Four Things You Need In Place Before Renovating

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The decisions been made. You’ve looked at moving house, but realised that you love your current location – or you’ve just moved into a home that needs a lot of love to bring it back to life. Or you may have lived there a while and exhausted every other avenue to find more space in your home. Whatever path has led you there, you’re now looking at home renovation as a serious prospect. There’s no doubt that undertaking this kind of project can be extremely daunting – there’s a lot at stake after all. So before you plunge in, what do you really need to know about doing a full home renovation?

Commission A Building Report

If you’re looking for a home to take on as a renovation project, the rewards can be considerable. Not only do you get a finished design done to your exact specification, but hopefully you will considerably increase the value of the property next time you come to sell it. However, before getting into anything, you need to work with a chartered surveyor to get a detailed building report. This will go into the specifics of fundamental issues which could derail your project if left unchecked – things like the roof, structural integrity and any issues with damp. The initial report may identify some issues where you will need further information from a specialist, and if you’re about to sink a heap of money into a property, it’s wise to know exactly where you stand first.

Create A Project Plan

With major building works, you have a lot of interlinked and dependent elements which need to come together, and a lot of decisions that you’ll need to make. The process can quickly spiral into chaos unless you have a schedule of works for building. Collaborate with your architect and lead building contractor to create a master document mapping out the process. Break this down into phases if you have multiple projects on the go, such as ‘ground floor extension’, ‘loft conversion’ or ‘plumbing’ and keep tabs on each, as if one element goes drastically off plan, it will affect the others.

Find The Best Help

Working with building contractors is an art in itself, involving lots of negotiation skills, and the most important thing is to have a good working relationship. This means choosing who you work with very carefully. Try to find personal recommendations where possible for that roofing contractor or electrician – someone who can give you the inside track on how they really found the process. Bear in mind that you’ll generally be better off going for quality over the cheapest price – many less scrupulous contractors may put in a low price initially to win your business and then find ways to increase it during the build anyway. Mistakes during construction are costly and cause time delays, so don’t make a false economy – go for someone who you have good reason to be confident in.

Consider Living Conditions

Depending on the scale of works you’re proposing, you will need to consider arrangements for living, especially if you have young children or animals in the family. Major building work is extremely messy, disruptive and noisy – if you have the budget available to rent a place while works are ongoing or if you have family or close friends nearby that you could stay with for a while, at least during the most intense parts of construction, that’s a good idea. Occasionally, mortgage providers will also offer the option to have your current home valued upfront and the sales figures taken into account in advance for your building needs so that you can stay living there while works are carried out to your new place. Investigate all options and then you’ll be able to make an informed decision.