Last Updated on March 4, 2021 by Showrooms Online
How to Plan a Home Renovation to Make it Less Stressful
Planning a home renovation can be intimidating, especially if it’s your first one. Sometimes the number of details can be overwhelming. However, planning ahead will help make your project run smoother. You’ll also be less stressed. Following these recommendations on how to plan a home renovation to make your project less stressful and will help keep you on schedule and on budget.
Read on to see how to plan a home renovation in 5 steps.
1. Create a Home Renovation Project Plan
The initial step in creating a plan is to determine the objective for your renovation and should take place as early as possible. Additionally, this will include your motivation or reason for the renovation along with a list of tasks involved to complete the project. You may want to include drawings or images of how you want your renovation to look. Also, you can start to identify tasks that you can do versus tasks that require a contractor. For help with DIY projects, we recommend looking at homeowner DIY projects.
This is the best time to review the local requirements for your project such as zoning laws and building permits. Absolutely, structural changes and additions always require a permit. Your contractor will submit the required permit applications. For some interesting ideas and inspiration check out HGTV renovation ideas
2. How to Plan a Home Renovation Budget
This step is for setting the amount of money you can comfortably spend to complete the renovation. Once you have an amount you can decide if you will need financing to help cover the costs.
Budgets for renovations should include a buffer of 10-20% for unforeseen expenses. While preparing a budget you should investigate the approximate cost of materials and labor. You may want to ask your contractor or other professionals at this point to help determine your costs.
Since the budget drives the project you will need to adjust your project and eliminate items so the cost fits within your budget. See our checklist for creating a budget.
3. Find a Contractor
A few months before your project start date you will want to hire a contractor. To help with this see our list of certified contractors. If you have more than one contractor in mind, review the list of criteria below before making your final decision.
How long has the contractor been in business? The longer a contractor has been in business the better.
Has your contractor been certified or licensed? Organizations that certify contractors have standards that members must maintain. These are the contractors you want to use.
Is your contractor insured and do they carry worker’s compensation? You want to make sure you are covered for all liabilities while the work is being completed.
Does your contractor offer financing? Many contractors can provide reasonable loans to customers and flexible payment schedules.
Call the references your contractor provides. This will give you insight into how your contractor has performed on other projects. Negotiate the savings for any work you can do on the project as part of your plan for a home renovation.
4. Create a Schedule for Your Project
It’s time to determine the start date for the renovation, one of the most exciting days of your project. Your contractor can help prepare the schedule and give you a good idea of every phase of the project. Some stages of the renovation can be carried out at the same time to help shorten the total time needed to complete the project
It may be useful to review special materials, such as countertops, and find out shipping times and delivery dates. Some common materials may be back-ordered due to availability. Advanced planning will help ease any wait times.
Most renovation projects have steps that take longer than expected so be sure to add extra time for this.
5. Get Ready for Your Renovation
The renovation process may mean that you no longer have access to areas of your home. How to plan a home renovation includes getting prepared. These areas may need to be emptied of contents. The contents will need to be stored or relocated to other areas of your home. If your kitchen is being renovated, you might want to set up a temporary kitchen somewhere else.
If you are renovating more than one room you may want to leave your home while the work is being completed. Once your renovation is finished, don’t forget to put some thought into decorating your revived space.
We would like to hear back from you about your renovation project!
