By doing some work and knowing when to hire, owners can renovate frugally

A home improvement job doesn't do much good if you can't afford to live in the place afterward because you've spent everything you had.

And yet, no one wants a new kitchen to look chintzy or an extra bedroom to look like an oversized closet.

So Christian Nielsen and his wife, Josephine, wanted a middle ground when they went looking to buy a house eight years ago. With just $5,000 down, they bought a two-bedroom Cape on a third of an acre in Ridge for $105,000.

Today, the value of their house has tripled - and not just because of the hot housing market. It's also because of the modest renovations Nielsen undertook himself - such as adding central air-conditioning, an irrigation system and a cobblestone walk.

"It's amazing what can be done with a paintbrush and some creativity," said the 45- year-old electronics salesman and father of three. His secret: "Don't look at the house as is when you are buying it. Look at what it can become."

Whether you do it yourself or seek an economy-minded contractor - they're hard to find and Nielsen got lucky, but they're out there - a home renovation doesn't have to leave you bereft of funds. Experts and do-it-yourselfers say the key is to be a little skeptical of the first answers you get, be persistent and, if you can't do the job yourself, get a little help from someone who understands how to squeeze a buck.

Real upgrades, not decor

The key to getting the most for your money, said Ron Wasserman of Custom Kitchenz by Ron, an Island Park contractor, is making improvements that upgrade your standard of living - something that a buyer also would appreciate - rather than just a change in decor.

And if you're serious about making improvements, it might help to get on with it, because rising costs for labor and materials are constantly pushing prices up.

"Any petroleum-based product - including plastics, siding and roofing - has recently skyrocketed due to the increase in the price of oil," said Robert Hochberg, an architect with an office in East Meadow. Likewise, fuel costs have raised the price of raw materials such as lumber, much of which needs to be transported from Canada, the Midwest and the South. Damage caused by hurricanes also has put price pressure on construction supplies and labor.

Wasserman, who has done award-winning designs and is not a low-budget contractor, said he hasn't had a slow period since 1992. Two of his recent jobs included a bathroom remodeling that cost nearly $30,000 and a kitchen makeover that cost about $90,000, he said. "Twenty years ago," he added, "the same renovations would've been possible for $12,000 and $40,000."

Low-interest loans have played a big role in keeping costs lower than they might otherwise be. Three out of five of Wasserman's jobs are paid for with home-equity loans carrying 4.5 to 5 percent interest rates.

"People are continuing to use the equity in their homes to renovate while interest rates are low," said Dawn Cameron, sales manager at HSBC Mortgage Corp. in Melville, who specializes in loans for remodeling.

A little frugality

Whether your grubstake comes from a loan or your own reserves, a little frugality will stretch it. That's what Neilsen did at his property in Ridge. Despite estimates from a few contractors who insisted it was necessary to rip off the entire roof of his 30-foot-wide house, he trusted his instincts and reshingled the existing roof for just $1,200 - half of what a new roof would have cost.

He also installed central air-conditioning himself for $5,000.

The backyard had a large hole where the previous owners had a swimming pool; Neilsen opted to spend just $2,000 to fill and level it instead of $7,000 to install an elaborate retaining wall, as one contractor advised. And to enhance his leisure time - after seven years of dragging around a long hose to water his yards - he hired Steve's Irrigation in Wading River for $1,800 to install a sprinkler system.

That's not to say Neilsen doesn't enjoy doing the work himself. In fact, by doing most of his maintenance, he is able to save quite a bit.

For instance, Nielsen purchased his own seed from seedland.com, where he was able to get 25 pounds of Kentucky bluegrass seed for $40. He replaced parts of the picket fence surrounding the house for only $40 per section, and replaced by hand pickets that had weathered and cracked.

With the help of what he considered a reasonably priced contractor in Brentwood, Futuristic Construction Co., he replaced the basic concrete slab leading to the front door with a multicolored cobblestone walkway for $2,000.

He also left the 55-foot driveway to professionals, Atlas Asphalt of Deer Park, and instead of using costly concrete to resurface his "broken mess of a driveway," he had it resurfaced with asphalt, adding a Belgian block border (total cost: $1,800).

A rear deck was a termite's dream, so he had Richard Morton of Elegant Exteriors in Sayville rip it out and replace it with EverGrain, a plastic and wood composite, for $2,000.

And instead of replacing the weathered front siding on the left side of the house for $900, he painted it for $15. High-gloss paint for the white metal trim cost another $7. He painted the front door trim with a can of hiding white for $6. The fence was painted with one gallon of high-gloss white for $25, and he re-did the children's playhouse in the backyard with paint for just $15. All told, the Neilsens spent about $15,000. (Of course, they did not redo the kitchen or bath, rooms that are expensive to renovate.)

Not every improvement project is as sensible. According to Gary Hoskins of LBN Design and Drafting in Dix Hills, upscale couples with two incomes are lulled by low-interest loans into building home additions with king-size bathrooms and cathedral ceilings. But the expense doesn't end once the work is done. "How are they planning to heat these rooms?" asked Hoskins, who doesn't see the approach as very practical.

Collaborate and save

Sometimes the key to saving money is finding a contractor willing to work with you in the planning and building. Michele Martin and her husband, Martin Ginsberg, recently completed low-cost renovations on their four-bedroom home in the canal section of Long Beach with local contractor Eric Groh of 123 Home Improvements. The total cost was $15,000 for materials and $14,500 for labor for the mostly "decorative" interior renovations. Groh installed new ceramic tile flooring in the kitchen and did the painting and carpentry throughout the house.

Martin and her sister made many of the design decisions in the Long Beach home. "I was happy to find a contractor with whom I could work collaboratively," she said. "I picked out the materials myself, which kept the project cost-effective while fulfilling my design requirements."