Upgrade Ideas Costing Less than £500

With the cost of living these days, many households are wondering how they can do things for less. In this blog, we’ll explore some budget-friendly home upgrade ideas.

While affordable, these approaches (ranging from a new paint job to updated furniture) can still be effective once done properly. Without further ado, here are home upgrade ideas that cost less than £500!

1. Repaint Walls

Average Cost: £400 to £600

One way you can revitalise your home on a budget is by repainting the walls in a given room. This may mean opting for the same paint colour or to repaint the walls using a new palette.

Either way, if you have a space in your home with walls that haven’t been painted in a while, repainting them can significantly enhance the look and feel of the room.

2. Smart Lighting

Average Cost: £50 to £100

It’s important to note that not all upgrades discussed here can be dealt with DIY. Smart lighting as with lighting fixture installation in general must be installed by a qualified electrician.

Smart lighting can provide increased control over lighting settings, higher efficiency and potentially lower energy bills. There exists a range of smart lighting options on the market including smart bulbs and motion sensor lights.

Whatever option you decide to go with, it’s important to carefully consider what smart lighting product might be right for you and your home. A smart hub may also be needed to enable you the control over lighting you desire.

3. Install Coving

Average Cost: £250 to £550

Having coving added to a space in your home can limit the capacity of grime and dirt to accumulate along floor edges and corners while also enhancing the look and feel of the space with their fancy design.

Adding coving is not an easy job DIY, so should only proceed in taking this work on by yourself if you’re sure of what’s involved including the tools required and safety steps. If in doubt, hire a professional to ensure the correct outcome.

4. Regrout Bathroom Tiles

Average Cost: £15 to £300

It’s possible to regrout bathroom tiles DIY once you know what is involved and use the right tools and material. Regrouting bathroom tiles will likely cost around £15 to £50 in supply costs if undertaking the work by yourself, with the total price reaching around £215 to £300 if hiring a professional. Either way, it generally takes a day or two to regrout a bathroom’s tiling.

5. Retiling a Shower

Average Cost: £250 to £400

If you feel it’s time to replace your shower’s tiling entirely, it’s best to hire a professional. While regrouting bathroom tiles is a more DIY-friendly task, you’ll want to hire a professional to retile a shower. This is because replacing tiles is a complex job to get right with the need to ensure the new tiles are installed evenly.

6. Add a Smart Thermostat

Average Cost: £300 to £500

A smart thermostat can give you more control over your heating system while increasing convenience and helping to lower your heating bills through increased efficiency.

You must hire a qualified electrician to install a smart thermostat as it is not a DIY task given the electrical work involved. The smart thermostat unit is likely to cost around £150 to 250 with the price of labour likely to cost around the same, bringing the estimated total cost of a new thermostat installation to £300 to £500.

7. CCTV

Average Cost: £300 to £500

A CCTV system can enhance your home security in multiple ways including by capturing footage that may be relevant in the event of an attempted break-in. Further, the mere presence of security camera(s) can deter potential intruders from trying to break-in to begin with.

8. Driveway Cleaning

Average Cost: £100 to £400

If you have a drive at the front of your home, you should consider having it cleaned as often as is recommended for the specific type of driveway you have.

As you might expect, this type of work must be dealt with by professionals. It is likely to cost around £100 to £150 to have a driveway cleaned only whereas the price will probably reach £250 to £400 if you want to have your driveway cleaned and sealed (if sealing is appropriate).

9. Staining a Garden Fence

Average Cost: £120 to £300

You may wish to opt for staining a garden fence as a budget-friendly home upgrade. Having a garden fence stained can protect it from the elements, increase durability and reduce UV damage. Fence staining can even increase the value and kerb appeal of a property.

10. Wood Floor Restoration

Average Cost: £200 to £300

If you have a wood flooring installation that’s worn down but don’t have the budget for a full replacement just yet, a wood floor restoration is the best middle ground solution.