Remodeling your home without any road bumps
While homeowners are excited and eager to get their home remodel under way few consider the road bumps and struggles their home remodel may entail. While there is rarely a stress-free home remodel (we are talking about where you live) there are ways to minimize the road bumps, eliminate surprises and make the entire process as stress free as possible. Here is what you want to know about remodeling your home without any road bumps-
- Organize, organize, organize! Design experts across the board cannot emphasize more that the key to a successful remodel is to be organized. To make the job easier and ensure your percentage of good ideas is as high as possible, you will need a strategy to organize your information. Whether it is a three-ring binder or expandable file folder you will want one place to keep all your information together. You will want to keep copies of all contracts, change orders, invoices, receipts, and permits. These will be invaluable if you have disputes with your contractors and when tax time comes around. Other sections to consider are ideas from magazines, quotes, contractor contact info and even photographs of work as it is done.
- Don't be afraid to play designer. Many "amateur" home designers come up with some really great ideas, and since you are living in your home day after day, you can have better ideas than the "pros." Do not be afraid to get out a pencil, make 100 copies of your current floor plan, and sketch out all the alternatives. It really does not matter how great or bad they are, just experiment with alternatives. You may really surprise yourself with what you can come up with!
- Don't get too wild and crazy. While creativity is encouraged you do need to realize that the wilder you get with your ideas the higher the price tag and the possibility of driving down the potential resale value of your home. You are almost always better to stick with a traditional size and shape in a home, both for resale value and the overall cost for your remodel. For example: Having a kitchen on the second floor may strike you as a clever and unique solution, but if it means moving the gas, electrical wiring, and plumbing up to the second floor, this change will add significantly to the project costs. And be careful of the colors you use. For example: Do not install bright yellow tile on all the floors: If you would have to move unexpectedly, most prospective buyers will deduct the cost to replace it from their offer. Keep in mind as well that the changes you make after the home remodel has begun can often be costly change orders as well.
- Figure out what you can do yourself. It is a wise to move to have contractors itemize their quotes to determine which phases of your project you might be able to do yourself and which ones you want to hire someone to do. It is important to be realistic home remodel is not simple. Tasks you might want to consider doing include: project management, demolition, rough electrical wiring, installation of cabinets, fixtures, and appliances, and finish work. Tasks you should probably leave to the pros include foundation work, framing, installing Sheetrock and breaker boxes, and connecting your home to the electrical service. Just be sure that you do not take on more than you can handle. Subcontractors will not be happy to have to wait for you to finish a phase of the construction.
- Be available during your home remodel. While everyone has demands that may take them away during the home remodel (jobs, places to go etc.) now is not the time to take that extended vacation. Many homeowners in the hopes of avoiding the mess and stress of a home remodel decide now is the time to take that tropical vacation. This is not a good idea for several reasons. You will want to be on top of how the work is getting and more importantly when it is getting done. Vacationing homeowners with too much trust in their contractors have come back from vacation to find their home remodel done wrong or worse not at all! Being present and involved with your home remodel shows your contractor this is important to you. It will benefit both your time and your money spent.
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