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Thursday, November 29, 2018

6 Ways To Prepare Your Home For Renovation

~ This is a featured post. ~

Now that winter is most definitely here; it is the perfect time to plan out some home renovations for the new year. You can take the time to sit down and scour the magazines and websites that will give you inspiration, or you might find that you are more easily able to get in touch with professionals who can come and appraise your property and give you a cost for the job or jobs that you want to get done. Book them in for the spring, and you have plenty of time to save up the money and increase your budget if need be, plus you will be able to prepare your home in advance for the renovation work that is to come. 

Although this might not seem like something that you need to think about, it is essential. Without the proper planning, you can become stressed, your budget might run out, and your home may be much more of a mess than you ever thought it would be. Preparing your home for a renovation is vital for everyone’s comfort and happiness; here are six ways to do it.

1. Work Out Your Budget
Yes, financial budgeting can be dull, and it certainly isn’t everyone’s forte, but without a budget in place, how will you know how much you can spend on your home renovations? How will you know whether or not to accept a quote from a builder or craftsman if you don’t know if you can afford it or not?

The size of your budget is less important than having one, to begin with. Even a small budget can be enough for some excellent renovation work, depending on what you have done, who you hire, or whether you do the work yourself. The key, though, no matter what size your budget might be, is to have one in place and not to deviate from it. Once you start to think that a little extra here and there won’t hurt, you’ll soon find that you’ve added a big chunk of money to your budget that you can’t afford.

2. Research Costs
Once you have your budget in place, you can then start looking at how much different items might cost you. Start by looking at home improvement websites to get some idea of the kinds of styles and looks you like, and then, when you know what it is you are looking for, work out how much it would cost you in terms of both materials and labor (your own or someone else’s) to get it done.

Compare that cost against your budget and see if you can afford it. If not, you will need to compromise. The granite countertops may need to be changed to tile or wood, or something even less expensive. Your roll-top bathtub may need to become a standard corner bath. Make little changes and adjustments until your shopping list matches your budget.

3. Know What You Want
You have a budget to work to, and you know what materials you can afford. Plus you know whether you can use a professional or whether you should do some of the work. Now you need to determine the look that you want.

This is the fun part, as long as you stick to your budget and your skills. There are many different styles that you can choose from, and each one will offer you something wonderful. You can pick something classic and comfortable, or something wild and wacky. The choice is yours, but you should know what you want before you get started otherwise you may find the job takes a lot longer than it should do.

4. What Can You Do Yourself?
Now you know what design you want and how much it is going to cost you, but is there anything you can do yourself? Some of it will be possible to DIY in some cases, and this, of course, will reduce your budget (you may even be able to switch back to granite in the kitchen after all). Working backward like this means that your budget is only going to reduce, and that’s a positive thing, giving you more leeway in what you can choose or who you can use to do the work, or saving you money.

Jobs such as painting, tiling, or even putting furniture together if need be can usually be done yourself, but larger or more complicated jobs such as plumbing and electrics should only ever be handled by a professional.

5. Speak To The Professionals
Once you have determined what it is you are going to need a professional to help you with, it’s time to speak to at least three to get an idea not only of price but of what they are like to work with as well. This is particularly important if the job is a long one, where they will be on site (in your home) for many days or even weeks. You need to be able to get on with them as well as afford them, and this is why interviewing more than one is essential.

Find the professional that you like and whose estimate fits with your budget, and you will have a much easier time when it comes to having the work done and feeling less stressed about the situation. Of course, you should also look at testimonials and reviews to make your final choice, but a gut feeling, although not scientific or quantifiable, can often be a help.

6. Declutter
Once you have booked in your home renovations, you have the perfect opportunity to declutter your home. Whichever room the work is going to be carried out in, it will ideally need to be cleared and tidied to make it easier to get the job done in a timely, professional way. Take a good look at what you have in the room and place it into three piles. One pile is to keep, one is to take to Goodwill or to sell online or even at a garage sale, and the final pile is to put in the trash.

The items that you want to keep will need to be kept elsewhere during the renovations, and if many rooms are being worked on at once, a storage facility may be your best option. Paying a little for this for a month or so will save you a lot of worry and is well worth the money.