Things to Do Before Renovating the House

Things to Do Before Renovating the House

Renovating your home is an exciting process. Whether It is a house remodel, a larger kitchen or a simple repainting, we all want something new and fresh. But before getting into the whole work, there are several things to do before renovating your house. You need to prepare to avoid any mistakes and regrets in the future.

DIY Renovation

Taking a home renovation by yourself can save you money. However, not all renovation works can be DIYed. Some require specific skills like electrical and carpentry works. It is important that you have the right knowledge in the works that you need to carry out. This will save you time and money by avoiding mistakes firsthand. Otherwise, doing your first DIY renovation will teach you a lot of things. You just need to have enough spare time and money.

The next question is, Doy you have time? DIY renovations will require a lot of time. In order to successfully refurbish your home, you have to make sure that things run as smoothly as possible. And to do that, you must know the process.

Know What You Want

Also, one of the things to do before renovating the house is to know exactly what you want. Are you renovating to upgrade? Or are you renovating because of endless repairs? Knowing how extensively to renovate is important. Set your scope and limitations by listing down what you need to do. This process will determine how much budget you need. If you are getting a contractor to do the work, put up a list of area to renovate and what are the items to refurbish, replace or remove. Your contractor will help you determine the actual items, specifications that you need.

Be Careful of What’s Inside

Before knocking down walls, find out if there is an existing electrical wire, gas or plumbing line inside. If the wall you are removing doesn’t have any outlets or wiring, then proceed with the work. But, if there are switches or outlets, or any plumbing fixture, be mindful to prevent damage. Before starting to demolish walls, shut off the power to the breaker to prevent electrocution. Then, Remove the wall plates and remove the switches and outlets from their boxes. By knocking, electronic stud finder, you can cut the upper half of drywall. Most probably, electrical wires are below the half of the wall. Cutting a panel will give you a clearer look of what’s inside and where to avoid. Again, if you can’t do this alone, it is safer and better to consult an electrician or a plumber to locate these lines.

Going Overbudget

Unfortunately, going overbudget is the reality of any home construction or improvement. There are some things that are unexpected and afterthoughts which will cost you more than what you expected. Listing down everything up to the littlest of the detail is difficult to achieve. You may have overlooked things that you actually need, the fixture you bought doesn’t fit or a repair work is needed. Those are the things that you cannot avoid, unless you are very prepared. However, sticking to the budget is not impossible. Allot at least 20 percent of the actual budget to contingencies. This goes to the unexpected things.

Planning and Design

Home renovation is not an easy work to do. No matter how small or how big the works to be carried out, you need to plan the design. As one of the important things to do before renovating the house, planning plays a major role in successfully delivering a renovation project. Measure out your home, make a floor plan and layout of the remodel, sketch your design and list down what are the items that you need to implement the design. You can use software like 3D Architect Home Designer or Arcon Evo that can greatly help you get clarity in the design and planning process. After measuring your home, you can translate this into a clear 2d floor plan which can simultaneously create a 3d plan. You can easily translate ideas through this software even if you are a DIY homeowner, professional or contractor.

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