In today’s economy, home owners are deciding to stay put and renovate rather than to move. But once you have decided not to move to a new location, you must treat your home makeover as if you were investing in a major purchase. Therefore, prepare for hiring someone to remodel your home and do the following homework:
1. List all your pet peeves with your present home -not enough lighting, depressing colors, cramped spaces, dated finishes.
2. List what you want to change and assign priorities to these items. These may include:
- Renovating the master bathroom and incorporating Baby Boomer Design concepts when thinking about the fixtures, such as single handle faucets, grab bars, shower seat, lighting, and cabinet pulls
- Refurbishing the kitchen either by a complete remodel or by upgrading the counter tops, cabinets, lighting, fixtures or appliances
- Building an addition to meet your changing space requirements
- Replacing windows to improve energy efficiency
- Upgrading your HVAC system, installing solar panels or using a tankless water heater to reduce energy costs
- Doing a complete home remodel incorporating universal design concepts to accommodate all ages and sizes of all household members.
For those of you, who have recently purchased a home that needs improvement, wear it for a couple of months before deciding on the changes. Chances are your final priorities might vary from those you initially selected.
3. Go on line — there are many free resources to inspire you — such as http://www.thehouseplansite.com that can help you with broad concepts as well as the details such as fixtures and finishes.
If you find space planning intimidating or you don’t understand what approaches to select, consider hiring a design professional such as http://www.adriansmall.com .
4. Decide how much money you are willing to spend on the renovation, buying furniture and accessories or any other costs you will incur. Do you have the funds or do you need financing? Talk to a financial planner about the best ways of paying for your project — they might have ideas you had not thought of.
5. Once your list is complete, the next step is to figure out how to do it. There are two basic approaches:
1. “Do-it-yourself” — but know your limitations. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. In many cases remodelers are called in to fix botched DIY jobs. This often makes the project much more expensive. Before making the DIY decision weigh five factors:
- Do you really have the time?
- Do you have the necessary tools and help in house or will you need to budget for getting the necessary help?
- Do you know the best place to acquire your materials?
- Are you familiar with building codes and the structural composition of your home? If not, have you allocated funds for architectural drawings, engineering costs and permits?
- Have you considered the inconvenience to you and others of a job that might take a long time to finish?
2. Hire a Remodeling Firm. They can transform your ideas into reality, on time and within a fixed budget. I know you’ve heard all the horror stories that friends and family members went through on their remodeling projects. Help is at hand — there are qualified professionals servicing your community. Make sure you hire a licensed, bonded and insured remodeling firm. Go to http://www.nari.org to find the professionals based in your area. Be very clear as to what your expectations are and how much money you are willing to invest. Listen to your “little voice”. You must feel comfortable with the project leader you hire — meaning you can communicate with them effectively and they grasped what you want from your remodeling project. If you’ve done your homework, it’s easier to convey what you want and prevent having to go through work order changes. Bid your projects with a least two firms, giving them both the exact same information so you can accurately compare estimates.
Be realistic! Yes, the remodeling work will create inconveniences while it’s being done, but, at the end of the process, you will be happier with the results.
Dining Room Before Picture
Dining Room After Picture
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