5 Mistakes People Make When Planning a Home Renovation… And How You Can Avoid Them

It may surprise you to learn that over 80% of designs never get built. Why? They came in way over budget.

The reason for this is simple. Architects design renovations that meet a consumer’s brief. While budgets are generally discussed with architects at the briefing stage, designers and architects have little knowledge of building costs and generally underestimate the cost to complete a major renovation. That is a HUGE amount of money for you to find, which is why these designs never see the light of day.

By involving a contractor at the design stage, you can design your home’s new look to be both practical and within your budget. Only a custom remodel specialist has the experience to foresee the potential cost implications of a difficult site or architectural features. Most remodel specialists provide a design and build service, which means the consultation service is generally included at no extra charge.

A professional also has the right team to handle the more complex side of your remodel when planning a home renovation. It often takes a team including your contractor, designer, draftsman, and engineer to scope out legal requirements and any permits required. Getting your design and specifications right in the beginning saves you thousands in potential redesign fees.

Do you have an immovable hard and fast deadline for handover? Do you need your major renovation completely finished by Christmas or before a new family member arrives? If you have a fixed deadline, it’s a good idea to share this with your builder before you start.

The entire design process can take between 3-12 months depending on the complexities of the design and the approvals.

A professional contractor provides a guide for timeline once the initial design wraps up. This enables you to visualize how long all the processes such as construction drawings, engineering and quoting take. You also see the impact they have on the start date and ultimately the completion date. Another important thing to keep in mind is how complex a major renovation is. Contractors that specialize in renovations only take on a limited number of projects a year due to the high level of supervision required. This results in limited start dates becoming available.

Delaying the decisions that a contractor needs in order to finalize a contract proposal could result in you missing the next available construction slot. This could lead to a three-month delay to your project starting. Communicate with your contractor to check on the upcoming available start times.

Depending on the size and complexity of your remodel when planning a home renovation, you may have to partially or completely move out of your home. If you can live in a section of your house during work, be prepared for construction noise.

For a lot of consumers, this can start taking a toll after the first few weeks and the initial excitement has worn off. Discuss options with your contractor and consider what is best for your family.

Areas under construction need to be completely cleared out. It becomes a construction site with access being strictly controlled by your contractor. Agree in advance the frequency when you  can enter the site. This is for your own protection as construction sites are dangerous . Under no circumstances should anyone enter the construction site unaccompanied or without permission from the contractor.

While it may appear there is no rush to decide on the color and style of your tiles before you sign a contract, it’s important to realize every selection decision could delay your project. Tiles may have to be ordered up to months in advance. It’s important to make all your selection choices during the design stage.

Once you sign a contract, a contractor places hundreds of orders with subcontractors and suppliers to lock in pricing. If you go to contract with “To Be Determined” allowances, it’s likely prices to rise between contract signing and orders.

Keep a record of your selection choices in a spreadsheet to avoid blowing your budget . Faced with endless opportunities to add more and more features to your home, it’s easy to get carried away.

Making changes to your selections after signing can incur delays as new orders have to be placed, and delivery times may impact the construction schedule. If a selection choice delays construction, this leads to a variation and an Extension of Time added to your potential completion date.