Total home renovations can be easier to plan than you think
It is imperative that you plan your renovation down to the very last detail, and where possible use mood boards and scaled drawings to depict the look and feel that you are trying to achieve this will not only make sure that others who are connected with the renovation can see where your mind is at as regards the finished project, but it will also help you in your visualization and when drawing up your renovation budget.
In building and renovations, budgets can very quickly get out of control. Although there are areas of a household that will require additional spending in order to get the correct finish, there are other areas that maybe do not require such attention. When it comes to investing your money look to the areas that cannot be added to at a later date, such as home smart technology for lights, audio, and security systems, and the expensive rooms such as the bathrooms, and kitchen. Leave expensive furnishings until last as these can be added or purchased over time.
Know what you want to achieve
It is important that you know exactly what you want to achieve from the renovations that you are thinking of having carried out. It is therefore a good idea to have lived or spent a great deal of time within the building in order to get a good feel of the flow of the household, as well as have in-depth knowledge of what everyone concerned wants out of the space that is to be changed.
If you do not talk about what others may want from the result of the renovation you may find that the stress and tension within the household do not stop and any faults that are found will be brought up in conversation again and again.
Think clearly about your measurements
With this in mind it is a good idea to check your measurements and if possible ask someone else to check them too, making errors when calculating the space that you have can lead to disastrous results and not only can be money wasted but also cause a lot of heartaches, stress, and tension.
When it comes to kitchen renovations or installing a wall you may want to mark the areas for the cupboards and electric goods on the floor as well as any additional walls, as you will then be able to see exactly how much floor room you have to play with. You will also be able to try out any layouts that you are considering too to make sure that you choose the best possible outcome for you and your household.
While you are thinking about your measurements you may want to consider your power outlets and light fittings as these are things that although you can get moved at a later date or added to it is far easier and cheaper to do them earlier on in the renovation process.
Get an architect involved
Although you may think that having an architect involved is a luxury and not essential to the renovation that you are considering, you will need to think that there are certain things that an architect can bring to the table that you may not know or understand and they could also save you money in the long term.
You’ll find that qualified and experienced architects will not only understand and know the laws and regulations of the state that they are based in, but they may also very well have contacts that can provide you with better prices on your building materials as well as know the best contractors to hire, but at the same time, you need to make sure their ideas fit your budget.
In short, an architect’s role does not necessarily stop at the drawing of your renovation project but the relationship that you start could very well last right through to the end product when you are moving your items back into your newly designed home.
Be sure to get plenty of quotes
Whether you choose to use any contractors that your architect recommends or whether you decide to go elsewhere, it is important that you get at least three quotes from different contractors for the work that you wish them to carry out. Do not be palmed off with verbal quotes as you will find that these tend to change with some contractors and you may very well find that you are not getting the job that you thought that you were stated in the verbal agreement and in fact, you are paying the same amount for a lot less work or for inferior workmanship.
In obtaining written quotes you then not only have written come back and may therefore be able to get a legal team involved should the work not be as specified but you will also be able to compare the different quotes to each other in order to get the best possible idea of which contractor to use. With this in mind, it is a good idea, regardless of how tempting it is, not to hire the cheapest quote that you are offered, you may very well find that corners are cut to keep the contractor within budget and inferior products are used or the work is carried out too quickly to provide you with the correct finish that you are after.
Store your items
If you have been living in the home that you are now wanting to completely remodel it is likely that you have heaps of personal items. Although it may be a good idea to sell or give items to others, you may not feel like actually getting rid of everything that you own and starting again. In fact, many people have a lot of items that have sentimental value, and these items regardless of how much their monetary value is, they should be held on to.
There are different ways in which you can go about hanging on to your items, one of which is going to be touched on in the point below but others will be mentioned here. If you have a garage that is large enough to house all of your items and the garage is not part of your renovation plans then obviously you can store your items here, but for a lot of people this may not be an option and if you are one of these people then maybe hiring a storage unit could be the way to go but there are different criteria for storage units.
Of course, if you choose a static storage facility you will have to move your items to that location and you may very well find that you do not have access to your stuff 24/7. Although this may not seem like much, it is an inconvenience as you may very well find that you have to either make an appointment to add items to your storage container or that it is only available on certain days of the week.
However, these are not the only storage containers on offer to you, there are some much easier and customer-friendly options available to you and these are in the form of portable storage solutions. With a portable storage container, you will find that the unit is brought to you on a specified date, it can happily sit on your drive, in your yard, or curbside depending on your specifications. You will have access to it for as long as you wish, if for some reason you feel that you need to store it elsewhere, the company concerned will move it to your desired location and bring it back for you when you are ready to move back into your freshly renovated home. You are totally in control of the situation and you can use the storage container for as long as you require it.
Find somewhere to stay
If you are carrying out a full house renovation at once, it is highly likely that you will not be able to live in the home at the same time as all the work is being carried out. Although you may very well have a static caravan, RV, or trailer to live in on-site, it may well be a case that you do not, and will therefore be looking for somewhere else to stay.
You can put yourself up in a motel for the duration of the renovation, but it is highly likely that if you do you will be in dire need of returning home at the earliest convenience. Another option is to rent a home, whether it is a small apartment or house while you are overseeing the work in your home, as mentioned above with this option you do of course have the chance of taking all of your items and furniture with you if the residence that you are renting is not fully or partly furnished and of course if there is room for all of your stuff.
Whatever you decide to do it is important that you are not located too far away from your renovation project as you will need to keep a close eye on the level and quality of work carried out, even if you hire a project manager or an architect to oversee the project professionally.
