Planning for a Successful Home Renovation
March 21, 2010
Renovating your home can be a very exciting time in your life whether you want to make small changes in only a couple of rooms or you want to transform your house into a home. The renovation can be easy and fun if you plan before you begin.
First, you should do research on the renovation projects you have in mind or at least look at different renovations that may give you ideas for the room or rooms you wish to renovate. You can even talk with family and friends to see the way they renovated and designed their new look. As you are researching, you should also consider your family and the needs of your family as well.
Decide on a budget. Once you know what you wish to do in the way of renovating, you need to decide just how much you can spend. If you are contemplating getting a loan for the renovation, this should also be decided before you go ahead with the plans. You may find that there are a wide array of options for financing.
Do research on local contractors that have done renovations similar to the ones you desire. Always talk with more than one contractor and receive more than one quote. Ask for references and the names of previous customers so you can talk with them about their renovations. You may also need to hire an architect to create the floor plans so you can provide the information to the contractor. It will be very difficult for a contractor to give you a bid if they are trying to envision the work at hand. The contractor will need these plans when he obtains building permits. Do not just agree with the contractor; let them know your budget, this way they can provide you with money saving options so you can stay within your budget.
Do not jump on board with the lowest bid. The contractor could be mistaken on what you are expecting from the renovation and you may be surprised when the cost goes up during the renovation. Be sure to draw up a contract. In the contract, you should have every job or task outlined in writing, as this will ensure that you and the contractor are on the same page and understand the work that is to be done.
According to the renovations you have planned, you may need to also plan how you will live or if you need to vacate the home during this time. If only one room is being renovated, you may be able to stay out of that room until the work is finished. Of course, if the kitchen or baths are the center of the renovation, you may find yourself without water for several days. Other renovations may have the electricity turned off. These are things you should be ready to deal with or stay elsewhere during the renovation.
Have a good relationship with the contractor. Do not stand in his way and ask all kinds of questions. He cannot finish your renovation if you are constantly in the way. The same goes for other family members. Children love to watch, but they can be bothersome to workers and it is not the place for the workers to keep an eye on the children so they are not harmed with the various tools lying around the area. Try not to change things after the workers have begun the renovation. This can be costly and can void your contract.
As long as you have hired a contractor, you trust then you should put the renovation in his hands. There is nothing wrong with asking him about the progress but every day is a bit overboard.
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10 Comments to Planning for a Successful Home Renovation
Comments
I am planning to have renovation of my home in the next month.I read this article and i will remember all the words which you explained in the article.
Great article .Right now I am planing to renovate my house it helps me a lot to make proper plan.
Renovating a home can be easy if carefully planned, extremely difficult if not.
.-= Patsy Snyder´s last blog ..16816 Black Kettle Dr, Leander, TX 78641 : $179,900 | Austin Real Estate MLS # 4494248 =-.
I am considering a kitchen remodel and you have given me some insight into how to begin the process and what to look for in a contractor. Thank you for this helpful information.
Renovating a home should be a very fun and exciting experience – your changing something old to something disirable and new! Definitely make a list of the changes you want, then start price checking at Lowes and Home Depot. Have the prices in mind so that you get a feel of what the total project will cost in upgrades then when you meet with the contractors see what their labor cost is added to what your completed projected costs are. Well connected contractors should be able to get you better prices than what you priced yourself. Take one step at a time and enjoy the experience. You may want to sell your home in time so don’t take short cuts. Do you homework and get started. You’ll be amazed at how much a little remodeling will do when it’s time to sell…if done right!
One question to ask yourself is ‘Why are we renovating the home? Is it to make our home a more enjoyable living environment for you and your family and you plan to be there for a while longer or is it to get a higher price on the Sale of your home. If the answer to the question is for resell-ability, I would caution you not to spend money on over improving your home for the neighborhood. There are renovations that will have a higher return on your investment then others. And if the improvements have priced your home above the comps in the neighborhood, there is a good chance that you will not recover your investment. If you have any questions, contact a Realtor. A good Realtor can help you assess your list of renovations with you.
.-= Robyn Mosner´s last blog ..1719 Foxfire Dr, Round Rock, TX 78681 : $153,000 | Austin Real Estate MLS # 4536303 =-.
My favorite topic…home renovations (and additions, actually). When my kids were small I overheard one of them saying to the other, “Let’s play adding on!” I guess they heard they heard me talking about “adding on” with joyful anticipation, that they thought that must be a fun thing to do!
Renovations of home are better done when things are all planned in advance a month or two before!
Regards,
Adam
Madrid Spain
Jugar Poker
Hi,
Renovation of our houses are not an easy tasks whilst you are employeed, but I guess better plans make your house renovation go real smooth, anyway, I am working for a Bath Store London and will like to share few bathroom, Kitchen, and even toilet renovation tips if anyone is looking to improve their bathroom look and feel and make it look stunning…and its free
Thanks
Olivia
Bathroom Accessories
Renovation can cost you more but you can manage to reduce the cost, if you know where to…
Here are some areas where you can able to save:
- Make sure that your painter saves you some paint in the cans for touch-ups and duplication later.
- Before the plumber or any contractor digs into the ground, you should contact your local utility locator service to come out and mark the underground utilities. This will prevent accidentally digging into and damaging the existing services. If you ignore to have the utilities marked, you could face huge repair bills that the utility companies will require you to pay.
.-= Building For Lease´s last blog ..Brantford investment – all for sale, for lease – investment restaurant, hall, retail brantford, on =-.
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