Many homeowners often feel a mix of excitement and apprehension for their first ever home remodeling project. Given the amount of time, energy, and resources needed , it’s understandable.
Thankfully, you don’t need to take on your project alone.
There are dozens of fellow homeowners and professional remodelers out there who are more than happy to give you practical advice. To ease your mind and address your concerns here are five top home remodeling tips from industry professionals.
Contents
Get the Best Remodeling Company For Your Project
The number one tip we can give you for home remodeling is to hire the best possible team to do it.
We’re aware that “best” can be a pretty subjective term, but there are aspects of a remodeling company that you should consider non-negotiable when narrowing down your list of potentials. For instance, you want to be sure that the company has experienced remodelers and contractors. You also want to be sure that they’re licensed, both as individual professionals and as a business in general.
The best design-build team for you is one that you feel comfortable communicating and working with. They should be able to translate your vision into a viable design plan that fits your budget. Additionally, a great design-build team should also help you navigate and obtain all the necessary documents and permits for the project, and should work closely with you to create a realistic timeline that best suits your needs.
Once you meet a remodeling company that checks all the boxes, make sure to book them ASAP before they’re contracted for another project. Having a great team to fit your needs will save many headaches in the long-run.
Don’t Forget Curb Appeal
Curb appeal refers to the general attractiveness of a property and its surroundings when viewed from the street.
When considering which areas to renovate or remodel, some homeowners often overlook the exterior. Their focus is usually on the living room, kitchen, bathroom, foyer, or patio. However, the front door, garden, and driveway are just as important and matter just as much in the long run. Keep in mind that these are the first things your guests will see, which means most of the pressure of giving a great first impression are on those areas!
Hence, if you have the means to upgrade your lawn, walkway, and main entrance from ‘simply satisfactory’ to ‘interesting and inviting,’ then we highly recommend you do so.
Figure Out Your Living Situation in Respect to Your Timeline
Earlier, we mentioned that a good remodeling company can help you create a realistic timeline for your project. This is necessary because one of the trickier aspects of home remodeling is figuring out a temporary living situation for the duration of the remodel.
If you’re just renovating one or two rooms, simply relocating items and furniture might be enough. However, if those rooms are ones you use every day—like your kitchen, your bathroom, or your bedroom—you need to figure out where you’re going to temporarily sleep, cook, and bathe for the next month or so (depending on your timeline).
Do you have an outdoor kitchen you can use? If you’re remodeling the kids’ rooms, are they okay sleeping in your room or in the guest bedroom? Is the guest bathroom or downstairs bathroom fully equipped? For bigger home remodeling projects, it might be necessary to temporarily transfer to a hotel or move in with a friend or family member.
The best solution for your living arrangements depends on the scope and timeline of your projects. Just be sure to plan it out in advance to avoid unnecessary issues and last-minute scrambling.
Always Think Long-Term
When selecting materials, designs, and furniture for your remodeling project, always think long-term. Will you still like this style five, ten years down the line? Do you think these floors can withstand ten to twenty years of wear and tear? Are these decorative mirrors practical where they are, or would they be better off in a safer location?
There are two parts to a good home remodel; function and aesthetic. A lot of homeowners tend to invest more in the latter, leaving the former as an afterthought.
Finding the balance between ‘pretty’ and ‘practical’ will not only make your house look great; it’ll save you from future functionality issues, potentially pricey replacements, and multiple costly repairs.
Fix Minor Defects Beforehand
Before the main remodel project, we highly recommend doing a quick inventory of your home and taking note of minor defects that could pose potential problems. For instance, loose flooring, a dead electrical outlet, busted light bulbs, a crack in your window, noisy plumbing. . . these are all little issues that could turn into major obstacles during home remodeling.
As the homeowner, you want the home remodeling process to be as safe and as painless as possible—both for your sake and the sake of your remodeling team. It is in your best interest to attend to these problems while they’re still small and manageable. Don’t wait until they grow to present very real problems to your project’s timeline and budget.
Recent Comments