To avoid wasting money, time, and resources, you need to have a detailed order on how to accomplish your home remodeling project. The safest and most sensible way to go about it is to hire home remodeling architects to help with the planning, design, and budgeting, but what if you don’t have money? You should do it yourself.
Wondering what order to do home renovations? Here is a guideline to follow:
Make a plan
The usual cliché, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail, holds even in a home remodeling project. Before you begin the remodeling, carefully assess the areas you would like to renovate and set your priorities.
You will need money to accomplish the project, regardless of whether it’s big or small, so you need to come up with a budget. When creating the budget, factor in all the costs that you will incur. Think about the cost of the materials, transport, tapes, and others.
The most difficult cost to budget for is the labor costs, but you will be on the safe side if you put it at 20-40% of your total budget. As you are coming up with a budget, remember to have a 10-20% contingency for emergencies.
This amount might seem like a lot, especially when you are looking to make every dollar count but remember that you are better off being left with money once the project is done than to halt the project in the middle after your pockets run dry.
Hire a contractor
Unless you are a skilled handyman, you shouldn’t try to handle a remodeling project yourself, as you will waste a lot of time and money. Regardless of the size of your project, hire a contractor to handle it.
The key to finding the right contractor is taking your time and not hiring the first contractor you come across. You should interview several contractors and settle on the most qualified.
Avoid an extremely cheap contractor as they are most likely inexperienced, and chances are high they will botch your project. At the same time, avoid an extremely expensive contractor, as they might be ripping you off. Take your time and find a contractor that gives you value without having to part with astronomical amounts of money.
Talk to your insurance company.
Do you have home insurance? You should talk to your insurance company and ensure you have the amount of coverage that fits your needs. Most likely, the home renovation will raise your home’s value, so the insurance company should increase your coverage limits, so your investment has better protection.
Secure the necessary permits and order the materials
Most municipalities will require you to have construction permits, and not having them will have a significant impact on your project, so ensure you have them. You also should check the municipality’s regulations and ensure you adhere to them to avoid being on the wrong side of the law.
While at it, order the materials you need for the project. These include: lumber, windows, doors, and drywall.
Start the demolitions
If there are areas of the house that you should bring down, now is the time to do it. If you are looking to add more space, do framing instead.
Work behind the walls
Work behind the walls, above the ceiling, and below the floor. This involves doing electrical, heating, plumbing, air conditioning, subfloor, and insulation work. Once you are done, patch, hang the drywall, tape, and sand the exterior surfaces.
Paint the house and install the floor
Some home addition companies Washington DC install the floor first, while others opt to do the painting first. There is no right or wrong way to go about it. It all depends on your contractor.
Install cabinetry and make the final touches
Once everything is in place, install the cabinets beginning with the upper cabinets. You should then add the last details and decorations, such as floor sealing, backsplashes, light fixtures, and final painting.
