Are you looking to save money on your flooring renovation project? This type of project does not necessarily imply spending mountains of money. There are several options for techniques and materials that can transform your floor without costing a fortune.

Here are 4 tips that will help you spend less as you work on replacing your floor

1) Restoring the floor covering material that you already have

One of the best ways to spend less money is to give your current floor a makeover. Instead of removing the old floor and installing a new one, you can refurbish the surface to make it seem like the floor is brand new. 

Depending on the current state of the flooring material and the way it is made, this might only entail varnishing or sanding the floor or applying certain products to hide imperfections. Even though this could be a temporary solution until you have enough money to undergo a bigger transformation, it can be a great compromise between renewing the floor and saving short term. 

Most floor materials can be restored at least once, even lower-end flooring. You simply need to use the proper technique and the right products.

Here are some articles published on our renovation blog that could be useful for this type of project:

• How to restore hardwood floors in 4 steps

• How to sand, repair and varnish your hardwood floor

• How to renovate a bathroom ceramic floor

2) Selecting affordable flooring materials

If your floor has sustained too much damage and needs to be replaced, small repairs will not be sufficient to make it look nice again. In this case, you will have to buy new materials. To save money, opt for cheaper materials such as engineered wood or laminate floor. 

These materials are both affordable and highly resistant. As well, numerous designs are available. Some materials also imitate other more expensive styles such as mahogany. Try to steer towards materials that require fewer additional expenses, such as engineered wood without glue or nails (floating floor). 

Lastly, you could also go for recycled materials. Not only are they cheaper, but they are also high in quality and or often just as nice as newer materials. However, saving money should never mean sacrificing quality: also go for the best price/quality ratio.

Here are the 10 most common affordable flooring materials: 

• Stratified

• Cork flooring

• Transformed wood

• Linoleum

• Concrete

• Vinyl

• Carpet or carpet tiles

• Bamboo

• Rubber

• Ceramic Tiles

For more on the subject, check out 10 affordable flooring materials

3) Choosing the simplest flooring model

A good way to save money is to choose a flooring model or an installation process that is simpler, in the sense that it might not be fancy but it still works very well. Opting for fancier designs and complicated setups will mean more expenses as you will probably have to hire professionals to install them. For example, if you decide that tiles are the way to go, pick a simple design instead of choosing a mosaic, which requires a lot of time and extra materials.

Photo: Flickr Scott Lewis

4) Completing the flooring job yourself

If you have the know-how, the time, the tools and the proper amount of motivation, doing the job yourself could lead you to save up to 50% of the total expenses relating to the work. You could remove the old floor and install the new one yourself if the material you choose allows it. 

Tiles and floating floor can easily be installed without the help of a professional. However, other materials such as hardwood floors or concrete are harder to install and may require the expertise that only a professional has. 

Moreover, beginner's mistakes can end up costing a lot of money. Any money you have saved on labour costs may have to be spent on repairs or replacing the floor more quickly than expected. Is it really worth it?

It's up to you to figure out if the whole ordeal is worth it.