Renovating your home is a huge project to embark on. While there are many common things to avoid when simply redecorating, renovating is a whole new ball game. Renovation projects usually entail a much higher risk, with more time and money invested into the project.
Renovation projects can be the key to your dream home if done correctly. They enable you to completely customize your home, making it a true oasis to come home to every day. However, a lot is at stake when you renovate, and one wrong move can turn your dream home into a money pit, and that is the last thing any homeowner wants to experience. Because a renovation is a project, if something is not done correctly it will impact everything else along the line, causing large financial setbacks and timely delays. You don’t start from a clean slate when you renovate a home, as you would if you were building one from scratch, so there are many things that you need to consider to ensure its success.
To help you on your journey, here are some top pitfalls to avoid when renovating your home, and tips to help you move forward in the right way.
#1 Renovating the wrong kind of property
If you are looking for a “fixer-upper”, then you need to ensure you choose the right kind of property to renovate, one that has potential. One big mistake people will make is buying any old property without considering what the return on investment would be, until after they have signed the contracts. At this point, if you have purchased the wrong property, it is too late. To avoid this mistake, you should conduct thorough research before you make the purchase. Speak to the local authority, learn about the local regulations, look at other similar properties on the street, learn about the local restrictions, and even speak to a professional, such as a surveyor, who will be able to help you understand the value of the property for a renovation project.
#2 Not conducting research
Once you have the property you want to renovate, or perhaps you are revamping the home you are already living in, it is important to conduct thorough research into renovations themselves. One mistake people make is going into the process blind and not knowing what to expect. Before any renovation project, you should research what a typical renovation project looks like and the process that it follows. This will tell you what kind of professionals are involved, what timeline you may work to, what permissions need to be obtained before you get started, what kind of budget you will need to have available, potential risks and delays, and much more. Make sure you are confident about the process and how it will impact your property before you get started. You want to ensure that a renovation is something right for you and your property and that you have the time and money to invest in it. Once you get started with a renovation project, they are not easy to stop.
#3 Not seeking the right permissions
Permissions are one of the most important things that you need for your renovation project. A huge mistake that homeowners make is to not seek the right permissions, or all of the permissions that are necessary for the renovation to go ahead. This often leads to many problems, such as wasted time and money and large delays in the renovation timeline. In some cases, work may go ahead and seem like everything is okay – only for the local authority to tell you to undo everything you have completed. Not only can this be costly, but it can also be frustrating and heartbreaking. Imagine spending a couple of years and all of your hard-earned savings on creating your dream home, only to be told you have to tear it all down because you did not seek the right planning permissions.
Make sure you go to your local authority and seek their advice on what planning permissions are necessary for your project. You will need to show them your full plans and everything that is involved, so they can help you accordingly.
#4 Not considering health and safety
Although it is your home and you may consider it a safe place to be, or you may have purchased a new property and cannot see any obvious issues, many are hidden below the surface. One mistake people make is not considering health and safety, underestimating it, or ignoring it completely. This can be extremely dangerous, make you liable for a lot of money, and potentially hurt individuals, including yourself, your family, and the contractors that you hire.
First, you should consider the structural integrity of the property. Speak to a professional surveyor to get their opinion on any hazards, both immediate and foreseen ones, so that you know what to be careful of and what information to pass on to your contractors who will be doing the work.
Next, you will need to consider hazards that you cannot directly see. This may include things like mold, old plumbing work, and broken electrics. Electrical wiring is often a huge consideration, as you will need to check for any old and live wires, as well as the placement of the wires as you tear down and drill into walls. Electrics that are not dealt with properly can be fatal, so you must consider residential electrician services to help with your renovation project.
#5 Trying to do everything yourself
Renovation projects are a significant undertaking, and it would be impossible to complete them all by yourself. While you may have the skills and the determination to renovate your whole house, you mustn’t take on this burden. It can become very time-consuming, and cost a lot of money. Not to mention it can be extremely stressful, which will have an impact on your family life, your work, your commitments, your health, and much more. It is therefore important that you avoid this mistake. To do that, you should make time for the project and hire the right contractors for the work. You may choose to get involved with some, either manage the project or somewhere else where your skills lie. But you should not take on everything alone. This can be dangerous.
Renovating your home can be a challenge. Make sure you make it easier for yourself by avoiding these mistakes.
