8 Things to Know Before a Remodel
Talking about what to expect in a remodel is one thing…but then, it’s dangerously easy to compare the remodel of your dreams to the stuff you see on television.
PSA: Life is NOT like HGTV!
There are, in fact, some things to know before you remodel. Yes…your project is still happening—your dream WILL come true! You just want to be prepared so that day-one of demolition doesn’t kick off a harried sequence of events.
These are our 10 tips for before your remodel…for the stuff that ALWAYS seems to come up. Now, instead of revisiting sour memories with rough remodels of the past or devoting time to sitting down and imagining the worst, you can just breeze through this list…
You’ll thank us later!
1. Give yourself time and space to plan.
You can expect to spend at least a couple of months planning and designing your remodel, especially if it’s an updated kitchen or bath or another primary-use space.
Plan on really taking this time. Before you even contact a builder or designer, factor planning time into your ideal timeline, too—then, when you talk to the home builder, your expectations will be more realistic and you’ll avoid disappointment. Planning will include laying out the function of the room as well as selecting finishes and fixtures, not to mention designing ALL the details that will give your space the look and feel you’re after…
Our typical design period takes around 4-6 months before we are ready to break ground, but time spent planning saves time in building.
2. Be realistic about your overall project schedule.
Remember: real life is NOT HGTV! Don’t expect a project to be done in the time of five episodes.
Not only will you need to be realistic about your planning time (and even allow yourself to get a little excited about all that planning), you’ll want to be realistic about the overall schedule for your remodel, too. Be cognizant of the fact that special or custom features will take more time to build and install. It takes 12-16 months on average to build a custom home and about 6-9 months on average for a substantial remodel. In 2021, you can expect this to be even longer as we continue to experience unprecedented labor shortages and material delays.
And remember…if you do request changes along the way (which happens, and is totally OK), those change orders will extend the time of your project’s completion. When it’s something you really want, however, it’s totally worth it!
3. Ensure you have cost coverage.
This is one of those things you might have heard before, and is worth repeating because it’s so important to keep top-of-mind before getting into your remodel…
You will need a 15-20% contingency in your budget to allow for unexpected expenses and change orders.
Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll DEFINITELY use it, but most homeowners do. Unexpected things come up when you get into a project, even with new construction, not to mention all the last minute change orders and upgrades you’ll likely want to add on. Building a home is stressful enough, but life continues to happen during a building project. The last thing we want is for you to have to make a difficult choice between your dream home and a life event. With a contingency budget, though, you’ll be able to really get your dream home across the finish line and get excited about some of those change orders we just talked about, too.
4. Expect gaps in your remodel schedule.
In case you didn’t know—drywall takes time to DRY. Thanks to stuff like this, during your remodel, some days there will be no one around—and no work getting done. Even more often, the building company owners or project manager won’t be around, either.
This is NORMAL. Don’t sweat it, and don’t think your project is getting shunted to the “back-burner.” A lot goes on “behind the scenes” and a lot of work streams take place off of the jobsite. Just because you done “see” progress at the house doesn’t mean it was a no-work week. Window and door orders take time to put together, elevations and work orders take time to draw and print, and materials take time to be delivered. Not to mention, when you want the best caliber trades on your home, you have to work around their schedule too, and great trades are in-demand.
Some folks get anxious when there’s no one around, but the truth is that scheduling certain tasks too tightly throws the schedule off way more. Sit back and trust the experts. Besides—those with all-star communication will keep you in the loop on when these “no work” days will take place and why.
5. Communicate.
Speaking of communication…we have heard nightmare stories of homeowners getting irritated but then not talking to their contractors. If you have questions, ask! Something nagging at you? Make it known! You can totally conquer your stress and anxiety so that your remodel can be an experience built around confidence and satisfaction.
Lots of times, the answers to concerns might surprise you, anyway. There’s often a reason for something that ends up bugging you—give your contractor the chance to offer the best answers to every question you have.
6. Order products before demo
This isn’t just a thing of 2020, though. It also helps to pre-order products like plumbing fixtures, applicants, lighting, and even finish products before you start construction to keep things moving better later.
Some of these products have long wait times, after all, and not ordering ahead of time could just mean a delay later! And don’t forget that once we make a selection, it takes some time to get the purchase order and work order ready to reflect that choice and communicate it to the team, so leave yourself plenty of room and avoid delays and mistakes down the road.
…This also leaves time for re-selection if need be.
7. Protect all other parts of your home
It’s pretty natural that you’ll want to de-clutter and clean the pathway to and from the space you’re remodeling. But how about the other spaces in your home?!
To protect your whole home from damage, your contractor will work with you to take specific precautions. For example, your contractor will talk to you about which door should be used by workers. That way, the remodeler can close that area up with big sheets of plastic to guide workers to the right part of your home. Cardboard is important to put down on the floor, too, to protect existing finishes. Removing unnecessary furniture and accessories in this path will be also important. On smaller, occupied remodels this is enough, but larger project you’ll want to take greater precautions. And don’t forget about the dust! Dust doesn’t like to stay where the work is being done. It creeps into HVAC ducts and permeates all areas of the home during a major remodel. Not to mention the many many different people who will be in and out of your home during the remodel. The best thing to do is to remove EVERYTHING from the premise. We work with great movers and storage companies to provide great storage options for your items.
8. Relax!
Your remodel will be nothing short of an adventure! And you certainly WILL be able to say it was interesting!
Select the right people to work with, and you’ll be able to rest at ease knowing that your project will be taken care of every step of the way.
You can just sit back and watch the magic!