Thinking about remodeling your home? It can be overwhelming. It’s not a quick process by any means and things can go wrong at many steps. To make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible, you’ll want to prepare ahead of time.
Know exactly what you’re getting into with your remodel with our home renovation checklist. This list will help you make sure you’ve covered all your bases before you get started.
Keep reading for your pre-remodel checklist.
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Create Your Budget
Before you do anything else, you need to determine your budget. You need to consider more than just how much money you have to spend and just because you have a certain amount of money at your disposal doesn’t always mean you should spend that much.
For example, a good rule of thumb is not to spend more than 10-15% of your home’s value on renovating a single room. So if you have a $200,000 home, you shouldn’t spend more than $20,000-$30,000 on a room.
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Have a Vision
Part of creating your budget is knowing what you want to do. If you’re doing more of a cosmetic remodel (think new finishes, appliances, paint, etc.) vs. a remodel that involves adding or removing walls, moving plumbing or fixtures, or adding on entire rooms, your costs and timeline are going to be much different.
Having a clear idea of what you want to do will guide the entire planning process.
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Know Where You Want to Splurge (and Where You Want to Save)
It’s likely you don’t have an unlimited budget, so know where you want to splurge and where you want to save. Spend more on more permanent fixtures, such as a bathtub, that are much harder to replace later when you have more money.
Save on things like fixtures and finishes. You can always upgrade drawer pulls and cabinet hardware later. Same with customization.
Don’t over-customize, as you want to think about resale down the road, and don’t spend on oversized or oddly sized fixtures or appliances. Any time you do this, you’re just making it harder to change things later.
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Research and Hire a Contractor
You can often do this in conjunction with numbers 1 through 3 on this list, as a contractor will help you identify where to splurge and save, give you an idea of how much you can expect to spend to achieve your vision, and also help you narrow down your budget.
Don’t just hire any contractor. Do your research, read reviews, and get recommendations for a company that can complete custom home renovations.
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Create a Timeline
Your contractor will also help you create a timeline. It’s important to remember that timelines often change despite your best planning efforts. Be ready to have the remodel take a bit longer than expected.
When there are multiple parties involved, such as suppliers, subcontractors, and inspectors, it’s not always possible to get everyone working on the exact same timeline.
When things take longer than expected, take a deep breath and know that it will all be worth it in the end!
A Realistic Home Renovation Checklist
Remodeling your home is going to be an inconvenience for some time. There’s really no way around that. This home renovation checklist will help you plan ahead, though, to hopefully minimize that inconvenience.
If you found this useful, take a look around at our posts and pages. We’ve got everything you need for your remodeling project.