prong outlets. You want to make sure everything’s up to code.

6. Ignoring Your Home’s Style

You bought that Spanish home or that Craftsman home for a reason, because you liked that style. So keep your new design, your new build projects in that style.

5. Avoiding Permits

If you do perform work without a permit and something serious happens, your homeowner’s insurance will not cover it.

4. Setting an Unrealistic Budget

I think that people often underestimate what it’s going to cost to do a big renovation, and part of that is because they don’t realize the biggest cost in a renovation usually is, the labour.

You never know what’s going to happen once you start the demolition process. As soon as you open up a wall, you never know what you’re going to find behind that wall, so you need to pad your budget, and you need to be realistic.

3. Hiring the Wrong Contractor

You need to make sure that the contractor is right for you (US!), because he’s going to be in your home, and you want to make sure it’s the right contractor.

When you interview contractors and you check references, the thing you want to find out is, how fast do they return phone calls? A contractor who returns phone calls fast has nothing to hide, and it’s going to reduce your anxiety level.

2. Taking On More Than You Can Handle

When people make the mistake of not knowing their limitations, they often take shortcuts.

You really do have to know up front where you’re going, and you can’t jump into things without having a plan.

1. Overbuilding for Your Neighborhood

The biggest mistake people make when they’re trying to figure what the payback is going to be is they overbuild for their neighborhood. They have a $100,000 house and they put a $100,000 addition on it, so now they have a $200,000 house in a $100,000 neighborhood.