It’s tempting to move straight to the fun part of picking new paint colours, fixtures, and furnishings when planning a home renovation, but there are a few things to consider before you start.

Here are 20 Tips to Consider When Planning a Successful Home Renovation

1. Know What Your Ultimate Goal Is

Before deciding how thorough your renovation should be, you must first choose your home’s ultimate goal. For example, are you renovating your home to increase its market value, or are you planning to stay in it for a long time? Before you begin, assess the state of your neighbourhood and choose which modifications will provide a fair return on investment and which will be regarded as excessive for the region. Having a defined plan for your future can assist you in deciding how far to go for your project.

2. Do Not Forget to Set a Budget

One of the most crucial aspects of renovation planning is determining your budget and sticking to it. Remember to set aside a contingency fund for any unforeseen costs, as well as incidental expenses like eating out during a kitchen renovation or even staying in a hotel for a night or two. It’s natural to want a top-of-the-line remodel, but you might just need a few inexpensive modifications to make your home more valuable. Before you or your contractor lift a hammer, do your homework and make a budget.

3. Have a Schedule

If you’re looking for a fresh new home for a special occasion or holiday, start with the end date and move backward. To minimize disappointment, leave a few weeks to a month at the end for wriggle space in case of setbacks along the road.

4. Do Your Homework

Take the time to talk to your friends, family, and neighbours about the renovations they’ve completed and the problems they’ve encountered along the way. Having a wealth of knowledge from homeowners who have been in your shoes can be helpful in the planning process, and this information may change your final strategy.

5. Understand Your Limits

DIY renovations are a terrific way to save money, feel accomplished, and include the whole family, but they may be devastating if you don’t know what you’re doing. Determine which activities you can safely complete and which should be left to the professionals, such as a possibly load-bearing wall, asbestos, or lead paint.

6. Request for References

Before a task begins, any qualified contractor will gladly provide references and documents of liability insurance. Instead of relying exclusively on client testimonials, look for real consumers who can provide you with a personal account and answer any questions you might have. Ask to examine before and after photos of a contractor’s previous work for any project, and most importantly, trust your instincts and know which questions to ask.

7. Pack Your Belongings

Declutter, pack up or transfer any items in the renovation zone to make any house redesign as simple as feasible. For example, consider renting an offsite locker or an onsite storage pod for a whole-house refurbishment to keep all of your stuff safe and clean.

8. Think about your daily routine

If you’re a seasoned DIYer, you’re probably used to working around the inconveniences of a home renovation. If you’ve hired a contractor for any aspect of the task, be sure to communicate your daily routine to the contractor and work together to come up with start and end times that create the least amount of interruption to your family’s day. After all, no one wants to run into a contractor while still in their robe.

9. Take Command of the Mission

Nothing is more aggravating than being in the middle of a project and not being able to locate the instrument you require. So before you start your renovation, designate a room in your house as mission control, where you or your contractor will keep all of the tools, materials, manuals, and checklists.

10. Make Sure the Kids are Safe at All Times

A house remodel is an excellent opportunity to get the kids interested in DIY, but it may also be dangerous for very young children. Install kid safety gates, electrical safety covers, and keep sharp equipment out of reach of curious children, especially during off-hours when there may not be enough supervision in the remodelling zone.

11. Pay Extra Attention to Pets

Even for the house’s human occupants, the temporary upheaval of a home under construction can be distressing, let alone for the four-legged family members. Consider your pets’ safety and care when remodelling your home, which may involve having a family member or friend pet-sit while most of the work is completed. This is especially true when the doors are frequently opened to bring in and out tools and materials.

12. Prepare for Potential Outages

If the area you’re working on doesn’t have any plumbing shut-off valves, you’ll have to cut off the water at the main valve, leaving your home without running water. Prepare ahead of time by keeping water containers in the fridge for drinking, on the counter for cooking, and in buckets for flushing the toilet. Filling the bathtub with water and placing a bucket nearby to pour into the toilet bowl is an easy way to achieve this.

13. Create a Proper List

Make a proper checklist of materials you’ll need, from administrative duties like permits to paint rollers, to give yourself the best chance of success and to aid in the budgeting process. It’s a good idea to divide the list into products you already have and items you need to buy. When it comes to tools, establishing a list can help you decide which ones you can rent instead of buying new to save money.

14. Sketch the Drawings

You don’t have to be an engineer to prepare job drawings, and you’ll almost certainly need one to get a permit for your home renovation. Make a note of the square footage, door and window heights and widths, and the current location of any utilities such as electricity, gas, or water. Plus: Install a Power Outlet. Or have your team of renovators provide you with the drawings.

15. Obtain Required Permits

Many homeowners view obtaining a construction permit as an unnecessary hassle that will hold down the renovation process. Still, permits are a vital part of the process in most circumstances, and if not obtained in the first place, they will come back to haunt you. Building permits are required to verify that your home remodel complies with structural and fire safety regulations, and code inspectors in most jurisdictions can order you to pull out non-conforming work if it isn’t up to snuff. This can be a costly problem if you plan to sell your house in the future. So it’s always a good idea to plan and follow the permit process. You can ask your contractor or the architect to apply for the permit as well.

16. Make a Reno-Free Zone Plan

It’s a good idea to create a renovation-free zone for your family to enjoy in semi-relaxation before undertaking all the muck of a remodel. Make sure you have everything you need, such as a kettle or microwave, in one convenient location so you can gather, dine, or simply unwind at the end of the day.

17. Cleanup Should be Scheduled

It’s tempting just to turn off the light and leave the mess for tomorrow after a long day of renovations. Unfortunately, this can lead to delays, misplaced tools, and a loss of sanity. Make sure you leave enough time in your renovation schedule to clean up at the end of the day. You’ll be grateful to your future self! In addition, safeguard your home while it is being renovated.

18. Plan and Prepare Ahead of Time

Even with a cosmetic redesign, there may be opportunities to improve the functionality or cost-effectiveness of your home. For example, when ripping out a complete room, this could be the ideal moment to insulate the walls, improve your electrical panel, or add more light or electrical fixtures. The trick is to plan ahead of time for how you’ll use the space and to use cosmetic upgrades to improve the structure of your home.

19. Ask for Assistance

If you’re planning a remodel, now is the time to enlist the help of your family and friends. Allow plenty of time for people to arrange their schedules to assist and send them lots of reminders as the project approaches. (A complimentary meal offer is also helpful!) If you’re employing a contractor, make sure you give yourself enough time to secure your preferred time frame; otherwise, you can end up waiting on them. Consider setting up a message centre to keep everyone updated as people arrive and depart, making life easier for everyone.

20. Keep the Weather in Mind

Even if you’re planning a remodel for the spring or summer, don’t count on beautiful weather to complete it. Before starting a job, examine the long and short-term forecasts, and plan jobs that require outside access, such as spray painting or woodcutting, on days with the best forecast. For example, consider heat and cold on days when you may need to turn off your furnace or air conditioner to maintain pleasant working conditions and be aware of weather fluctuations.

Final Note

You’ll be on your way to a successful home renovation in no time if you follow these 20 tips. As one of Canada’s leading customer-centric construction holdings, feel free to call us for all your construction and renovation needs. Our team of specialists, architects, project managers and contractors will help you design and create the house of your dream. If you are looking to get your house renovated by a reliable and professional team, contact us.