RENOVATING A HOUSE: THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Renovating a home can be the most exciting venture you get yourself into but without prior planning, an open mind and a level of fluidity, it can be the most daunting experience of your life. Yes, of your life! You’ll be dealing with unexpected expenses, unforeseen issues and mishaps that will put a load of weight on you if you are not fully prepared. And who wants that if it can be avoided? Certainly not us!
I am halfway through my renovation and I just thought I’d share some tips I reckon would be quite valuable to you or someone you know that's thinking of taking on a remodelling or renovating engagement. I believe these will help you avoid some mistakes or reduce your stress levels as the project progresses. Please note the key word is reduce-you will be stressed and stretched one way or another but don't fret. There is nothing you can't handle:)
Hopefully, by the end of this project I’d have updated this resource. As for now, these are my top 6 based on my personal experience.
PLAN:
Have a clear vision and direction of what you would like to achieve. That simply means, schedule the work and repairs that need to take place. When I started, I wanted to do everything all at once. But thankfully, I was able to restructure my plan and categorize the work into very important and important. That way, I knew what job was a priority over the other and that gave me peace of mind knowing everything would be done when it needed to be done.
BUDGET:
Renovating without a budget is like diving into the ocean without arm floats and yet YOU CANNOT SWIM. Catastrophic right? Don't be too fixated on your dream designs or your pins which might break the bank as you try to achieve. My advice is, use those pinterest boards and saved IG images as a guideline to achieving what works for you and your household because ultimately your life needs to go on after the reno so you shouldn't spend more than you need to or go over the budget than you need to. And remember, there are so many ways to brew your coffee. You can achieve a certain style by buying smart, incorporating DIYs, refurbishing and recycling. After all, most of those pinterest homes and design inspo sites may have been executed on a budget that is far out of your reach so go easy on yourself.
One more thing, devise a way to track your costs. I have an expense sheet on excel that’s updated every week. It indicates how much I’ve spent and how much is remaining on the budget which in turn allows me to adjust my needs as the project progresses.
HIRE A CONTRACTOR:
If you have projects way above your skill set, let your budget cater for a contractor who will be on top of things and who is better placed at understanding the scope of every project in the house. One thing you don’t want is to have problems every darn day because of unknown mistakes you made during your reno. Get help! I’m throwing myself under the bus here but when I started I thought I could do it on my own.
But playing the role of a designer, contractor, sub contractor and handyman did take a toll on me and I ended up approving a job that I didn't know the ins and outs of. Let's just say, I’m paying for my mistakes as we speak...but as I said, nothing you can't handle!
SECURITY:
If you are not staying at the house while the repairs and remodelling is going on, it's safer to leave no valuables in the house. You may trust and know your contractor but they are working with other subcontractors whom they've never met or worked with. Funny story, initially when the renovation started, I had set up a small office in the living room, it didn't have much but it did have a new box of disposable face masks and of course, one day when I returned from the hardware store, I had an empty box sitting pretty. My contractor was busy in another room while some electricians were working around the house. Shall we assume my 50 face masks grew some legs and cut walked out of the site?? Of course not, someone thought they needed my masks more than I did and didn't think it was human enough to just ask #aargh!!! For the sake of sanity, leave no temptation and keep your valuables out of reach.
TAKE TIME OFF:
Reno burnout is real and it's okay. I remember being on full work mode for like 4 weeks straight day and night until I crashed. I was having a hard time allowing myself to rest and I beat myself up for being “lazy” until Mr. Corry hit close to home and I was forced to take time off. But trust me, when it was time to get back to work, I was more energetic, positive and well rested. This is also around the same time I decided to get a contractor on board. So, rest up! It is okay.
STAY POSITIVE:
There is no one way to renovate, if you like something go for it. Do your research and follow your gut too. Try and have fun and take each mishap as a lesson.
However, I’m not going to lie, there are going to be horrible days and there going to be amazing days. All in all as long as there are days, there is progress!
Look out for part 2!
Until next time,
xxxx
