Home renovations can be very scary to undertake without professional advice. Often we hear about people starting a kitchen remodel and five months later the family is still eating off of paper plates and gourmet food from a microwave. Many people don’t attempt remodeling a space within the home in the same manner as a professional would. This is what can lead to many different problem areas.
There are five crucial steps involved in a home remodeling project. The best way to begin a remodeling effort is to look at each step individually and come up with a master plan. The five steps include; the design phase, basic pencil drawing, viewing samples and planning materials, detailed plan of attack including materials, time to be spent and a budget, the final step finding a contractor to bring it all together unless of course you are an adventurous homeowner tackling it on your own.
Let’s look at each step individually. The design phase is the point at which you decide what you are looking to do. Are you interested in more space? If so maybe an addition is the answer. Are you looking for a cozy space to entertain? Perhaps a kitchen remodel is in store. Perhaps you are a homeowner looking for a retreat, a special place all your own to go unwind after a busy day. Maybe a spa bathroom is what you are leaning towards. Whatever you look to achieve it is clear a detailed picture of your goal needs to be the first thing decided upon.
Step two, visualization, is often hard for many homeowners. They can tell a contractor what they want but can’t see it themselves. This is often a huge problem in construction and leads to large projects becoming bigger than originally estimated. It is crucial that the homeowner have a detailed picture of what they are trying to accomplish with in the space of the remodel. A basic pencil drawing that includes the layout and space functionality is a great place to begin.
The third step is where the decisions start to be made. In order to move forward with a project it is important to know what colors you will be using, what materials will be in the room and the style and overall feeling to be projected in the space. This is where you can see how things will start blending and coming together to create harmony.
The fourth step is often the one that people begin to look back and change the plan. When a budget is created and a timeline is put in place many homeowners begin to look at their previous choices. Often the gold faucets seem less important when you will be forgoing the designer tiles to stick within the budget.
Lastly phase five is figuring out if you are hiring a contractor or doing the work yourself. This is a critical decision and will play with both your budget and time line. If you decide to do the work yourself consider taking time off of work to initially get going on the labor. This is especially true in a bathroom remodel or kitchen renovation. These two home remodeling jobs are often the biggest culprits of renovation delays.