Renovations are costly and stressful. It often involves talking with contractors, designers, and skilled workers. You have to worry about the cost of the materials and labor. It’s more than just making your home more aesthetically pleasing. It’s about realizing what you need as a household and whether you can afford it. People often make numerous mistakes when renovating homes. What are these mistakes?
Going DIY
Unless you have the experience of renovating a home, you should look for tradesmen for the jobs. These skilled workers will know exactly what needs to be done. You don’t have to point it out to them. You also need an architect and contractor to make sure that everything is in order and done according to the plan. Many homeowners think that going DIY is the solution because hiring a contractor is expensive. But in the long run, this may prove to be more expensive than hiring a team of workers to renovate your home.
Renovating Too Soon
Do you really need to renovate? Give it more time. Monitor the repairs that need to be made. Check the parts that need to be replaced. Spend more time in each room and see if there could be temporary solutions to the problems. Get a sense of what your house needs before going into full renovation mode. Once you can identify all the problems—small and big—that’s the time when you can finally plan the renovation.
Setting an Unrealistic Budget
Renovations will cost more than what the contractor will tell you. As a general rule, add 20% on top of the estimate given to you. That is enough buffer in case the timeline needs to be adjusted or if there are more repairs needed to be done. There is a lot of hidden damage in a home’s structure. You’d want to make sure that these are all addressed before focusing on how to improve the home’s interior.
Buying Materials Too Early and Selecting Appliances Last
You cannot buy materials before the plan is finalized. You’ll end up buying the wrong materials with the wrong sizes and wrong quantity. The measurements need to be accurate. Sometimes, engineers and architects can make wrong assumptions. That’s why it is better to wait until such time the materials are needed before buying them. This is the only way to be sure that they follow the correct measurement and quantity.
Selecting appliances last is also a problem. You need to choose the appliances that you want to install in your home, but don’t get them delivered first. The appliances should accommodate the overall design that you want for your home. But even after you’ve purchased them, ask the distributor to deliver them at a later time. They might end up malfunctioning because of all the work being done in the house.
Choosing the Lowest Bid
Of course, you want to save money even when you’re ready to spend on the renovations. That might lead you to choose the lowest bid and the least professional contractor. Quality and professional help will cost money. You should be willing to pay for a good contractor if you want to renovate your home. Be wary of cheap contractors.
Avoiding these five mistakes should be easy if you research well before making a decision. Renovation is a big project to undertake. You should never underestimate how much time and money this will take away from you.
