DIY cottage renovations: A worthwhile project

When Gabriel and his wife, Véronique, took possession of their cottage, which was built in the 1960s, they already knew that it needed some work. In the end, they left almost nothing untouched, and they're incredibly proud of what they accomplished. Here's their story.

The planning phase

The residence originally belonged to Véronique's grandfather, and then to her father, who decided to pass it down to her. When they became the owners, Véronique and Gabriel had a specific plan in mind: to rebuild the cottage. "On the one hand, I really wasn't sure what we were getting ourselves into, but at the same time, we were super excited about the project," says Gabriel. "We kept the frame and redid everything else!"

The couple had once envisioned building their own home, but they ended up buying a house in the suburbs after the project fell through. As a result, renovating the cottage was an opportunity to carry out some of the ideas they'd had for their residence, which was a big motivator.

Becoming homeowners had also gotten them in the habit of saving, so the couple had funds set aside for various projects, including renovating the cottage.

"Whether it was to buy our house, plan our wedding, or renovate our cottage, we've definitely found that it's more motivating to save for concrete projects," says Gabriel. "It's easier when you get to enjoy the results!"

Before getting started, Gabriel and Véronique spent time planning. It was a little less than a year after they took possession of the cottage that renovations got underway.

Hire professionals or do it yourself?

Gabriel and Véronique decided from the outset to subcontract out all structural work and anything that required professional expertise. They would take care of everything else themselves. Since they were both working full-time, they could only devote weekends and days off to the cottage. “We knew it was going to be a long-term project," says Gabriel, "and that it would require a lot of effort. Every weekend we had to drive two hours just to get there."

Even though he's fairly new to construction, Gabriel admits he was motivated to do most of the work himself so he could save money. "If we didn't know how to do it, we'd find out by watching online videos or tutorials. We're proud of what we achieved! We saved a lot of money and renovated the cottage the way we wanted."

Saving on a daily basis

"After we bought our house, we were on a good saving streak, so we kept at it," says Gabriel. "I also changed jobs and got a better salary, which allowed me to put more money aside. Plus, we got married that year and it cost a bit less than we'd expected, which meant we were able to put money toward the cottage renovations sooner." For Gabriel, it was a combination of factors that allowed them to save up enough money to start renovating.

Since it's their second home, they also had the luxury of not being in a hurry to complete the work.

"We divided the project into several stages and made sure we had enough money before starting each stage. That gave us a better idea of what we'd budgeted versus what we actually spent."

According to Gabriel, this method also influenced some of the choices they made, such as when selecting finishing materials. "We shopped around for materials and watched for sales before buying what we needed. We went around to all the liquidation centres," he recalls.

This way, the couple was able to use their daily savings to make headway on their project. "We got a line of credit from the bank for the renovations, but we tried to use it as little as possible and pay it back as we went along to pay less interest," says Gabriel.

Bumps in the road

Although they'd anticipated working on the cottage for several months, Gabriel and Véronique admit they underestimated how much it would cost.

"We thought the entire renovation would cost $25,000, but it was more like $40,000," he says. "You think you're going to the store to pick up two or three missing screws and somehow always end up with a $200 bill—it adds up fast!"

There were also serious curveballs, such as water damage during the renovations that forced the couple to redo part of the bathroom and wall insulation. Gabriel and Véronique had originally estimated that insulating the walls would cost $3,000, but, when they opened things up, they realized they would have to spend double or even triple that amount to turn it into an all-season cottage. They started the renovations with $10,000 in cash, but this unforeseen expense changed their plans.

"That kind of surprise can throw you off and even make you feel discouraged. But we rolled up our sleeves and found solutions. We decided to wait longer before moving on to the next step in the renovations," says Gabriel. "If we had to do it all over again, we might have used the cottage as is for a few months. That would probably have allowed us to discover other problems before opening up all the walls. It would also have given us time to build up a bigger financial cushion to begin with, to deal with contingencies."

A rewarding endeavour

Gabriel and Véronique were also able to respect their financial limits and make choices that allowed them to complete their project without ever having to dip into their emergency fund, which was very important to them. "The work we wanted to do required a lot of cash. We preferred to wait longer between two stages of the renos rather than borrow from elsewhere."

While renovating the cottage was an opportunity for Gabriel and Véronique to learn about the costs of such an undertaking and how to do that type of work, above all it was an exciting and rewarding project. "Given how little we knew about renovations, we can be very proud of what we did with our own hands. And all the money we saved!"