Doing a Home Remodel? You May Be Shocked at the Best Way to Save

I am currently in the middle of a major remodel after buying a home that needed huge changes. I've also built a house in the past and done a few smaller remodeling projects, as well.

I bought the home I'm remodeling using a mortgage, but I'm funding the remodel out of pocket, which means I need to stick to my budget. But the good news is, as I've gone through these remodels, I've found a really surprising way to save money that I never would have anticipated.

Fully custom cabinets could be a cheaper option than stock cabinets

When you're remodeling, chances are good that the kitchen will be the most expensive room you do -- and that's often because cabinets come at a high price. The average cost is between $4,000 and $12,000 for new cabinetry, but a large kitchen or one with special details can cost much more -- often tens of thousands of dollars.

One of the most surprising facts I have found when doing remodeling projects over the years is that it can often be cheaper to get completely custom cabinets rather than to get semi-custom or stock cabinets sold by most major kitchen suppliers.

When I built my home over a decade ago, I got a price on some stock cabinets from a big box store. It was way out of my budget, so I tracked down a local custom cabinet maker with a small shop. I ended up saving well over $10,000 on my cabinets by getting fully custom, higher-quality cabinetry.

The same thing happened to me recently when I was doing a remodel. I once again got a quote from a semi-custom cabinet shop, and again, it was way over budget. I contacted my original cabinet makers who agreed to travel from Pennsylvania to Florida to build me a custom kitchen -- and even with the travel, it's still many thousands of dollars cheaper than going with the semi-custom place.

While this may be surprising, there's a simple reason for it. If you have unusual spaces or any custom details you want to add beyond just very basic cabinets, there's a huge upcharge from semi-custom or stock cabinet makers because they simply aren't set up to do that kind of work. For custom cabinet makers doing everything by hand, though, there's not such a big upcharge since they're just hand-making the cabinets anyway and it's not such a big deal to deviate from the standard process.

I belong to a home decorating group online, and a huge number of people across the country have had a similar experience. They found that when they want anything beyond just very basic cabinets, they are often better off with the custom option from a small local shop rather than the pre-fab option that may seem cheaper at first glance.

Always be sure to compare prices from multiple sources

If you're remodeling a kitchen or bathroom and need cabinets, it's worth checking out custom cabinet makers in your area to see if you can find a better price. But the lesson of this goes beyond just cabinets.

Don't assume the source that seems like it's going to be cheaper always will be. Get quotes from different suppliers for the big-ticket items in your project so you can make a fully informed choice about where to get the best quality items at the best price.

Doing so just may leave you with some extra cash in your bank account -- or with a lower loan balance if you're covering the cost of the remodel with a home equity loan or a special renovation loan from one of the best mortgage lenders.