Save on Contractor's Estimate by Using Sweat Equity

One oft-mentioned bit of advice to save money on home renovation: pitch in a hand, also known as sweat equity. The general theory being that you take on some of the expensive work yourself, saving not only on hard subcontractor costs but more importantly saving on the contractor's added 18-25% commission.

Great idea. But nobody ever tells you how to work this out with the contractor. Because the potential cost savings are so huge, it's definitely worth saving on the contractor's estimate by using sweat equity.