How to Plan for Your Next Home Remodeling
For every homeowner, remodeling can be an extremely daunting task. This is especially true if you are doing this for the first time. Remodeling your home is not as easy as they make it look like on television shows. It’s so much more than simply choosing the colors of your rooms, the rugs and vases that you’d want to be displayed, or choosing which bathroom vanities can best elevate your bathrooms. There are so many moving parts during the course of a home remodeling project that one small mistake can set you back a couple of hundreds of dollars or a couple of weeks.
You see, when you’re remodeling a home, it can take up a lot of your time. You have to be on top of everything from your budget to your timeline. But that being said, it’s still possible to take on a home remodeling project and finish it successfully. All you really have to do is to plan it well. In this article, we break down everything you need to know about planning for your next home remodeling project.
Step 1: Create a Vision
The first step to planning for your home remodeling project is to create a vision. You can’t start planning something when you don’t have a vision of how the final output will look like. In order to break down your plan, you have to work backward. Imagine what your ultimate goal is then work from there. To create your vision, start with your priorities. Ask yourself, what ultimately drove you to decide that you need to remodel your home.
What are the things that you dislike in your current home and how would you want it to look like? What features would you want and need your newly remodeled home to have? From there, work from room to room. You can start with your living room. What was the biggest issue with your current living room? Was it too crowded? Was the carpet or flooring poorly done? Then move onto another room. Would you like to have a bigger burner or refrigerator in your new kitchen? Would you like to change the layout of your kitchen and have a center island?
If you find yourself stuck and unsatisfied with your current vision, go online and search the web. Go to websites such as Pinterest and look for inspiration there. You can even start by creating a mood board there. Be as creative as you want then narrow it down. Once you are satisfied and are able to create a detailed vision, you can now move on to the next step.
Step 2: Settle on a Budget
Once you have your detailed vision and goal, the next step is one of the most crucial steps in this entire process and that is settling on a budget. The budget you set should include all costs that you expect throughout the project. Aside from the materials and decorations, your budget should also include expenses for things such as permits and labor expenses.
In order to decide on your budget, you must first decide on your ideal budget and your maximum budget. It is typical for homeowners to set aside an additional 10% of this budget for unexpected expenses. However, if this is your first time taking on a home remodeling project and you have no idea how much you should budget, you can request estimates from professionals. Another way of gathering data is by getting actual prices of materials that you’ll be using and needing in the project.
Remember not to panic if your final budget is over your initial budget. One of the advantages of a home remodeling project is that you don’t have to do everything and have everything all at once. You can always revisit your vision and settle on things that are not really necessary. You can set those things aside and add them to your home once you have the budget. You can also choose to ask for quotations from different contractors. This can help you with your budget and provide important information for the next step.
Step 3: Find Help
The next step is finding help. Although it is true that some homeowners choose to remodel their homes on their own, it is not really a practical option for most homeowners. Home remodeling is a huge project and needs a lot of time and attention. Unless you are a stay-at-home parent or you earn through passive income, you probably shouldn’t take on this task and should probably ask for help. If you don’t you’ll probably end up losing track of things and finish the project way behind schedule.
That being said, you have to find the right contractors. You must not rush this process as you are essentially entrusting your home to these people. Be sure to vet your contractors properly. It is unwise to hire contractors just because they gave you the cheapest estimates. This option may be the cheapest upfront but may only end up costing you more due to the poor quality of work. When you’re vetting your contractors, first, ask for their license. This ensures that this team of contractors has attained all necessary certification to perform the work. The next thing to consider is their years of experience. Experience always speaks volumes of the quality of people and work that a business has.
Check their reviews as well online. If you are unable to secure testimonials or reviews online, you can ask the contractors to provide their own references. Moreover, consider their payment terms as well. A good contractor will not ask for full payment upfront. Lastly, consider the rapport you have with the contractors. This is more or less a long-term project and you must choose to work with contractors whom you feel comfortable being around.
Step 4: Build a Schedule
After creating your vision and hiring a contractor, you now have a good idea of the project’s master plan. Building a schedule shouldn’t be complicated. Once you have a list of the things that need to be done, categorize them either into rooms or functions. Look at the list and organize it in an order that makes sense. When do you need to change the floorings? When would it be best to repaint the walls? Bring in the furniture and equipment? Add the decorations?
However, if you do not have an idea or if it’s your first time taking on a remodeling project, you can always do your research. There are plenty of resources available online. But if you are not convinced by articles online, you can always ask for help from professionals such as your contractors. You can also ask your friends who have done home remodelings before for their advice. Once you have the needed information, create a schedule and consult with your contractor. Discuss the timeline and get their opinion on it. From there, it is only a matter of creating timeframes. Be sure to break down your schedule into sprints to make it easier for you to track the progress of your project.
Step 5: Prepare Your Home
Now that you have your vision, budget, team, and timeline created, there is only one thing left to do. All that is left to do is to prepare your home for the remodeling project. Some homeowners opt to move out of their home completely while their home is being remodeled. However, it is understandable that this option may not be available to everyone. That being said, if your home remodeling schedule only focuses on one room at a time, it is possible for you and your family to still remain at home during the project. If one of the bathrooms is being remodeled, just share another bathroom in the meantime. The same goes for if your kitchen is being remodeled. You can build a makeshift kitchen elsewhere to cook.
Final Thoughts
Home remodeling can be a stressful project to take on. Be sure that you are completely ready before you begin with this project. You must not rush things especially at the beginning of the project. You have to be patient and smart with your decisions. You have to focus on making the plan as bulletproof as possible. Remember to think of every single thing that can go wrong and prepare for those things both mentally and financially. It is also important to learn how to compromise throughout this project. There may be instances wherein what you want is not practical or possible and that is fine. Ask for the advice of your contractors and trust them that they know what they are doing.
No plan is ever perfect. Regardless of how well you plan out everything, there are still a lot of things that are not in our control. Whether it’s the sudden unavailability of a material or furniture or extreme weather conditions that throw off the plan and ruin the timeline. It is important to always regroup and communicate with the people involved in the project. The more you communicate, the better the project will turn out.
