If this is your first time renovating your home, you should know that a lot can go wrong if you haven’t done the necessary planning upfront. For example, there is an optimal order for renovating the different rooms in your home. You also have to take existing structures and materials into place. There are processes involved in taking out old materials, which are specific to the by-products they are composed of. Without a plan, such events can mess with your contractor schedule. Some factors that you may be unaware of until they arise can add extra costs to your expenditure and force you to cut corners elsewhere, resulting in a renovation that is not as you envisioned it.
Here are some tips to help you plan better for your home renovation.
Working with an Interior Designer
Every interior designer has a personal style and some of them are inclined to make an effort to persuade homeowners ideas instead of their clients’ preferences. To avoid being channelled into designs that are not of your choosing, you should have a solid grasp of what you are looking for before you meet with an interior designer.
You can find inspiration in home décor magazines and relevant websites. Take a look at the websites of local interior designers to find those who have photos of remodeled homes or rooms that match your personal taste. Narrow it down to three companies so that you can compare prices.
Keep control of your renovation budget and determine the best time to release funds to purchase materials. Make it clear that you won’t pay for unauthorized purchases. Get your interior designer to commit to specific timeframes for the remodeling stages. The longer the work is extended, the more it is likely to end up costing you.
Access for Contractors
Perhaps you have not yet moved into the home you plan to renovate. This means that you are not readily available to let contractors inside to do their appointed work. You are looking at weeks or months of having to get up early and drive through morning traffic to the new place to let them in. Contractors tend to begin their workdays early. In the afternoon, you will have to return to lock up when the last contractor leaves. Apart from this being very tiring, you are also going to be spending a lot of money on fuel.
There are two solutions. The first is a key lockbox. This gadget is the size of a smartphone and has a panel for inputting a code to unlock it and get to the house key. Secondly, you can have door hardware installed as a smart feature. It also works with a code, but you can operate it from anywhere with a smartphone without having to be physically present at the premises.
Deliberately Delay Some Decisions
Some home renovation decisions can only be finalised when everything else is in place, although you may have a good idea of what you want already. For example, choosing carpets and deciding what colour and shade to paint the walls upfront should be left for last. Avoid purchasing the materials at the outset. You might find that a patterned carpet you set your heart on makes the room look too busy. A specific shade of paint may be too dark once everything else is in place. You might have to look for new light fixtures to brighten the room if the old ones no longer suffice.
Take the time to be present with the remodelled changes before starting to recarpet and paint the room.
Protect Your Flooring
With materials, equipment, and labour coming into your home as contractors carry out their set tasks, there is a good chance of damage being done to your flooring. This could be in the form of scratches, scuff marks, spills, stains and water damage. Floor protection is a temporary measure to protect your floors while the renovation is being done. With floor protection in place, you also prevent falls.
Plan for Delays
You are bound to experience the frustration of time delays. This will be worse if you have not planned for it. For example, if you remove the old bathtub before the new one has arrived, you could be faced with a period of not having one at all. Or it may arrive but not be the model you ordered and it has to be sent back while you wait for the correct one.
Be sure to check that you placed the correct orders for materials. When they arrive, unpack the items and make sure they are not damaged and are exactly what you ordered. Above all, be prepared for delays that you will need to adjust your schedule for. Remind yourself that you will have the home you want once the work is done but that the interim period will have its ups and downs.
Unanticipated Problems
When you renovate a home, it is not a new property. You might well discover some existing flaws that need to be dealt with, such as the discovery of mould or white ants, a crumbling foundation, or ceiling damage from a burst geyser that has been replaced. First, congratulate yourself on finding the problem so that it could be attended to earlier rather than later when the damage could have worsened.
Unanticipated problems will cost you time and money. Make sure you have included some padding in your renovation budget. You need to reconsider your plan when such issues come to light so that contractors can be rescheduled. Or, if you are doing the work yourself, you might still need an expert for the problem you have just become aware of, and to adjust your schedule to allow for repairs before commencing the renovation aspect.
Which Room Should You Renovate First?
There are several reasons for selecting the kitchen area as the first room to be renovated. The remodelling of kitchens results in an incredible amount of debris and dust. If other rooms have been completed first, you risk their new paint jobs or other renovations being marred. You can also limit this happening by using plastic sheeting over doorways.
If you are living in the house while it is being renovated, you will need to set up a temporary kitchen in another room. Kitchen renovations can take months to complete. You don’t want a kitchen in your newly refurbished living room, even if it is a short-term measure.
Another reason for doing the kitchen first is that a lot can change in the time while it is being remodelled. A sudden promotion to another town, for instance, can see you having to sell your home before all the work is done. Statistics show that many homeowners got back three quarters of their investments in kitchen renovations when selling. You won’t get the same returns for the other rooms in your home.
Selecting Contractors
Contractors may differ in how they plan to do a specific job, and this can cause costs to vary quite substantially. Be clear what you want done, but also take their suggestions into consideration as they are experts in their respective work areas. Compare different bids in terms of costs and what will be achieved. Make sure the contractors you select are available to complete the job and are not overcommitted to more than one project that will put your home renovation at risk. Here are some tips on choosing the right contractors.
By following these tips, you can plan properly for your home renovation and achieve the result you had in mind.