Starting Right With Home Renovations
If you’ve been thinking about condo or home renovations for a while and you are finally ready to make your remodel dreams come true, here’s some practical advice for getting started.
It’s an exciting time that can be filled with anxiety, and with proper planning you can avoid regret. Making the right choices for your home renovation can help and thinking about how you will update your home, the materials used, or choices you make will almost certainly impact your outcome.
One of the first things you want to think about is how you will use the space. If it’s a kitchen or bathroom renovation, not moving things that might require plumbing or electrical work will help you save. Since this is an opportunity to do it right or the way you’ve always wanted, when considering how to use the space it’s also wise to consider if extra storage or closet space would be appropriate or just nice to have.
Preparing for Planning
Any home renovation requires careful planning, and large changes should be considered before making a move. Things like knocking down walls or similar modifications that can affect your home structurally should be carefully contemplated. You wouldn’t want to remove a load bearing wall without proper planning.
When you’ve settled on materials, you should order well in advance. This can help with avoiding unwanted delays when the actual work starts. You wouldn’t want to live in the mess longer than necessary. It’s also wise to find a contractor in advance like Rennovarea that will work with you and share advice on materials to choose (or avoid) to keep your project running smoothly.
Sometimes reusing old materials can make sense. A fresh coat of paint can make some things look like new again, and it can be much more cost efficient. You might also look at quality materials that have a better chance of lasting a long time, even with the added expense up front it can make more sense. Such as a laminate floor, which might require repairs or replacement if you were to go with an inferior product to save a few bucks.
Choosing Wisely
The labour is an expensive part of home renovations, but if you don’t do your homework the materials can quickly become the most costly. If you were looking to have a natural stone look for your kitchen remodel, the material you choose can make all the difference in cost.
Going with a man-made quartz versus a Calacatta marble for countertops can account for a difference that is thousands of dollars. With a higher end quartz slab you can also get veining that tends to look like marble. An advantage with quartz countertops besides being more affordable is that they are also more durable.
When deciding on flooring, if you have kids or pets they will see a lot more wear. Choosing something like a single-board laminate is usually more durable and a better choice. And when ordering, you should get 20% extra as there are a number of things that can happen during installation and you’ll need more than you might assume.
Don’t Forget Small Details
When you’re doing a renovation such as a bathroom, you might be focused on tiles or flooring or a new vanity. But a reno is the perfect time for taking care of the small things that can also make a big difference. From faucets and fixtures to lighting and painting, there are endless details that can really make a difference. While removing a tub and retiling your new shower area and adding a sliding glass door is a dramatic change, don’t underestimate just how much new lighting and a fresh coat of paint can help too.
Financing Your Reno
One of the biggest concerns when it comes to a home renovation is how you might cover the costs and pay for it all. One way that many will choose is to take a personal loan from a bank or options like GoodCheddar or Borrowell to fund your project. A home renovation is an investment and if you are doing a remodel of your kitchen or a bathroom reno then chances are you’ll recoup most if not all of your costs in the future. Another option is refinancing your home to take out some of the equity that’s been built up. Either way, the money spent is likely to benefit you later as it adds value to your home.
When most plan a home renovation, almost half of them underestimate the actual costs. While its good to try and work the details down to the penny, you should also plan to be under budget of what you truly can afford. Sometimes when a project starts, it opens up awareness of other issues that require attention. For example, you might be having your shower retiled and while the wall is open you discover there is a need for some plumbing work that needs to be done. Or you were installing a backsplash in the kitchen and some drywall was damaged, and while replacing this it’s been discovered there is some necessary electrical work to take care of.
No matter how perfectly planned, practically all home renovations will have a few bumps in the road. Building a buffer in your plans in almost every aspect from timing to cost is one of the smartest moves to proper reno planning.