Are you considering renovating your home? Here is what you need to think about, from the point of view of a renovation contractor.
- Determine what you want: Begin by making lists of what you like and don’t like in your house. Ensure that your family members agree with your decision. For what purpose you use each room in your home? How are they related to features you would like to add? By preparing a list of all these things, you can easily bring all your questions up with your contractor.
- Be prepared for the renovation mess: inconvenience, dust, distractions, noise and personal disturbance are usually unavoidable; however they can be managed by preparing yourself and your family for the renovation process. Make your abode accessible to renovation contractors, and understand their working schedule properly. Some contractors work from 10 AM – 6 PM, and other from 7 AM – 3 PM. Moreover, some can work according to your time schedule. So discuss their schedule in order to accommodate your lifestyle. Plan some outings and a few dine outs to take a break from the craziness around your home.
- Be a good communicator: Before you start any work or purchase any products, take time to first understand what you are getting into. This means asking questions you have, confirming all the details and understanding how things will work, with your contractor. Try to be as accessible as possible. By being accessible you can help your remodeling professional make smart and fast decisions as issues arise.
- Be open to make changes in your original plans and try new ideas: You may think that everything is well planned and thought out but unavoidably, you will have to make changes. A good professional will provide solutions to small issues and use his or her experience from past jobs to suggest what works best.
- Plan to visit showrooms with your remodeling professional: By taking your contractor with you, you can actually find out what will work and what won’t according to your renovation goals and current structure of your home. The professional can advise you and assist you make the right decision.
- Keep a log of your project: Prepare a track of products you have specified, dates of some installations and what happens each day. This will help you track proper progress of your renovation project and day-to-day work done by your contractor.
- If you are hiring a contractor you don’t know then do check about their references and reviews: People usually find professionals through recommendations. An expert professional pays attention to quality of work, like they place drop sheets and clean the site before leaving. So, before you hire someone, try to find out more about them and the quality of service they provide.
- Be ready to spend more than you planned: Most of the people spend 10-20% more on their renovations than they originally planned. If you are ready for this from the beginning, you will be at ease when you add a feature that you forgot to include initially in your renovation list.
