Home Renovation – A Must Have Checklist

No matter if the time came for you to conduct your thorough annual home cleaning, to look for a way to expand and add some additional space or do a complete renovation, acting without a clear and strict plan can be a nightmare. Unless you put it on paper, the smallest things can be overlooked and forgotten, which can easily end up as a disaster.

So, instead of looking back and thinking: “I should have thought of it back when I was renovating”, here is an ultimate checklist to help you.

The structure of your home

Supporting walls are always an issue, and even if you hire contractors it can happen that they make a mistake and cause a lot more damage than was first planned. Check, double check, and then triple check all of the supporting walls before you start any work, because you definitely don’t want to knock down a supporting wall.

Mind the time

There will be certain jobs and rooms in the house that will need to be taken care of first, such as bathrooms, before you move on to the next ones. What is more, home renovation is a big project that cannot be finished for one weekend, and you will have to think about how long will the work last. Keep in mind that your job and your kids’ school cannot simply be put on hold, and that there will be certain jobs in the home that you will have to supervise and do yourself. If you are gluing wood or tiles, how long until the glue is dried? If you are painting something, how long until the walls are dry? Take all these into consideration before you head on to your remodeling adventure.

Codes and regulations

Local building codes and regulations may not be an issue, but it is still good to take a look at them before you start building. What you do at your own home is your own business, of course, but if you are installing certain electrical or mechanical components or you are digging in your yard for a new swimming pool, the local building codes and statutes should be taken into consideration no matter where you live.

Equipment

Of course, there are things you will not be able to do using just your hands, but you are going to need some help. If you are fixing something on the upper floors, windows, or a façade, you might need to get a boom lift along with some of the tools. Lifts are dozens of times more safer tan ladders, and will allow you access to remotest and trickiest parts of your home. Make another small checklist for each thing you are planning to do, and get all the tools, materials, and equipment you need in advance.

Determine the budget

Before you start actually doing any work on your home, determine how much money you can spare for the work starts. By doing so, you will decide more easily whether you are going to hire contractors or do the work yourself, or both. It might also be wise to think about the amount of money you are willing to spend for different needs: tiles, plumbing, light, paint, etc.

Do not forget to make plans in advance for you and your family during renovation, so you don’t have to spend more amounts of money on hotels or stay at friends’ homes. Make sure your bathrooms are renovated at different times so you still have a place to shower and brush teeth, and take into account schedules of all family members before you make a decision.