6 Important Tips to Help With Your Industrial-Style DIY Projects

If you love to browse Pinterest and stare at the industrial-inspired do-it-yourself projects, then you’re probably in the mood to tackle a project or two.

Whether you decide to build a simple coat rack, an intricate bookshelf or a complex set of industrial nesting tables, you’ll need to source materials. Then there are the details. Are specialty tools required? How do you add industrial-look décor into your current home design? When should you hire a pro? To help, Kimball Building Supplies Centre suggests these six important tips you should know to help with your industrial DIY projects.

#1 Examine your décor and make a list

Rustic industrial décor is absolutely stunning and it’s easy to get caught up in all things industrial. This popular style is characterized by brick walls, exposed beams and piping, concrete features, rustic wood, unfinished paint and earthy finishes.

Given that this style celebrates minor imperfections – think cracked paint and rough wood – it’s easy to add it into the mix of any décor style, from rustic farmhouse to upscale luxury. When first considering industrial-style projects for the home, it’s easy to overdo things. There’s a fine line between steampunk chic and trashy. To prevent your home décor from looking overwhelming yet still keeping to your plan for industrial-inspired home décor, look around your home and plan out what items to use and where to put them.

#2 Save all your scraps

There was a time when cut metal pipes and scrap cuts of wood were nothing more than trash. These days, that trash is treasure. By keeping the scraps and remnants of other projects, you can start collecting a solid list of materials for future industrial DIY projects. Other options for materials include old crates and pallets (which can be magically converted into funky utilitarian-style coffee tables), excess copper pipe (used for a chic industrial table lamp), and just about anything.

To keep clutter under control, be sure to designate a bin for all these scraps of material and be sure to go through your stock regularly. If you hold on to a scrap for more than six months without having a plan for it, it may be time to put it in the recycling bin.

#3 Don’t buy expensive tools

It can be easy to get carried away with all the specialty or expensive tools required to work with industrial material. Plumbers may have special tools and equipment to work with metal pipes, but that doesn’t mean you need to buy a new set of expensive tools in order to complete your industrial DIY project.

A good option is to research how other handy homeowners were able to work with material using common tools that most people own and use around the house. Quite often, a hammer, handsaw, and hacksaw are enough for you to get most industrial-inspired DIY projects completed (with maybe a few power tools to make things more efficient). The more common power tools that homeowners will require, particularly if tackling industrial DIY projects, consist of a cordless drill, palm sander, jigsaw, compound miter saw, and nail gun.

#4 Prepare for failure

Doing things right the first time is an excellent principle to live by, but when tackling DIY projects, particularly for the first time, be prepared to make mistakes. Sometimes many mistakes.

Remind yourself that the key to successful DIY projects is to enjoy the process before showing off the final product. It’s not an enjoyable hobby if it becomes a source of stress. Instead of seeing setbacks and mistakes as failures, consider it a learning experience.

#5 Learn the trades

The internet is a vast resource of information, and anyone can begin learning a skill or trade with a few keystrokes and clicks.

When it comes to DIY projects, make use of the learning resources found through internet searches, particularly in WikiHow and YouTube.

#6 Know when to DIY or buy

There are many reasons a person does DIY projects, but it boils it down to three basic reasons:

• they love tinkering and spending time crafting items
• they want to save money and would rather build something than buy it
• the item they want is not available in stores

If you are a DIY person because of the last two reasons, you should know when it is better to buy or when to DIY. Because these awesome metal home décors have been popular recently, items are now widely available from online crafting stores like Etsy.

So, when exactly does buying take precedence? The rule of thumb is to buy if the number of hours you need to DIY multiplied by your hourly rate is higher than the price of the item you want to make.

If you need more information or have questions, visit Kimball Building Supplies Centre. Our team is always ready to help you with what you need. We're here to assist you in any way we can.