Home remodeling has never been more popular. Recent research shows that Americans are increasingly choosing to adjust their homes over moving houses. With one in ten opting for renovation work to improve or increase their living space, demand is high in this sector.
But these figures mean that millions of people are potentially approaching an upheaval like they’ve never experienced before. Home renovations aren’t for the faint-hearted and must be thought out and planned meticulously to ensure everything runs smoothly and nothing is forgotten about.
If you’re ready to embark on this journey, here are some practical tips that can help you to minimize disruption and ensure you know what is going on at all times.
Living Arrangements
Before your home remodeling works start, consider your living arrangements. For some work, you can easily live with the mess and chaos, for example, external work, landscaping, or having one bathroom updated if you have another to use. But for more extensive works such as knocking walls down, extensions, or having your kitchen ripped out, you might want to consider living elsewhere for the duration of the work or part of it, especially if you have children or pets. The nose, mess, and constant coming and going of contractors and their crew can be distracting, to say the least, but rearranging your home to accommodate the work, living without certain appliances, or blocking off space in your home can be too much for some people so think carefully about the practical arrangements of living through home renovations and consider your living arrangements.
Project Management
Project management is a massive aspect of home remodeling and renovation work. You need someone to be on-site as much as possible to tackle any issues, ensure the work is being carried out as per your orders, and ensure the standard of the work is up to scratch. Dealing with contractors, ensuring you are on time and within budget, and knowing what needs to be done can be a full-time job and extremely complex if you have never done this type of work before. If you are asking yourself how hard it can be, think of it as another baby who needs 24/7, constant supervision. If you cannot dedicate this time, it might be worth hiring a project manager to be confident that the work is being carried out.
Time
Timelines and projected finish dates for home renovations or remodeling work or just forecasts based on no unexpected issues or unforeseen complications. They don’t take into account anything that can impact the job, including supplier issues, staff shortages, hidden damage you didn’t know about, and so on. All of these can eat into your time and your budget.
When looking at how long it will take to complete the work, you should always be prepared for things to run over schedule. This will prevent you from becoming stressed and appointed should your completion date arrive and you are nowhere near ready to sign off on the work.
Contingency Fund
It is 100% vital to ensure you have a contingency fund available for the work. Avoid maxing out your budget on high-end fittings and finishes in the first instance and purchasing them down the line if you are tight on money. This will allow you to have some money spare for the unexpected issues mentioned in the point above. From needing new floorboards, finding mold or damp problems, holes in roofing, poor structural support, and outdated electrics, our plumbing can all throw a spanner in the works when it comes to the cost of the project. Where possible, have a lump sum outside of your budget to help you pay for any additional work like this you might need, or hold back on how much you splurge on materials until the danger period has passed.
Permits and Permissions
The type of permits or zoning applications you might need to make can vary depending on your location. Still, it is always best to check with your state before making permanent changes, especially to the property’s exterior. Consult with your HOA if you are in one, and be confident the work carried out is to their requirements and codes. Your state will need to sign off on certain aspects to ensure it is legal and safe, so always do your homework to make sure you are making the changes per the law.
Home renovations give you a chance to do your homework for you on a more personal basis and give you a space you love. But you need to step back and think about the points in this post to ensure you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for.
