You’ve finally found your dream home. The moment has come, and you can now renovate it in your style and make it beautiful. However, for your home’s functionality and to make home life more convenient, there are a few things you need to be careful about. Here are some tips and mistakes to avoid before remodeling your new house or apartment!
1) Skipping Architects
Renovating is no cheaper than new construction and requires a significant budget. Do you want to cut costs by not hiring an architect? Think well before making such a decision. Architects are accustomed to this type of work and would be of great help for a home renovation.
They can advise you on the condition of your house and know what kind of renovations should be done first through their knowledge in building structure. For instance, they can determine which walls are load-bearing and call in an engineer if any renovation processes affect the stability of the building. Besides, they can also advise you on city planning regulations, building permit requirements that you need to comply with, the specific materials you require, and much more.
2) Not Considering Your Current and Future Needs
Magazines and social networks such as Pinterest and Instagram are excellent sources of inspiration. However, keep in mind that the suggested furniture and décor may not always work in your home. Floating stairs with no handrails? Not very safe if you have small children. A bath at the foot of your bed, like in a hotel room? Not ideal in terms of heating, and humidity must be taken into account. Often the interiors represented also have a lot of space but little or no furniture or storage. In reality, this is often not the case.
Therefore, before you start planning your new home, take time to think about the next few years and assess your future needs. You may want to have another child’s room, a second bathroom rather than a dressing room for your growing child, or a desk next to the living room rather than a larger living room. If you want to add space under the roof later on, it may be convenient to supply electricity now so that you don’t have to cut it off and break it again in a few years.
3) No Budget
Very often, some unforeseen events need to be handled during a renovation project. The boiler breaks down; the floor needs to be reinforced, a wall collapses; such things come with renovation work. Therefore, it is necessary to keep a budget in case something goes wrong.
Prepare a broad price range and budget from the beginning to make sure the project is feasible. This is the best way to go over your budget. There is nothing more problematic than working blindly without knowing what you want to do. Everything has to be calculated in advance and done exactly as you first envisioned it.
Don’t be tempted to make small savings that will end up costing you extra in the long run. Cheaper materials tend to break down faster, so you will have to go out and buy higher-quality ones later, costing you time and money. Building materials are no exception to this rule. Do not choose inexpensive products. You will pay for it in the long run!
4) Not Planning the Renovation Work
Before starting work and demolition, you need to prepare a plan. The purpose is simple: to make sure that things are done in the right order, for example, to ensure there will not be a shortage of water at the construction site. The second reason is to ensure that materials and supplies are ordered in time so that you don’t have trouble with the bathroom or have a few square meters of plaster too little to finish the ceiling.
5) Not Taking Into Account Legal Procedures
A major renovation is a necessary process that may at some point occupy part of the public space and disturb the area of your neighbors. Therefore, you will need a permit that allows you to work with legal permission in many cases.
To apply for a permit, you must submit documentation describing all the work to be carried out. This legal action meets the requirements to ensure that the work is done safely and without causing damage to neighboring properties.
If you’re having issues concerning your home renovation needs, contact Elite New Homes. Serving Geelong and the northern and western suburbs of Melbourne, this company has a dedicated team of builders that will help you with every step of your home building or renovation process.
