Renovating a property is a time-consuming and expensive thing, particularly if you’re looking to make major changes throughout your home. From tradespeople to materials and appliances, there’s plenty you’ll need to factor into your budget and schedule.
However, most people don’t tend to take into account the mistakes they’re likely to make on the way. Unfortunately, there are a great many common pitfalls that a lot of people fail to avoid and, ultimately, cost them money.
So, we’ve rounded up seven of the things you’ll need to know about if you want to assure the success of your project.
7 Ways To Avoid Common Home Renovation Pitfalls
1. Make a plan
While confidence is often key, it is nothing without good execution. So, to start with, you’ll need to make a plan and make sure it’s thorough. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to stay on task and within budget.
First, make a note of which rooms you want to renovate. Then, ask yourself what exactly you want to achieve in each room. It might just be that you want to make the space that bit more modern in some of them.
In others, you may instead be looking to rip things out and start anew. Either way, having a solid idea from the outset will help you hit every mark.
2. Set a realistic budget
Your budget is central to the success of your renovation. Spend too much at the beginning, and you might not be able to complete the rest. But, if you spend too little, you can actually cheapen the property’s value.
When deciding on your budget, it’s also a good idea to set yourself a rough timeline. While delivery times for materials and tradespeople’s availability can make it difficult to know exactly when things will happen, a preliminary schedule will help you spread your costs out.
3. Have backup plans in place
Not all renovations go to plan, and many come up against entirely unexpected obstacles. So, as part of your budgeting and planning stages, it’s important to put strategies in place that will help you deal with unpredictable roadblocks.
It could be a financial buffer. Or, you could instead plan to make alternative, more inexpensive changes to some areas of the house if you have to re-evaluate your budget. Either way, any backup you have in place will grant you wiggle room if you find yourself in a tight spot.
4. Coordinate your project
You might already have some experience in DIY and home improvements. But, just because you know how to fire up a chainsaw doesn’t mean you’re ready to take on the enormous task of renovating an entire property.
As such, it is recommended that you approach a project manager or an experienced builder, particularly if it’s your first time renovating. They will have the expertise necessary to advise you on how to proceed and even coordinate the project.
5. Ask yourself how involved you can be
Renovating a property can be an all-consuming job. As such, people who work full-time hours or have a family are unlikely to manage the project from start to finish.
Realistically, someone will need to oversee all aspects to make sure everything runs as it should. So, designate or hire someone who can.
6. Hire only the best
It’s important you invest in the best tradespeople. This doesn’t have to mean the most expensive, so don’t be tempted to hire people just because they come with a hefty price tag.
Instead, do a bit of digging to find the people who do the highest quality work for the most reasonable price. You can do so by talking to friends and family, asking for recommendations at a hardware store near you, or reading reviews online.
7. Keep the lines of communication open
Clear communication with every individual involved in your renovation will be absolutely crucial if you want everything to be completed on time and to an acceptable standard.
In fact, the one thing that tradies value more than anything else is customers who are responsive, trusting, and provide detailed briefings.
Get the best out of the people you hire by keeping them in the loop and treating them with respect. Everyone stands to gain if you do.
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Author: Luke Fitzpatrick
