Hey, did you check out the neighbor’s house? Look how good it looks. They must be selling it for an excellent price!
Has your spouse or partner ever said that to you?
Or do you want to sell your house and aren’t comfortable with the price that it is getting? You know you can get a much better price.
Or maybe you want to transform your house into the home of your dreams.
Whatever the reasons, you must have thought about renovating your house at some point. And after you did a little bit of research, you might have found out that it is stressful. A lot of people have found this task to be extremely overwhelming. There are many decisions involved, like choosing the paint, the colors, the flooring, the theme, and so much more. But that’s not the half of it. You also have to take care of things like choosing the right contractor, putting in the right appliances, and staying in your budget.
A home renovation project is fascinating if you have adequately planned for it. If you haven’t, it could give you nightmares. Sometimes you do it to get a higher price or a better living standard, and sometimes you do it because you have to. You have just bought a house at a bargain, and now you have to make it habitable. Whatever the case, make sure that you plan for it, and you will have a much more enjoyable time and less stress.
Prepare for It
The plan should include everything that is going to happen and everything that might occur. For example, if you live in an area prone to severe storms, you have to plan for a contingency plan if the power went out. You can’t stop the work as it will cost you. What do you do? You prepare for it by bringing in a power generator and making sure that you can depend on it when it comes. That is just one of the examples; there are many more.
Here is how you can plan for any eventuality and ensure that your house renovation goes smoothly.
1. Come Up With a Detailed Plan
The very first step in any renovation or remodeling project is the plan. You should know your objectives for the improvement and why you are doing it. Also include everything that you can about the websites or places that inspire you. Make sure that you have the complete blueprints of your project. You can do it yourself, or a better idea is to contact an architect. Once you have the plan, you have to list everything you are going to need to fulfill your project. Categorize the program into two parts:
- The part that you will take care of (if any)
- The part where you will need to hire someone
Find out all you can about your area’s zoning regulations and permits that you need to have.
2. Find out Your Budget
It is the second and most crucial part of the renovation plan. You have to know how much it will cost you. It includes all the materials, the labor, the permits, the cosmetic touches, and everything else.
The first thing you have to do is write down how much you can spend on this project. Once you have a specific amount, put aside some of it for hidden and unexpected costs. We can assure you there will be some. Now talk to your contractor and find out the value of the tasks. Do your research about the material and find out the price. Many websites help you compare prices between different brands and find the right one for you. If you think the project is getting out of hand, go back to your plan and see if you can eliminate any of the tasks that you have outlined.
3. Hire Contractors
Now, you are ready to go to a contractor and let them do their work. When selecting the right contractor, you will have to look at a few things. Most people mainly look at the cost, and that puts them in trouble. So make sure that you know the following things about your contractor before hiring them:
- What experience do they have?
- How much time have they spent in the industry?
- Do they have all the right types of insurances?
- Ask for references, and call them. Find out if the contractor looks good only on their website or if they are real.
- What payment plans do they have for their customers?
These are the essential questions that you need to ask if you want to hire a contractor who knows what they are doing.
You can hire multiple contractors for various jobs, or you can stick to one of them and hand over the entire project to them. You will have to pay just one entity instead of multiple firms. The contractor will take care of all the tasks, and you won’t have to.
If you want to do some of the tasks yourself, make sure to prepare for everything properly.
4. Build a Timeline
Once everything is in place, you can sit down with the contractor and come up with a timeline for the entire project. Based on this timeline, you will then come up with the start date. That is so you can finish it in time. You might be doing this in the holidays, and you want to finish it before the schools start or your office. Don’t just talk to the contractor about the overall timeline. Divide the schedule into various phases depending on the individual tasks and ask for the details about each stage. Find out which tasks will finish first and which of them will take more time.
Make sure to add some time for the cleanup and any delays that might occur in the delivery of the materials. Also, there could be some situations that might halt the work for a while.
Once you have the entire timeline worked out, mark it on a calendar to cross it out once each phase is complete. You can do it physically, or you can use an online calendar for this purpose. It depends on which medium you spend the most time on.
Final Thoughts
Now all you have to do is pack your stuff and move out for the work to start. If you are renovating some of the rooms, you will have to shift the stuff and empty them. Whatever the case, you will see that things will be more streamlined, and the work will go smoothly thanks to the detailed plan that you’ve made.