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How to Survive Your Home Remodel, Part One
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www.DanvilleLivingCA.com @DanvilleLivingCA #DanvilleLivingCA
By Ed Yevelev, AAA House Manager
You’ve seen the TV shows: DIY Network, HGTV, and The Vanilla Ice Project. You’re feeling the pressure. If they can do it—if Vanilla Ice can do it—you can do it. You really should do it. Honestly, what have you been waiting for?
Maybe you’ve been waiting for a helpful how-to guide. You’re in luck! The team at House Manager has compiled a list of useful tips to keep in mind as you embark on your home remodeling journey. We don’t simply want you to survive. We want you and your project to thrive.
Planning makes perfect
This is the biggie and it’s a theme we’ll come back to. Home remodels aren’t spur of the moment affairs. They’re time-consuming, painstaking projects. The process can be considerably less time-consuming, painstaking (and costly) if you take the time to plot your course. This may include deciding which projects you want to take on yourself and which projects you want to farm out to a contractor. It may include studying photos for inspiration and reference on helpful home remodeling sites like Houzz. It should definitely include determining how much you’d like to spend and applying for the proper permits. Budgets are finite for most of us and adherence to city codes isn’t optional, unfortunately.
Pro tip: Pace yourself. Trying to make all of these decisions simultaneously would cause even an experienced home remodeling pro like Vanilla Ice to melt down.
Don’t just visualize it, draw it
“Back of the napkin” isn’t simply an expression used in business circles. It’s a testament to the value of creating drawings for life’s bigger, complex ideas. This includes sizable, involved home makeover ideas. Committing your vision to paper before you start spending money and busting up the joint will help you verify the project’s scope and spot key mistakes. It’s not what napkins were invented for, but it’s a perfectly acceptable way to use them.
Depending on the complexity of the project, more detailed drawings like layouts and cross-sections may actually be required for your remodeling project. For example, you may have to submit your drawings to your city’s Building and Planning department. (You’ll need an actual drawing for this. A napkin probably won’t do.)
Find a reliable contractor
Did we say reliable? Nobody sets out to hire a lousy contractor, but it can happen to anyone. The results aren’t pretty. When large sums of money are involved—and when your sanity is at stake—finding the right contractor is worth the extra effort. You could start by asking around and getting the proverbial reccos from friends and neighbors. You could also go online to the appropriate consumer affairs department... to make sure those reccos are licensed. Do the background check. It’s worth it.
