Home renovations can be overwhelming. They may take weeks or sometimes even months depending on how much of the house needs to be remodelled. Do sufficient research on the project requirements and plan accordingly. This is important to ensure that a good job is done and at a cost and time efficient manner. Although surprises are bound to arise during the remodelling process, there are measures you can take to ensure your renovation is completed on time. The following are some of them.
Have a Proper Plan and Design from the Word Go
Identify all the changes you wish to make to your house and write them down according to their priority. A read of this ultimate home remodeling guide should prove useful.
Afterwards, you can invite a few contractors to get their professional assessment of the job (you might want to have them over separately). Have them give you quotes on all the costs that will be involved. Once you get a clear picture, proceed to set aside the necessary funds for the project. If the costs outweigh the available funds, make the necessary adjustments.
The renovation will entail a lot of different types of tasks and you need to come up with a plan on how everything is going to happen. Do not leave room for randomness in the process as it might cause major delays. Here, clarity is power. Have a crystal clear picture of what you want to achieve and make sure it is realistically achievable with the finances available.
Get Your Home Insurance Company up to Speed
The home insurance you are currently on may not cover the type of renovations you want to do. This will mean that in the event there is any type of damage to your home, the responsibility of repairing will be yours solely. Before any work begins, call your insurance broker and have them tell you if your current plan is enough or whether you need to upgrade.
You should also make sure your contractor has builder’s risk insurance. This will protect you from damage claims in case the unthinkable happens. Upgrading your insurance plan and hiring a contractor with site insurance will protect you if something serious happens as a result of the renovation.
Protect Your Site from Theft
The construction site should be well, and supplies should be stored properly. Leaving things scattered all over can attract the unwanted attention of opportunistic thieves. Bearing in mind that there are valuable construction equipment and supplies, you should consider putting in place a temporary entrance that can be locked. Investing in a temporary lock may appear to be an unnecessary expense, but it is one that can save you a lot of money in the long run.
Have a Building Inspector Assess the Stability of the Structure
The contractor may have to bring down a wall or two to achieve the result you desire. If the house is not stable, this can lead to damage in other parts of the house that were not supposed to be renovated. A wall brought down downstairs may cause the room above it to also collapse. To avoid such scenarios, have your home inspected by a certified structural officer. Only begin remodelling when you have their go ahead.
Have a Contingency Plan and Be Open to Slight Modifications to your Desired Design
Even with a good plan and efficient time and resource utilisation, additional costs are bound to arise. This is just how renovations are. Do not set yourself up for disappointment by working with the budgeted amount only. As the contractors proceed with their work, more damaged parts that were not visible to the eye may be seen. A wall may be halfway down only for piping to be discovered inside. This will require a plumber’s expertise to redo the piping. Factor in at least an additional 10% allocation to cater for the extra costs that may have to be incurred.
The idea of giving up your perfect design is not one that is easily accepted. To protect the structure of the house or preventing costs from escalating, you should be open to modifying the design if need be. At times, bringing down walls may come with additional costs. It may affect your heating ventilation and air conditioning system. This will significantly increase the expenses as you will have to make adjustments on your HVAC system. Having unique design bathroom designers on board that can help you design and adjust the model when necessary can simplify the whole process.
Make Sure Everybody is on the Same Page
Renovations may require you to hire several different subcontractors. Having a plumber, electrician and mason working in the same space require you to be a good people and task manager. Identify whose tasks will have to go first and create a work plan around that information. Discuss with all your subcontractors as you make that plan. The schedule you come up with will ensure that no collisions will occur at the site as everyone will be there only when they are required to.
A schedule will also help you monitor the progress and know which tasks should be performed each day. For such programs to be executed perfectly, ensure all tasks are completed on time. This is to prevent one subcontractor’s work from eating into another one’s time. Such delays may force you to make a new plan as the subcontractors may not be available at a delayed date.
Be Available to make on-site decisions
There will be some alterations and decisions contractors cannot make without your consent. These may be due to tasks that may increase the scope and cost of work or they may just require to know your preference on some matters. You should be present at the site to address such issues as they arise.
As it may not be possible for you to be present all the time, ensure you have good and open communication with them. Make sure they understand what you want and encourage them to give you clear and concise updates on the project regularly.
Conclusion
In addition to the measures we have discussed, there are several skills required to carry out home renovations without unnecessary delays. Good communication skills combined with people management and planning skills can be the difference between chaos and success.
