What to Think About Before Remodeling Your Home
The thought of how your home might look after a remodel excites you, and you even watched HGTV and gathered a few ideas that would make your space really stand out. But before you dive in and decide to change your home, keep in mind that there are challenges to remodeling. You need to understand how long a remodel can take, the cost and size of your project, and whether you should hire a professional or do it yourself. We broke down some of these options to help prepare you before you start working on your home.
What’s the Cost?
First things first, decide what specifically you want to remodel and set a budget. Is there a small job around the house with only a few changes needed, or something extensive which requires a lot of time and money? Keep in mind that whenever you dig into the structure of a house, depending on when it was built, you can easily come across unexpected issues. Older homes often have problems ranging from roof stability to plumbing. For instance, you might decide to take out a wall without knowing if you’ll find electrical or mechanical troubles once it’s removed.
Finding these issues is fine because they can be fixed, but these repairs eat into your budget and prolong your project’s time frame. There are professional companies like Acculevel which can cover anything outside your expertise, and a remodeling calculator helps prepare your budget for both the intended changes and the unanticipated costs.
Do It Yourself
Maybe you loved your kitchen when you moved in, but since have grown to hate your cabinets and want a change. Nowadays DIY has become very popular for almost anything. Pinterest isn’t just for sharing pictures from your favorite coffee subscription, they also offer great DIY tips. YouTube also has video tutorials for creating almost anything. All you really need is materials and patience, and you might simply repurpose something you already have, saving you money. For example, a simple kitchen update is just replacing knobs and applying a new coat of paint, and you’ll see a big difference.
Doing projects yourself is great when you have the time and attention to detail required to make a project perfect. Some say “a little paint goes a long way,” and it’s true. Little touch-ups to color are usually easy DIY’s. Small projects are easy to manage, but you may want to leave the bigger jobs to professionals.
Finding Reputable Contractors
Whether flipping a home, or remodeling a large space in your own home, hiring a contractor is something you’ll likely need to do. There are plenty of ways to recognize reputable pros. If you’re getting a referral from someone, make sure you research the company and utilize the Better Business Bureau. Popular sites like Angie’s List or Yelp offer reviews, which are helpful in seeing how other customers’ experiences turned out. It’s also good to see how the company responds to their reviews, especially negative reviews. Most contractors offer free estimates, so don’t be afraid to bring in a few different companies to review your space, before deciding who takes on your project.
When deciding to remodel a home, it can go from a little work to a lot of work very quickly. But don’t let that stop your vision. If you know what type of remodeling you’re ready to tackle, know what you want to spend, and know if the project needs a full team of professionals or simply some elbow grease, then all that’s next is research and execution.