Why do I care if remodeling products will save me time? You may have heard that time is money. But really, time is everything. When have you ever been able to spend money to get more time back? Or paid money to spend time with a loved one who is no longer with us? My guess – never. That’s because time is the most valuable asset that we have, so how we use our time can be one of the most important choices in life. The products below are remarkable. They’re skilled at saving you time so that you can get back to doing what you love to do (even if that’s more remodeling)! Some products might cost you a bit more, but the time they will save are well worth it.

Our Top 10 Time Saving Remodeling Products

1.Permabase Board

Permabase is one of those products you wished you had known about before you did your bathroom tile, or kitchen tile, or tile backsplash! Inside Permabase you’ll find Styrofoam beads. These beads allow the board to absorb water at a slower rate. This means that you can spreasd your thinset over your entire (or almost entire) tiling area at one time, and proceed to knock it out. Typically, you have to spread your thinset over very small areas because it will dry up at a pretty fast rate. Doing it this way can be very time consuming.  With Permabase you can thinset once, and focus on flying through your tile!

2. Premixed Grout

Grout can be a pain in the butt when it comes to remodeling products. Getting the consistency right is never easy. You need to make sure it is free of any lumps and is the consistency of toothpaste. It takes about 10 minutes to mix yourself, if you get it right the first time. I’ve constantly had to add more water, stir for a while, add more water, then it’s too thin, add more grout, keep stirring. If it dries up, you have to start from scratch. Premixed grout save time and hassle. Pop it open and get to grouting! You’ll be done before you know it!

 

3. Premixed Tile Adhesive

Premixed tile adhesive is one of my favorite time saving remodeling products. Mixing Tile adhesive can be a fairly time consuming job. In order to mix tile adhesive, you need water, thinset mortar, safety gloves, glasses, drill machinery and mixing palette, bucket, and about 20 minutes. If you don’t use it quick enough, it will harden. If you don’t use it all in one day, you have to throw it out. That can be a lot of waste! Premixed tile adhesive is a great solution. You pop it open, and begin. You can close the bucket when you’re done and reuse it the next day. You’re saving time, and eliminating waste. When you eliminating waste saves even more time having to remix the next day! The cost is a bit higher, but the time and effort it saves is worth every penny! Both of our Builders Surplus locations sell premixed tile adhesive, so if you’re in the Louisville, Cincinnati or Newport areas, stop by and pick up a bucket!

4. Rectified Tile

While we’re on the subject of tile time saving remodeling products, we can’t leave out rectified tile! Typical tile will vary in length and thickness. This is due to the fact that tile shrinks about 25% when it is baked. If you need a 12″ tile, it starts at 16″, goes into the oven, and comes out ROUGHLY 12″. Because of this, you’ll spend a lot of time using spacers, leveling out each piece of tile individually, making sure that they all appear level. You use grout to “cheat the system” and make everything appear the same. Rectified tile is cut to exact measurements in length and width, meaning you’ll have no lippage (tile jutting out a bit more than others off the wall or floor) and all of your lines will be exact. Rectified tile can be more expensive, but you’ll save money on grout, will complete your tile project much faster, and will get a much more clean look in the end. If you’re looking for rectified tile in Cincinnati, Newport or Louisville, look no further.

5. Split jambs on doors

Split jambs for doors can be a real life saver, especially in older homes. With a typical jamb, it is a fixed width. If you go to install a new door in your home, but your wall varies in thickness, which can happen more often than you think, you will have to build up your wall. If it’s too thick, you could have to feather it out. Both of which can be costly if you hire it out, or time consuming if you do it yourself. Split jambs are adjustable, so you can create the exact width that you need. The pieces fit directly in to each other, and come with casing already on them, which is another great time saver! They can be more expensive than fixed jambs, but if you don’t have the perfect door frame, it will save you money in the end.

6. Pre-finished Hardwood

Pre-finished hardwood may sound like a no-brainer, but not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon! You’ll pay more for pre-finished hardwood, but the time and effort you’ll save can be drastic. Unfinished hardwood starts at $1.39/sq. ft. at Builders Surplus, where pre-finished usually starts at about $.50 more, but staining and having to polyurethane, especially if it’s a big project, can take hours. That’s time you could be spending with your family, or on that getaway with friends!

7. Corked back COREtec

COREtec is one of the coolest flooring products we offer at Builders Surplus in Louisville and Newport, which also serves Cincinnati! One feature of the COREtec plus that we absolutely love is the fact that it comes with a cork backing attached to it! This means you don’t have to buy underlayment, which can cost about $.50 or more /sq. ft! You also save time putting down the underlayment.  Not only that, but COREtec’s cork backing is a great sound barrier, making your home ultra quiet. No more pounding footprints down the hall, or moisture seeping in underneath your flooring! It acts as an incredible moisture barrier.

8. 16′ Moulding and Crown

Crown moulding is one of those remodeling products that can elevate the look of your space with ease. Most Crown Moulding comes in 8′, 10′ or sometimes 12′ pieces. At Builders Surplus, we sell 16′ pieces of crown and moulding. That means you make fewer cuts, get your moulding up quicker, and it looks much more polished as well.
 

 

9. High Quality Paint

High quality paint can seem like a money trap. Why spend $30 more per gallon when you can get the same color for less? Well, higher quality paints, like Sherwin Williams, will provide you brighter pigments that will make for easy application, greater durability, and higher color retention. When paining something like your kitchen cabinets, you’ll be looking at those daily, so better color can make a big difference. The binders in these paints make them more resistant to cracking, blistering and peeling. We suggest you put out a little bit more cash for a better result. You can also get better coverage with most of these paints, meaning less coats, which surprise, saves time! Some remodeling products can easily justify their price.

10. Mesh Back Tile

I know our list of remodeling products has featured a lot of tile time savers, but we can’t help it that they’ve come up with some pretty great solutions! Mesh back tile is a great way to save time on your backsplash tile or wall tile. Mesh back tile comes in sheets, usually about a square foot. The pattern is perfectly in place with a mesh backing on it. Add your thinset and place your sheet. They line up with each other perfectly so it takes a lot of the science out of it. Some mesh back tiles require grout and some don’t. If you find one that doesn’t, you’ll save money there as well! Mesh back tiles can actually be very cost effective depending on the style that you choose.
These top 10 remodeling products are sure to make you happy. So knock out your projects quickly and enjoy your new space –  and your extra time!
 

 
Builders Surplus is a full service renovation company with locations in Louisville, Kentucky, and Newport, Kentucky, which also serves Cincinnati, Ohio. We are the leading provider of Ledge Stone, wall tile and backsplash tile in Louisville, Newport, and Cincinnati. We specialize in interior design, kitchen design, bathroom remodel, building materials, and home improvement. Interior Design and measurements come as a free service to our clients. We sell building materials ranging in every price point, from unfinished kitchen cabinets to top of the line Wellborn cabinets. In addition to interior design, we also offer installation services. If you have any questions or would like to set up a free design consultation with one of our interior designers, we would encourage you to do so. We love sharing our knowledge with clients & potential home renovators. We write about interior design, home decor, decorating ideas, and home improvement. We hope you’ll check back in for our next article! Happy Renovation!