Showing posts with label DoitYourself. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DoitYourself. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Trend Of Do-It-Yourself

Over the past few decades, people have become much more home renovation savvy. Many Americans enjoy building a shelf storage cabinet in their kitchen if they need extra space or putting in bath storage cabinets instead of calling someone else to do it for them. In response to this trend, do-it-yourself companies have sprouted up all over the nation. Consumers want to have the ability to customize the products they purchase while also being able to buy them at the lowest possible cost. This is where home improvement stores and organization type stores come into play because they can offer both of these demands to the consumer. Customers are increasingly demanding more customization choices as well as the ability to do some projects on their own without any kind of help from a professional.

Stores like Lowes and Home Depot started out providing products for construction companies with wholesale like prices, especially for small construction companies. Once more and more people started to do their own home improvements, these stores became more "average" consumer friendly. There is such a wide range of items from which to choose from at these types of stores that the possibilities are endless. When you do things yourself, you can truly customize your home or apartment.

Lowes Build

The do-it-yourself trend has even caused the popularity of stores like The Container Store and IKEA to skyrocket. At these places, people can select pre-made pieces and then take them home to put together themselves. This way, consumers can make their products as expensive or as inexpensive as they want. The pieces themselves are usually sold at a lower cost than if they were all put together in one thing. This also gives the customer the opportunity to personalize their purchases they way they want to, while still getting a little bit of a lower cost. This type of store is great for people who want to do smaller projects on their own, instead of taking on everything (including bigger projects) on their own. Consumers now have much more power in deciding what exactly they want their home to look like. Even just 20 years ago consumers were somewhat at the mercy of the choices that companies put out for them depending on the season and what each company thought would be popular. Now, customers can have just about anything customized.

Most recently, more women have started taking on do-it-yourself projects, even ones such as installing a bathroom sink or shower head that are usually more difficult to complete. Of course, many companies took note of this and started updating their stores to fit the needs of both women and men. It will be interesting to see in the distant future when the economy begins to recover, if this trend of do-it-yourself will continue or it will start to decline, since sometimes when people start making more money, they tend to hire additional help. It will certainly be fascinating to watch this trend over the next 10-20 years to see where it goes.

The Trend Of Do-It-Yourself

Lowes Build

Thursday, August 4, 2011

DIY Shed Kits - Should You Buy a Do-it-Yourself Shed Kit Or Build One From Scratch?

When deciding whether to get a Diy shed kit or build one yourself, here is what you need to ask yourself. How handy are you? If you are pretty good at building things from a set of generic plans, then maybe all you need are a good set of blueprints and you can accomplish this task fairly easily. Sheds are generally not that complicated to build.

How about cost? Would it be cheaper to build a shed yourself or get a shed kit? The answer to this question is it depends. If you had some blueprints with a very detail list of materials, down to the last screw, you can price out your project very well. Remember to include any tools you do not have on hand and other such things that add up to the cost of building.

Lowes Build

When it comes to prefab sheds, prices can vary quite a bit. You will need to shop around to see what is available.

The real advantage with a kit, however, is that it takes the guess work out of the project. All the hardware you need, including brackets, screws, hinges and that sort of thing is included. Most come without the actual lumber. If this is the case, a complete list of exactly how much lumber you need along with all the cut charts will be included.

If the lumber is included, it will most likely be unfinished wood. You will have to paint or stain the wood once your shed is up, so make sure you include this in your pricing.

If your goal is to really save time, then the prefab ones may be your answer. If, however, you are truly looking for the best option for yourself, and don't mind building a shed from scratch, then you want to do some research before you make your final decision.

A good set of plans will give you enough information to price out your project, while the prefabricated sheds are already pre-priced, except for the lumber, if it is not included, and the paint.

Diy shed kits are very handy and will save you a lot of time, but could end up costing you more money. So decide what your goal is and do what suits you best. The more information you have, the better a decision you can make.

DIY Shed Kits - Should You Buy a Do-it-Yourself Shed Kit Or Build One From Scratch?

Lowes Build