You’ve been saving money for months, and now it’s finally time to get that home renovation project underway. This is an exciting time, but it’s one you need to plan carefully. Remodelling projects are infamous for all their mishaps (which might be why there are so many TV shows about them). For all the stress you’ll encounter during a home renovation, nothing beats the feeling of seeing one to completion. Your house will look as you have always envisioned it, and you’ll get to appreciate it every day. Here are five things that can help you prepare for a new project:
1. Expect to spend a lot of time on it
We aren’t just talking about the time it will take for the renovations. Before you start renovating, you need to prepare yourself for all the mental space it will take up for the next several months of your life. Anticipate long phone calls with contractors, arguments with product suppliers, and nights without sleep spent worrying about construction. The renovation process isn’t always pretty—not until the very end, at least. To prepare yourself for it, try to be comfortable with the fact that you’re going to encounter all sorts of curveballs that will take some creative thinking to overcome.
2. Home renovations make a big mess
If there’s one thing you can count on during a home renovation, it’s that you’ll find yourself doing a lot of cleaning. To stay on top of the incoming dust and debris that will soon populate your home, see if there’s something you can do. Sawing wood for the floors or cabinets? Do this work outside and reduce the sawdust in your home (just make sure to tidy up the yard after). If your filters are due for a change, your HVAC system could be making your home dusty. Have them inspected to see if this is the case. You can make your life easier by doing a bit of tidying each day; staying on top of dust will improve the indoor air quality.
3. Make a reasonable budget and deadline
We wish budgeting was as easy as finding a magic number and sticking to it. But when it comes to home improvements, you will probably encounter some unexpected expenses. What if you don’t measure your floor space correctly and you need to order more materials? When you’re making a budget, give yourself some room for error. This is the home that you’re renovating after all; it’s a place close to your heart where you spend a lot of time. For that reason, don’t cut too many corners when it comes to your project, or you may be unhappy with the final result.
The same goes for setting a deadline. While you might like the work to be completed within a few months, you are likely to encounter some type of delay. Products may be out of stock, the weather might delay construction, or someone may fall ill, and the project might have to be put on hold.
4. Prepare for the unexpected
Depending on the type of renovation you’re considering, you may run into issues that derail your plans. As you tear down old walls, you might find some asbestos. You’ll need to contact a professional asbestos removal company to keep yourself safe from this hazardous material. Old house wiring can pose unanticipated problems. If you’re hooking up a new washer and dryer, your electrical fuses may not be able to supply that many amps of power. It’s worth setting up an emergency fund to cover your bases if issues like these arise.
5. Protect your kids and pets
Trying to live in your home while renovations are underway is no easy task. As an adult, you can learn to navigate the water outages, the electrical downtime, and the floor strewn with sharp power tools. But your little ones and furry friends cannot. During different parts of the project, areas of your home may be unsafe for young children or animals to walk (or crawl) around. Plan ahead for these times and schedule babysitting services, cat/dog sitters, or arrange to stay in a hotel. If you have willing family members, see if you can live with them for a couple of weeks!
A home renovation is a messy job. You can expect that a lot of dust, money, and stress will all be part of the process. But in the end, it will be worth it all to see your home transformed into the space you’ve always dreamed of.
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