Whether you are a homeowner or a tenant the thought of home renovations has crossed your mind at least once. We all love the idea of a new and updated living space.
Here are FIVE ATTRIBUTES for a successful home reno.
#1- Planning
The very first step in this game is planning, you need to have a set plan of what you would like to accomplish with the reno.
Ask yourself these questions before you driving in.
- What is your goals? What do you want to achieve with your project?
- Do you want to add more living space?
- To change the functionally/layout of your home?
- Do you want to add more value to your home?
Asking yourself these questions will help you prioritize what is important in your home renovations. Make sure you can list all the items in order of must do, trust me sometimes hitting all the items on your wish list isn’t possible, why? because of the next step.
#2 Budgeting
This step is one of the most important steps into a home renovation, which can lead to a lot of unfinished projects throughout a home.
A lot of people want to hit every item on there list but forget to consider the financial part of it. Having a budget will determine what is actually possible to get done and in the quality you want it done. Trust me, sometimes people have an unrealistic budget and what to get everything done on there wish list, which than leads them into compromising on a much cheaper quality.
One simple and easy approach is finding a professional, reliable and experienced contractor (which ill unpack in a bit). Discuss with them all the items you want to make changes too and the budget you have, and he might be able to give you an idea how realistic your plan is. Another option is hiring each trade individually (plumbers, carpenter, electricians etc ) and ask them for a quote. Usually, a trade will provide a quote with material included which is a better choice if you don’t have a lot of experience, or if you already have experience and know suppliers than you can purchase material separately.
HINT: make sure for every quote you receive, add 10%-15% more for contingencies. Trust me unexpected things happen.
#3 Hiring
You can take the easy road which I usually recommend for most people and hire a general contractor that will take care of the whole project, specially if you don’t have the experience or the time.
The general contractor’s job is to schedule the trades in and supervise the construction site for you, so you don’t have to miss work, or dealing with calls all the time, or even worse, get home and realize the project isn’t done how you expected.
However, make sure to do your homework when hiring a contractor by asking for referrals, go over latest project, call those referrals, ask questions about payments, timing, communication skills and any other doubts you might have.
#4 Scheduling
After you have all those things figured out the next step and very important part is scheduling. Those who have experience in the construction business know how scheduling can be a problem with delivery delays, material delays and even trades not honoring time, so make sure you are prepare for those unwanted situations.
Try to give yourself some extra time, plan on renting a storage for your stuff, or staying at someone house, even if you are planning on leaving under a construction zone plan out some extra time.
Also stay on top of your contractor, trades and suppliers. Usually those who are more “persistent” by pushing the timeline are the ones that get things done on time.
#5 Focus
Lastly stay focused on your plans, sometimes its easy-to-get side tracked like “since we are doing this might as well do this too” that could ruin your plans.
Make sure you stay focus on your initial plan, get things fully finished before you can move on to some other project. Don’t get caught up on trying to do everything at once, specially if that was not arrange before. This could lead you longer deadlines and things will not be done the way you expected.
I guarantee you that going over these 5 steps before you start will save you time and money, and hopefully make your renovation journey more enjoyable and simpler.
For any questions or comments please feel free to contact us and I will be pleased to assist you.
Blog by
Rod Da Silva