{"id":634801,"date":"2026-04-28T19:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/634801\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T19:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:53:12","slug":"ai-meets-diy-for-big-savings-on-renovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/634801\/","title":{"rendered":"AI meets DIY, for big savings on renovations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

I just returned from an extended weekend at my family cottage in Northern Ontario, with my older brother. In addition to the usual springtime chores of moving furniture and turning on the water, we dug up heavy muck.<\/p>\n

A lot of it.<\/p>\n

The long explanation: We repaired concrete supports on our front porch, which had been leaning dangerously. That entailed lifting the porch with a heavy-duty car jack, digging about a metre into the wet and sometimes frozen ground, removing the existing cinder blocks and then building new supports with 6×6 wooden posts.<\/p>\n

The shorter explanation: We are DIYers. <\/p>\n

Well, my brother is; I mostly just follow along. Together, though, with some help from an AI chatbot, we extended the life of the porch and likely saved thousands of dollars that would have gone to a team of pros using big machinery.<\/p>\n

Clearly, this do-it-yourself approach is not for everyone. I burned through a few precious vacation days and emerged with a sore back. <\/p>\n

But as any DIYer will tell you, the satisfaction you get from completing a job yourself is an important source of motivation here. <\/p>\n

The other important source: Big savings. (My colleague, Erica Alini, wrote about renovating her office<\/a> last year for under $3,000.)<\/p>\n

Today, embarking on unfamiliar projects has never been easier, thanks to artificial intelligence. For our cottage project, we frequently consulted an AI chatbot \u2013 Claude Opus 4.6 \u2013 for advice on everything from buying the right cement to constructing foundations. <\/p>\n

It could even tailor its recommendations to our location in Ontario and tell us what went wrong with an original support, based on a photo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorth noting it\u2019s sitting directly on soil with standing water around it, which isn\u2019t ideal long-term due to frost heave and erosion,\u201d the chatbot said. <\/p>\n

It recommended replacing that muck with gravel, which we did. You could maintain a conversation thread, and refer back to it, or provide additional information for a more tailored response.<\/p>\n

It was a little like having an experienced pro standing beside you, although one that needed some oversight along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs almighty as it can seem, it can make crazy simple mistakes, mostly related to logic and basic math,\u201d my brother said.<\/p>\n

Chatbots can\u2019t do the heavy lifting, either. And assembling the correct old-school tools \u2013 from shovels to drills to electric saws \u2013 for a job can be expensive. <\/p>\n

But I look at the expense this way: A tool will probably cost a small fraction next to the money spent on hiring a pro. If I can use the tool again, or share it, the upfront cost grows far more reasonable over time. <\/p>\n

As I suggested earlier, I\u2019m not obsessive about embarking on projects on my own. With limited confidence and a history of panicking when I hit obstacles, I\u2019ve stuck to modest projects around my house. <\/p>\n

That means interior painting, installing ceiling lights and faucets, replacing planks on our deck and building stone walkways.<\/p>\n

Despite this limited commitment, I\u2019ve easily saved $10,000 or more over the past decade or so (more if you add DIY investing to the list). AI should help me push the boundaries.<\/p>\n

Role models help, too. <\/p>\n

My father did just about everything. He essentially built the family cottage (please note: He was not responsible for the leaning porch supports), maintained his home furnace for 45 years, repaired cars and once single-handedly dug a deep trench around his home to repair a leaking basement.<\/p>\n

Nothing was chucked; everything was fixed \u2013 or improved. And that was well before the arrival of AI.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to underestimate the financial benefits of DIYing over decades. Just about every dollar saved on a plumber, electrician or contractor went toward building a comfortable retirement that lasted three decades.<\/p>\n

Our weekend project replacing porch supports at the cottage won\u2019t do that. But it\u2019s one small step along the way.<\/p>\n

Are you using AI for assistance in your DIY projects? Send your biggest accomplishments to dberman@globeandmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the On Money newsletter<\/p>\n

Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for On Money here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

David Berman\u2019s personal finance reading list<\/p>\n

What drives gains at the world\u2019s largest sovereign wealth fund?<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the creation of a national sovereign wealth fund this week, with initial funding of $25-billion. Here\u2019s a reminder that Norway\u2019s sovereign wealth fund is currently sitting on US$2-trillion \u2013 and generated a profit of US$248-billion last year. Something to aspire to.<\/p>\n

These 15 stocks made investors rich over the past 10 years<\/a><\/p>\n

There can be danger in chasing past returns, since yesterday\u2019s hot stocks can be tomorrow\u2019s duds. Still, it\u2019s interesting to see the big winners. No surprise that Nvidia Corp. has delivered the biggest gains. But it\u2019s equally interesting to see the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Walmart Inc. and Eli Lily Co. on the list.<\/p>\n

Wall Street is sorting software companies into winners and losers<\/a><\/p>\n

If you are a long-time investor in Canada\u2019s Constellation Software Inc., you are probably painfully aware of the threat from artificial intelligence. Will AI displace software companies? Here\u2019s a look at what the loan market is saying. Some loans are performing better than others (for subscribers to the Wall Street Journal). <\/p>\n

Single-stock ETFs boom, but assets stall<\/a><\/p>\n

We tend to think of exchange-traded funds as baskets of stocks, much like mutual funds. But the number of single-stock ETFs \u2013 or funds that can provide leveraged exposure to a single company \u2013 has surged, even as the value of assets invested in them pretty much flatlines (hat tip: Abnormal Returns).<\/p>\n

Chart of the day<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s best savings and GIC rates<\/a>: Savers catch a second wind as Hormuz blockade keeps Canadian interest rate hike bets alive<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s financial tool<\/p>\n

If you are saving money for something specific, such as a new home, a car or a splashy vacation, it can help to know how much you need to sock away \u2013 and how inflation and investment returns will affect your grand total. This calculator<\/a> from FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.) is fairly straightforward, with just seven inputs, but might give you a valuable insight into whether or not you are on track.<\/p>\n

ICYMI<\/p>\n

How well does the CRA\u2019s AI-powered chatbot work? We put it to the test<\/a>What\u2019s the ideal age to downsize<\/a>? Wait too long and \u2018your doctor, your lawyer or your kids\u2019 will decide <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: I just returned from an extended weekend at my family cottage in Northern…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[62,1397,276,277,49,48,73504,1412,73501,131,73507,73502,73505,73506,73503,61],"class_list":["post-634801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-appwebview","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-high-interest-saving","tag-newsletter","tag-onmoneynewsletter","tag-personal-finance","tag-personal-finance-advice-canada","tag-personal-finance-canada","tag-personal-finance-newsletter","tag-personal-finance-planning","tag-saving-strategy","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}