Home Renovation: The Do’s and Don’ts
Transforming your house into your dream home with home renovation is an exciting time. If you’re planning to remodel your home, chances are you are eager to get it completed as quickly as possible. However, rushing ahead without careful planning can cost you time and money, not to mention being potentially dangerous.
Have a read through our top do’s and don’ts for doing some home renovation to make sure you have all bases covered before you take a sledgehammer and try to knock the wall down.
The Don’ts of Home Renovation
- Go for The Cheapest Contractor
Remodelling the home can be an expensive business, so you’ll want to try and cut down on costs as much as possible. However, going for the cheapest contractor can be a false economy if you have to hire a different contractor down the line to sort out a shoddy job.
When looking for contractors, you should definitely shop around. However, if the price seems too good to be true, chances are it is. Make sure you properly vet your contractors by looking at reviews and recommendations. Better still, see if you have any friends or family that can recommend a good contractor and go and visit a previous customer to see their work. You may end up paying a little more, but it’ll cost less than having to get some of the work re-done in a few months if everything starts to fall apart.
- Neglect Your Vision for the Design
Renovators might be experts in re-building homes, but that doesn’t mean they know how to work around a non-existent design. If you don’t have an exact plan for how you want the final product to look, you’re not going to be satisfied when it’s finished. Make sure you have a strong vision for the final design so you can discuss it with your contractors. And, if it’s a big job – get an architect.
- Renovate Everywhere at Once
If you have big plans to renovate your entire house and the budget to move out whilst the architect and builders are in, you should take things one step at a time. Trying to do everything at once will not only be expensive, but it will be inconvenient to you and your family when your entire home turns into a construction site. By taking it one or a couple of rooms at a time, you should still be able to live in your house whilst the renovations are taking the place, causing less disruption to your day to day life.
- Be Unrealistic About the Completion Date
There are a lot of things that can delay the completion of a renovation project, so it’s important to remain flexible with the completion date. Chances are things will change as the project is ongoing, or there may be delays with deliveries or a spell of poor weather that will cause the project to go more slowly. Just remember that a good construction job takes time, so be patient.
The Do’s of Home Renovation
- Find Out if You Need a Permit
If you’re planning on doing some large-scale renovations, such as getting a conservatory or an extension, chances are you will need to apply for a permit. Performing construction work without a required permit can result in an enforcement notice being served, ordering you to undo all the changes you’ve had made. This would probably the worst thing to happen after having all that work done! So make sure you secure any planning permission needed before work begins, you can apply online and your builder should be able to help.
- Set a Budget
The key to a successful project is knowing how much you can realistically afford to spend to achieve the results you want. It’s a good idea to discuss this with your designer, architect or builder, as they will be able to advise you on where savings can be made. Try to stick to your allocated budget as much as possible, but it’s a good idea to have a contingency budget too, in case anything unexpected crops up.
- Know When to Call a Professional
Trying your hand at a little DIY is great when it comes to stripping wallpaper, giving the walls a fresh coat of paint or putting a coat of varnish on the decking, but trying to completely renovate your kitchen without any experience or the right skills is a one way ticket to disaster.
No matter how many episodes of Grand Designs you’ve watched, don’t be mistaken into thinking that large renovation projects are easy. Unless you really know what you’re doing, you should hire a professional for big jobs.
- Invest in Quality Appliances
Whilst the main focus of remodelling the home will usually come in the design of the floors, lighting and walls, renovation is also a great chance to update those old appliances. Things like the kitchen appliances and the washer and dryer are investments that will really make a difference to your day-to-day life, so it pays to make sure you really go for quality over cost.
Do some research into the best manufacturers and models, read reviews and gain an understanding of their warranties. Good models will last you a long time, and their style can even be incorporated into the re-design of the room.
- Protect Your Belongings
Dust and dirt are unavoidable when doing renovations, and they can be difficult factors to control. Whilst contractors will use some kind of plastic coverings to protect your belongings, this won’t stop these things from getting in the way of the work being done; they will have to be moved somewhere if an entire room needs its carpet stripped or a wall knocking down.
You can protect your belongings by putting them into self-storage. At Kangaroo Self Storage, we offer storage in Edinburgh, storage in Glasgow and storage in Dundee. Our units are available in a wide range of sizes, all the way up to 500 sq ft, which can store the contents of a large six-bedroom house. Our storage units are clean, well-maintained and totally secure. Are facilities are covered by 24-hour CCTV, burglar alarms and smoke detectors.
So whilst you’re building that dream home or remodelling your current home you can keep your belongings safe and sound with us at Kangaroo Self Storage. Contact us today and speak to a member of staff about your requirements.