Today I am going to offer small advice to "amateur renovators" (can there really be such a bread of creatures?) taken from personal experience (feel free to add you own tips and stories):

1) Estimate the renovation costs.  
This is the most difficult task to accomplish.  What are the prices of material? How much money will I need? How much time will I need?  What is expensive and what is a good deal?
If this first task is too difficult for you to accomplish, do yourself a favour and contract the job out.  You will gain years of life at the end...

2) Can you do the work or any part of the work yourself?
Always factor your time in the expenses! If you can make $100 doing something else, do it and contract out your renovation to someone else.

3) Choose a smaller supplier
They are way more thankful store owners than Home Depot at which you find your neighbor (you know who) giving you "expert advice"! If they were seriously good in plumbing and electrical, why wouldn't they been doing the job instead? Save yourself a buck and let the contractor run 10 times to pick up nails and glue and cement and annything else they need...

4) Pay for all your permits 
... or do us a favour and cover those windows. Large and heavy renovations should be approved by the city or they will come after you, even years later... It is wise if your left hand does not to know what your right hand is doing.

5) Licensed vs non-licensed trades
When in doubt, play it safe! 

6) Use a competent real estate agent
Not all agents are the same.  Find one who understands your goals and can help you through.  Not all renovations pay...

And some quicky-tips:
- Demolition is somewhat easy as long as you know where to stop...  
- Get cheap labour from hotels and coffee shops early in the morning
- Cleaning up is also easy. Dump the garbage yourself...
- Protect your bins! Neighbours tend to think you won't mind if they dump all their garbage in your bin.
- Never ever pay by the hour, unless you are an SOB and every hour of every day you'll stand above their heads!
- Always ask: "...and when will it be done by?" 
- Always get a serious answer to the question: "what happens if it's not ready by then?"
- Why not? Sign a contract!
- Take a video and before - after pictures
- If you do not want receipts and pay under the table, at least take a video of the contractor working.  When at court later, you can at least prove that the idiot actually worked for you and "it is his fault your honour"...
- Gather all receipts.
- Do some calculations and see if it is worth your time and effort.  Ask yourself: should I do this again?
- Work with a competent agent that can advise you all the way through

I invite you to briefly tell us our horror story!

Help us learn... No need to reinvent the wheel...