A man has transformed the run-down basement of his fixer-upper home single-handedly after learning the skills he needed from the internet, saving approximately $30,000 in the process.
“It was liveable, but it was very dated. The home, I think, was built in 1968 and not much had been updated since then,” he told The Epoch Times.“I did everything before the basement, so I learned how to do basically all the DIY from doing things upstairs, like the kitchen and bedrooms. I renovated two bathrooms upstairs.”
“The first process, which is probably the most important, is the planning phase, and that involves basically looking at where the existing plumbing was,” he said. “Once I had my plan, I sketched everything up on graph paper. ... it’s basically plan, draft everything up, submit to your city or county to get approval.”
After his plans were approved, Mr. Thron connected with a few local electricians and plumbers who knew him from other projects. “What they were willing to do was let me do a lot of the preliminary work on my own,” he said. “Then, they would come back at the end of the project and make sure everything was done to their standards.”
The biggest challenge in Mr. Thron’s renovation came before he tackled the basement. While working on the kitchen and only bathroom with a shower simultaneously, he moved out and stayed with a friend.
“I was commuting back and forth,” he said. “They were about 40 to 45 minutes away, so basically every morning I would get up early, I would go to work, and I would drive directly to the house to work on it. ... That was kind of a miserable time ... definitely the worst part.”
Mr. Thron, who paid around $170,000 for his home, said that renovating the basement, “essentially doubled the footprint of usable space” in the house.
Detailing the process of working on the basement, he said he began with the demolition and deconstruction of the old fixtures and fittings before moving on to under-slab plumbing. Since there were some leaks, Mr. Thron had to hire a contractor.
He then insulated and framed the walls. Later, he installed drywall and fitted waterproof luxury vinyl plank flooring.
Next came the installation of a drop ceiling to retain access to the plumbing and electrical cables and, finally, painting and decor.
“I hung a TV on the entertainment wall, as well as an electric fireplace. I also built my own coffee table,” Mr. Thron said. “In terms of the bathroom, I built a custom barn door ... I hooked up the toilet and vanity and a tub and everything myself, and then again I had a licensed plumber take a look at it and sign off on it.”
After just over two months of working in the basement around his job, during nights and weekends, he managed to complete the renovation, and his fixer-upper house had a new lease on life.
Mr. Thron says that by doing all the work himself, he saved something in the region of $30,000.
“It only cost me around $15,000 in materials,” he said, adding that, based on quotes and anecdotal evidence, a contractor hired to do the same job would likely have cost over $40,000.
The best part of undergoing the renovation, Mr. Thron said, is that he now has another place to just hang out.
“I have another bedroom, I have another bathroom, so that was the most rewarding part for me.”
However, as with any project, it wasn’t always smooth and came with its own challenges.
“I think the toughest part was basically how many disciplines are involved to do a basement on your own ... you kind of have to be a master of many.”
However, Mr. Thron has gained a “significant amount of equity” since renovating. He estimates his house is now worth over $400,000, but the skills he’s gained are invaluable.
“You’re kind of better equipped to work on things in the future, or you can be an asset to friends and family to help them out,” he said.
After going through the process himself, Mr. Thron advises aspiring home renovators to start small.
“I would say if you’re able to work on something that you don’t need every day, like a spare bathroom or a spare bedroom, to get a little bit of confidence, to gain some skills. As you gain those skills, move on to other things,” he said.
“There is so much information available right now. ... You can really learn almost anything if you just set your mind to it,” he said. “If you’re willing to put in the work and potentially spend a little bit of money on the tools, you can learn almost everything so get started!”
