Home Improvement Harmony: Projects that Make Beautiful Music Together

Improving your property can be a fun and rewarding experience. Unfortunately, even the best projects can quickly become tedious, time consuming, and/or expensive. If there are a few different projects you?d like to tackle around the house, combining them can sometimes make more sense than doing them one at a time. Of course, with discordant projects that have nothing to do with each other (i.e. changing the lighting in your kitchen and putting a new roof on the garage) it won?t do you much good to attempt them simultaneously. Much like the chords in a song or the different sections of an orchestra, the following projects go together in a way that is both harmonious, as well as beneficial.

Window Replacement and Siding Installation
Since replacing a window often involves partially removing siding, and installing siding must take the dimensions of the windows into account, doing both of these jobs at the same time can often cost less and take up far less time than doing them separately. These two projects are so in tune with each other that many companies that do one also handle the other!

Kitchen and Bathroom Remodeling
These are two of the most popular projects in the country, and in several areas of the country, each can return most or all of their construction costs in added resale value. However, kitchen and bathroom remodels can get expensive very quickly. Combining these projects can be beneficial because many of the same contractors and materials used in one area can also be used in the other. In major renovations to these areas, electrical and plumbing may need to be moved. By remodeling them together, you can do this rerouting with the other area in mind, which can save you time and money. Additionally, kitchens and bathrooms that are remodeled together and use many of the same materials are more likely to create a sense of cohesion throughout the house.

Decking and Landscaping
If decking and landscaping projects cut an album, it would be all duets. While changing the landscaping doesn?t necessarily require adding a deck, building a deck will definitely have some effect on your landscaping. Since they are both outdoor projects, homeowners in many areas of the country will be limited as to when these projects can take place due to weather restrictions. Some homeowners have made the mistake of adding just a deck to their property, but quickly realize (because of all the extra time they?re spending outdoors) that their landscaping needs some work, too. Depending on when the deck is finished, they may have to wait the entire winter to have their landscaping upgraded. This in turn leads to another couple weeks in the following summer full of loud noises and crowded driveways that could?ve been avoided had the projects been done simultaneously.

Not every project has a perfect counterpart, but by talking with your contractor and using a little common sense, you can find some others that are worth combining in whole or in part. Though purchasing labor in bulk won?t save you as big of a percent as buying all of your toilet paper for the year in one shot, when it comes to working on your home, every bit counts. At the very least, entering concurrent projects will give you more of the results you want in a shorter amount of time.

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