From painting your front door to re-tiling the kitchen, these are the small DIY jobs that could add thousands to the value of your property.
The first ever winner of Big Brother and makeover king, Craig Phillips, returned to our TV screens this week on Channel 5’s How to Add 20K To Your Home last night, where the trained brick-layer revealed his best DIY tips.
Craig, who lives in Liverpool with his wife Laura and their newborn son, explained that updating your tiles or floors and painting your doors could make you sell your house faster.
If you made all these changes to your home you could stand to add more than £22,000 to its listing price, he believes.
Speaking to Femail, Craig dived into more details on what affordable changes can easily made to your home and at what price.
1. Re-tile a floor
From painting your front door to re-tiling the kitchen, these are the small DIY jobs that could add thousands to the value of your property. Newly-tiled floors can add up to £5,000 to the value, according to first ever winner of Big Brother and makeover king, Craig Phillips
Cost: £35-£45 per sq meter
Added value to house: £2,000-£5,000
Craig’s tip: ‘Floors can become worn out and damaged over time. So, before selling a home, replacing broken tiles, or re-doing the entire floor in the odd room, can instantly update and refresh the look of the house.
‘Of course, new buyers often have ideas and preferences of their own, but a neutral colour palette and simple, sleek designs are more likely to be favoured by the majority, or at least leave the best impression on house viewers.
2. Paint your fences
Cost: £150
Added value to House: £5,000
Craig’s tip: ‘When tidying up the garden, don’t forget about the fences! Panels that have been left exposed to the elements for some time can begin to look damaged and shabby.
‘But, with a quick lick of paint, this can reversed almost instantly.
‘Wooden fences should be treated at least once a year. And now is the perfect time to do just that as you can make the most of the last few dry days and prepare your woodwork for the months to come.’
Craig advised to use either a standard paintbrush or roller, or even a handheld paint sprayer for quick results.
3. Tile a wall
Craig Phillips returned to our TV screens this week on Channel 5’s How to Add 20K To Your Home last night, where the trained brick-layer revealed his best DIY tips
Cost: £20-£40 per sq metre
Added value to house: £1,000-£2,000
Craig’s tip: ‘A tiled wall isn’t just for kitchens and bathrooms anymore. In many modern homes, tiled walls have become an accent feature of living rooms and entryways, too.’
He added that tiles may differ, but the application and method is always the same, explaining: ‘For these walls, tiles which liken bricks and stones often look best, some of which won’t require grout either.
Craig gave some practical tips if you want to lay your tiles yourself, saying: ‘Once the tiles have been placed on the wall, following the same staggered method as above, they should be left to dry for 24 hours.
‘After this, use a damp sponge to wipe down the newly tiled surface to remove any residue or excess adhesive. You should do this two or three times over a 40 minute period, before finally cleaning the wall with a dry tissue.’
5. Get a grip of your handles
Cost: £300-500
Added value to house: £1,000 – £3,000
Craig’s tip: ‘Whether it’s the doors, drawers or kitchen cabinets, handles are constantly in use and consequently, can become damaged or loose.’
He added it was worth revamping the handles throughout your home by cleaning, tightening or replacing them, saying: ‘This is a quick and easy DIY project that will cost you very little. All you will need is a screwdriver and the handle selection of your choice.’
Craig revealed: ‘Keeping things like kitchen drawer and cabinet pulls or internal door handles the same throughout the room or house will help to create a sleek, professional and modern look that can add value and appeal to the home.’
6. Paint your doors
Cost: £150 – £200 for doors ; £1000 for window frames
Added value to House: £2,000 if done professionally
Craig’s tip: ‘Whether it’s your front door, back garden door or internal doors, freshly painted entryways make a huge difference to the charm of a home.
‘Front doors in particular, create curb side appeal and consequently, a first and lasting impression on potential buyers before they even enter the house,’ he added.
While some liberties can be taken with the colour of your front door, Craig advised to stick to keep the colour the same for each of the doors inside the house, saying: ‘It’s best to opt for neutral tones, which compliment the colour of the walls, floor and furniture.’
7. Furnish your garden
Cost: £100
Added value to house: £2,000
Craig’s tip: ‘While garden furniture and accessories are expensive and only temporary solutions that also require space and storage, a custom DIY pallet project might do the trick.
‘Using some pallet wood, which you can get free of charge from local farms or builders’ yards, build a corner bench seating unit to fit whatever space you have available.’
Craig also said that, the furniture, being a permanent fixture of the garden, should be treated and protected using appropriate paint and furniture wax.
8. Decorate your garden
In the garden, planters like these are an easy investment to make, costing very little. They can add a value of £500 to £600 to your house (stock picture)
Cost: £50-£100
Added value to your house: £500-£600
Craig’s tip: ‘A well-kept garden can add value to any home, and plants and flowers are a great way of doing just that while introducing some life and colour into the space.’
However, some elbow grease is required in order to complete this feat, Craig added, saying: ‘Use the thicker and stronger skids of the pallet to create the frame of the planting trough, starting with the two longer sides.
‘If you cut the shorter edges of these panels at a 15 degree angle, it will create a funnel-like shape, where the bottom of the structure is narrower and the top wider.
‘Fix the two sides together with some slats that have been cut to the width you want your trough to be. These slats will create the two smaller faces of the structure.
Craig said you could use more slats for the outside panelling, and to nail some along the bottom to create a base, explaining: ‘Sand the top edge down so it is flat. Create a framed lip around the top edge to create a neat and professional finish.
‘Then, cut two smaller pieces of wood and attach these to both ends of the base of the structure to create shoes for it to stand on.
‘As the trough will be kept outside, coat it with a wood treatment or wax to ensure it stays looking tidy.’
10. Insulate the loft
Cost: £300-£500
Added value to house: £1,000-£2,000
Craig’s tip: Craig explained that loft insulation not only will have value to your home, but also will be saving you money on energy bills.
He said: ‘Of course, the prospect of lower bills can also be used as a selling point for potential buyers.’
He added that some local councils offer grants and schemes for free installation, ‘meaning all you need to ‘do yourself’ for this DIY, is run a quick online search or pick up the phone.’