Home Improvement Guide: Ideas & Tips for Beginners

Renovation Checklist: What's Involved?

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you’re planning a bathroom renovation, just wallpapering a room or want to update an entire house – every renovation consists of the same five steps:

1. Taking Stock: What needs to be replaced, what can stay? What condition is the room or house in and what do you want to achieve with the renovation?
2. Planning: What steps are necessary, which tools and materials will you need, how many people should help and how long might the job take?
3. Preparation: Get all your materials ready, clear out the room and protect it from dirt with dust sheets, etc.
4. Renovating: Follow the sequence of work steps precisely (for example, when sanding windows). Take any drying times, etc. into account.
5. Cleaning Up: Dispose of any waste from the renovation and clean the area. Put furniture, etc. back in place.

Precision and skill are required when renovating. If you're not yet sure how to sand a wall or cut tiles, for example, read through our guides or ask a professional for help. Then it's time to practise before you get started on the actual renovation!

The five golden rules of renovation

Classic renovation jobs include tasks like wallpapering walls, painting windows and doors, and cutting and laying laminate flooring. You can do all this without much prior experience, as long as you stick to the golden rules of renovation:

1. Always work from top to bottom

Always start with the messiest jobs and work your way from the ceiling to the floor. This is especially important if you're renovating an entire room. As a general rule:

• Sanding comes before filling
• Drilling before painting
• Knocking through a wall before tackling the floor, etc.

2. Always plan for extra

Whether it's wall paint, hardware, dust sheets or laminate, there's always some waste during a renovation. If you plan for about fifteen per cent more material than you've calculated, you can easily avoid minor disasters.

3. Cleanliness is key

You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs; and you can't renovate without making a mess. Nevertheless, a clean work site is important. Carefully cover any areas you don't want to work on and remove rubble or debris after each step. This saves you a huge clean-up job at the end and prevents one stage of the renovation from creating more work for the next. We show you how to work cleanly and efficiently in our guide to planing, for example.

4. Take your time

Whenever you use liquid or viscous materials like paints, fillers or sealants, they need time to dry. You should never ignore the specified drying times – even if it means you're twiddling your thumbs while you wait. In general, you should be aware that a renovation usually takes longer than you think.

5. Know where to save money

Renovating can be quite expensive, so it's natural to want to save money where you can. But be mindful of what you're saving on. Tools should be high-quality, as they need to be precise, durable and powerful. With wall paints, a high-quality formula also saves money – because the paint provides perfect coverage or is ideally suited for the room in question. However, you don't necessarily have to buy the premium product when it comes to dust sheets, fillers and many other consumables.

Kleines Update statt großer Renovierung: Ideen für ein frisches Zuhause

Du musst nicht gleich renovieren, wenn du Lust auf Neues hast. Wir hätten ein paar Ideen für kleine DIY-Projekte, die easy frischen Wind in dein Zuhause bringen:

• Neue Griffe für Möbel, Türen oder Fenster
• Fugen säubern oder erneuern
• Einzelne Wände in Akzentfarben streichen
• Beleuchtung mit mehr Stimmungslicht anpassen
• Neue Vorhänge befestigen
• Lichtschalter modernisieren

Du willst nichts erneuern, aber trotzdem ein Gefühl wie nach dem Renovieren haben? Dann her mit den Putzhelfern und ran an den Deep Clean: Räume das gesamte Zimmer aus und reinige jeden Winkel von der Decke bis zum Boden – Fenster putzen oder Teppich shampoonieren inklusive. Dabei kannst du gleich gründlich entrümpeln!