2 May

Contractor Tips

What to Avoid During Your Remodel

Keeping your home remodeling project on track, and on budget is very important, just as equally important is to hire a professional contractor to help you with the process. If you choose to hire a contractor, or act as your own you may want to take a look at a few of our tips below.

Make Timely Decisions

To keep your remodel on schedule, the best thing to do is to make decisions before the work begins. A good contractor will usually walk you through a list of situations that may occur during your renovation. Keep in mind decisions about situations aren’t usually what causes delays, instead most of the problems are related to decisions about things such as trims, paint, and appliance selection. While these issues may seem small in comparison to the bigger picture, they can throw your remodel off track. Remember if your kitchen faucet is two weeks late, you’ll have to reschedule with your plumber, if your counter tops won’t be delivered for another week, then you are now a week behind and at a stand still.

Try Not to Change Your Mind

Of course when remodeling your home, you’re going to change your mind hundreds of times. Try to keep in mind every time you change your mind, it will result in a change order, some changes may seem minor, but they may end up costing you, if not in money then in time spent. Scheduling may be affected as well, everyone working on the remodel must be informed of any changes so no one follows the previous plan. Remember, everyone makes changes, and that’s fine, but be aware of the potential disruption to your schedule.

Do No Purchase Your Own Materials

While you may think purchasing your own materials will save you money, that isn’t always the case. You may think a contractor will mark up the cost of materials added, and while that may be true, consider this. Contractors and builders may get a better price than you, meaning that even after marking up the price, you still pay the same.

Don’t Put Money into a Pit

Contractors will rarely suggest knocking down a home over fixing them up, while this situation is rare it is common to have people put money into updating cabinets rather than their homes foundation. If your home is outdated, and you have areas that should be fixed immediately, you may want to listen to their advice. Sure marble flooring sounds nice, but a cracked roof and damaged foundation is much more important.

Plan a Contingency Fund

If you come to find that your remodel is going to cost more than you expected, don’t stress. It’s almost impossible to set a perfect budget for any project. The best way to avoid this is to plan ahead and make decisions ahead of time, you can probably get away with a 5% contingency with a good contractor.

Keep Kids and Pets Away

If you’re living through your renovation, keeping kids and pets away will be tough. While most people working in your home will often attempt to accommodate your children and pets, they don’t always have to. It’s not safe to have children and animals around construction, if you must live through the renovation, try to zone off areas that are for your kids and pets.

Don’t Live with Your Remodel

As we mentioned above, living through your renovation will be tough. We understand remodeling is expensive, and moving you and your family out for however long it will take just adds to the cost, but we do recommend trying to get out. If you can’t move out for the entire job, try to schedule some time away to a clean, comfortable place when the mess becomes too stressful. If you can swing it, you may even want to take a little vacation!

Don’t Distract the Workers

This may sound harsh, but every minute spent conversing with your workers is a minute spent not getting your remodel done. Is the conversation important and will effect the job, if the answer is yes, then that’s one thing. Just try to remember your electrician isn’t getting paid to talk to you about your vacation and kids soccer games.

Don’t Clash Designs

Don’t ignore your houses personality, before you install a modern kitchen in your Victorian style home. Can you, of course, but make sure you can pull it off. Naturally houses can change in time, there are no rules, but consider designing based off what flows.

Have a Vision

Depending on the project, you may want to get some advice from an interior designer, or even an architect. Good contractors can also help you come up with a solid plan regarding design, whether you need help choosing a layout style for your kitchen, flooring, or general design choices feel free to ask for advice. You can also do some research of your own before you begin your remodel, remember having a plan makes renovating much easier!

We hope these tips have helped you with your remodel, remember no matter what kind of remodeling project you plan to do, don’t start without a plan! While you’re planning, be sure to rent a dumpster for all of your debris from your project. Stay on budget by renting from us, at Waste Solutions 123! Call us today for a free quote and an affordable roll off dumpster rental!