Whether you built a custom home in the past or bought an existing property, you want to continue to make it your own as your needs and style changes. The term “renovation” could mean anything from changing the light fixtures or sink faucets throughout the home to knocking down walls and pulling up flooring in preparation for a whole new aesthetic.
No matter how extensive your home renovation plans may be, you need to have that plan in place before the first screws are loosened or wall is knocked down. We have some tips and tricks for you here so you’re not flying blind with any DIY renovations, or renovations you hire professionals to complete.
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Set Intentions – and a Budget
First, you’ll want to sit down and figure out what you want to renovate and why. If you want to renovate the secondary bathroom, is it because it’s old and outdated, or because the kids have finally moved out and you no longer need the bath tub so you want a shower stall instead?
Think about the amount of money you have or want to spend. While the sky may be the limit, setting a budget means looking at the whole picture and deciding what you want and how to pay for it. Setting a firm number, like $20,000, doesn’t necessarily limit your imagination, but it could focus your plans to give you fewer choices to make an easier or quicker decision: hundreds of tile patterns are cut down to twenty or less just by deciding the tile budget for the floor and shower is $8,000.
Prioritize needs and wants when it comes to getting things done. That bathroom really needs a makeover, but the kitchen could use a sprucing up, too. There’s no dire need in the kitchen, but it’ll be a ‘nice to have’ if it fits in the budget. Prioritize the bathroom and allocate the biggest part of your budget to the space.
While not the final item to think about or budget for, this is the time to start interviewing and hiring a designer if you’re not going to DIY this project. Finding the right person at the right price will go a long way in getting your plans rolling.
If this project is DIY, don’t forget to budget the amount of time you need to complete the project.
Make a Design Plan
If you had a custom home built, you know all the steps of designing the outside, choosing a floor plan, materials, fixtures, finishes – the works. Apply the same theories to your renovation. While you won’t be building from the ground up this time, you still need to visualize the finished room. Put those ideas down on paper and create a draft of the design you have in your head, then begin adding the pieces. In our hypothetical bathroom, these will include faucets, a vanity, a shower head, the shower enclosure or tiling, a toilet, and flooring. Consider these needs and your budget and continue to work the plan until you reach a final design.
This is where a professional designer can be of assistance. They’ll listen to your needs and wants, if you have a description of your final product, and help implement those into a design that you can follow or pass on to a contractor to do the work. If you’ve found a piece you love, like a specific vanity or even a shower head, some designers can design the whole bathroom around that one item for a cohesive look rather than a hodgepodge of single items that seemingly make no sense together.
Hire Your Team
If you’ve chosen to DIY your bathroom project, you (and your willing family members and friends) are your team. If you’ve chosen to hire out the work, you’ll want a good team on the job. Do your research, get referrals and references, and interview potential contractors and designers. You may have already chosen a designer, and that person may have connections with good contractors they have worked with in the past. While you may think it’s quick and easy to go with the designer’s recommendations, reach out to those people and make sure they’re a good fit for you and your needs.
Part of the hiring process is getting a cost estimate. Some contractors may price themselves out the running right away – in our hypothetical bathroom renovation, we have $20,000 for the whole project. If a contractor estimates $30,000, you’re going to turn down that estimate. If another contractor estimates $15,000, keeping the extra $5,000 aside for emergencies, they will be a better fit for you and your project.
Once you’ve found the right contractor, make sure to sign a written contract that includes a timeline, cost, and payment schedule. If the contractor is wary of signing an agreement, you may want to continue to look for contractors.
Prepare Your Home
Now that you’re design and your team are ready to go, you may be eager to start demolition. Not so fast. Whether you’re doing a DIY renovation or you’ve hired a designer and/or contractor, it’s time to sit down and order all the materials and supplies. Items like lighting, tile, vanity counter tops, and other items may take weeks or months to arrive. In that case, you have two choices: wait for the items, or choose different items with shorter lead times for a faster conclusion to your project.In our hypothetical bathroom renovation, you won’t likely have to secure other living arrangements since you likely have extra bathrooms you can use. But if you’re renovating a kitchen, living room, bedroom, or other main living space, you’ll need to secure other accommodations while the work is being performed. For a long-term project, you’ll have to budget plenty of money for hotel stays or rental homes or apartments.If you’re gutting the kitchen, remove and store your cutlery, dishware, cookware, food, dish towels, and even the little things like fridge magnets and your child’s artwork. Now is a good time to throw away or donate items, too. Multiples – who really needs four slotted spoons? or unused items like the cheese grater you got for your wedding 15 years ago can be donated, too.Likely the most important step in your renovation: take before and after photos. This is especially needed when working with contractors. While most exercise as much caution as possible, accidents happen. Additionally, they’re a good memory to look back on what was.
Inform Your Team
Be sure to inform your team of all of your plans. These include plans outside of the design plan for your project, like reuse or recycling of items. Some cities have programs to donate used cabinets, counters, appliances, and other materials for building and finishing homes for the disadvantaged. If you opt to contribute, inform your team so they can take care when removing these materials to keep them whole and as undamaged as possible.You may have decided that since the stainless steel fridge is still in good shape, you’ll be keeping it to replace the old one in the media room. Your HOA or the city may have imposed ‘quiet hours’ and work will need to be done indoors, or stay within the time frame.
Stay Out of the Way
This applies if you’ve hired a team. The home improvement shows on TV show homeowners having fun pitching in, painting a special piece, using a power tool for the first time, or another seemingly mundane task. Your team can, and will, do it faster. While you take 20 minutes to measure on the wall, mark it, go measure, mark, and measure again before cutting the wood, the laborer does the same work in half the time. As much as you think you might be helping, unless you’re a professional yourself, it’s better if you stay out of the way and let the crew do their jobs.
Be Available and Flexible
If you’re leaving the work to the professionals, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stay involved in the project. If you’ve ever seen a home improvement show on TV, you’ve likely seen the designer or project manager call with “bad news” like a leak behind a wall and a colony of mold, or the unavailability of a building material or finish. These instances aren’t only for dramatic effect on TV, they could potentially happen during your project as well. You’ll need to be ready to move to plan B, C, D, or even E or F should things not work out.
Keep your phone handy if you can, and set up routine communication between you and your team. On that note, communicate! Whether it’s via text, phone call, email, smoke signal, whatever, the lines of communication between you and your team need to be open and available.
Be sure to stop in from time to time to assess and document progress. Take pictures or video at regular intervals throughout the project all the way through completion. Stay on top of the payment schedule to ensure work continues as smoothly as possible.
Final Thoughts
We at Acipe Design know everyone has their own personality, desires, and needs, and those can change from time to time. When you consult with us on your custom home build, we can help you plan for future renovations, too.
Contact us today!