5 Things to do Before You Renovate.

You’ve watched the shows and heard the stories. Renovating or building your new home can make or break a family.

It will be stressful. Your house will be a mess. This isn’t television; this is reality, and it’s YOUR reality.

Whether you are doing it yourself, or hiring a contractor, there are five things you must ask yourself before you begin to renovate:

 

Why are you doing this?  You need to understand what you are about to embark upon, and why you are doing it. Do you really need an addition, or do you have to just reconfigure your existing space to achieve what you want? What are your objectives? What do you want it to look like at the end? How do you want it to feel? Renovating is very emotional. Make sure you have thought of everything before you begin.

What is your timeframe?  Is there a life event you need to be ready for? If there is a delay, is there enough time to get back on track? For our BILD Award Winning Renovation, we needed to have the basement finished for a wedding. We allotted 5 months. However, we encountered difficulties with the municipality when acquiring building permits and what should have taken two weeks took six, leaving us only three months! We utilized the lost time in acquiring materials and were grateful for no other setbacks. Luck isn’t always on your side. Make sure to pad all renovations with an additional month if you can.

What’s your budget?  Funding has to be in place, and should include an additional 2-3% or more for contingency. The worst thing is to run out of money, bringing your renovation to a standstill, or even worse, unable to be completed.

Are you renovating for today or tomorrow?  Trends are great “for the moment” but can quickly become outdated. Make sure your design is classic and complements your home for many years.

Do you stay or do you go?  Live through it, not in it. Depending on the renovation, in most cases it is wise to find temporary accommodation outside of your home during the construction. However, being offsite doesn’t mean being absent. You need to live the reno … be involved. Be there every day, be accessible, be aware and be reactive.

 

If, after you have answered all these questions, you haven’t run the other way, then you are ready to embark into the world of home improvement.

Now breathe – and remember to have fun!

Need to discuss ideas with a design/build contractor? Daniel and Michael of PROBUILT by Michael Upshall can meet with you. It all begins here, with a consultation.