A home renovation can be exciting and financially rewarding. However, it can also lead to significant amounts of stress. If you’re thinking about remodeling your house, make sure you have a concrete plan.
Taking the Stress Out of Remodeling
If you’ve had a stressful remodeling experience in the past – or you know someone who’s currently going through one – it’s typically the result of one or more of these factors:
- Failing to properly communicate desires/expectations
- Choosing the wrong professionals for the job
- Failing to properly oversee the process
If you can eliminate these three factors from the equation, remodeling becomes fun and exciting. In light of this, here are some simple suggestions you can use to make the process simple and stress-free:
- Do Your Research
Want a recipe for disaster? Try combining unrealistic expectations with not understanding how remodels work. Unfortunately, this is how most homeowners enter into the process – dooming them from the start.
Before you even think about demoing your kitchen or reaching out to a contractor, you need to do some research and gain a clear picture of how the process will go, what the average cost is, what you need versus want, how contractors work, what a normal timeline looks like, etc.
A designer or contractor can help clarify some of these issues for you, but they don’t want to sit down and explain every detail. There’s an expectation that you’ll have a general understanding of what you want, how much it costs, and how the process will unfold. (Most of this information can be found online or by speaking with friends who have experience with past home remodels.)
- Set a Conservative Budget
Every home remodel project is unique. And while cost will depend on dozens of factors – including project scope, contractors, location, and materials – it’s helpful to have a basic understanding of what it costs. Here’s a look at some national averages for different remodels. (Note: These are averages. You could easily spend half this amount or twice this amount, depending on the specifics of your project.)
- Kitchen remodel: $20,474
- Bathroom remodel: $9,000
- Moderate home remodel: $46,000 – $75,000
- Intensive home remodel: $76,000 and up
As you plan for your remodel, make sure you set a budget. And in order to avoid surprises, it’s best to be conservative with your budget. This means using round numbers and leaving room for a cushion.
Let’s say, for example, that you think it’ll cost $4,700 for new hardwoods, $7,300 for new cabinets, $7,800 for new appliances, $3,600 for countertops, and $4,500 for other miscellaneous items. Start by rounding all of these numbers up. This would give you a total of $31,000. Then, on top of this, include a 10 percent buffer for unforeseen expenses and add-ons. This would bring your total expected cost up to $34,100 – even though it could end up costing you $27,900 or less.
- Hire the Right Team (Including a Project Manager)
Armed with an idea of your budget, you can focus on hiring the right team for the remodel. Shop around for quotes, but make sure you don’t automatically select the cheapest option. Do your due diligence and look for a remodeler who is clear, honest, and accountable.
It’s especially helpful to look for contractors who show great attention to detail. This is why it’s recommended that you work with a remodeling company who includes a project manager as part of the team, like Case Design/Remodeling Indianapolis.
As president of Case Design/Remodeling Indianapolis Larry Greene explains, “Sometimes, unexpected issues can come up. When we do run into an issue along the way, we try to spot it early and then take care of it, keeping the homeowner in the loop throughout the entire process. We’ll work until the last day on-site to ensure the quality of the project –down to the very last detail.”
Contrast this with the average remodeling company that’s unwilling to deviate from the plan or answer questions once the process begins.
- Communicate Frequently and Often
Even with the right budget and team, you’ll need to regularly check in and communicate with your project manager to ensure things are on track. If you have any concerns, questions, or changes of plans, it’s important that you get on the phone right away. Proactive communication prevents major catastrophes and delays.
Maintaining the Right Perspective
It’s important to remember that any home remodel is messy, time-consuming, and disruptive – it just comes with the territory. So while it can be a challenge to embrace the realities of a remodel, don’t become frustrated by the process.
Through careful research, budgeting, hiring, and communication, you can streamline your home remodel and get better results with less friction. Maintain the appropriate perspective, toss in a dash of patience, and trust that your proactiveness will pay off in a big way.
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