Renovating a home can significantly add to its value. For some people, buying a home that requires renovating is a good way of getting an affordable home. For others, it is about creating the home they have always dreamed of, and for others, renovation is a necessity rather than a choice. Whatever your reason for renovating, there are some things that you need to consider before taking on a renovation project.
Before embarking on a renovation project, make sure that you have planning permission if it is required. You should also contact your insurer to make sure that you will be covered during the renovation. If you are buying a property to renovate, get a full survey done before you part with any money. Subsidence or major structural faults can be very expensive to fix, and this will have to be done before you install any of the new features that you would like.
If you are going to continue living in your home during a renovation, you have to be prepared for a certain amount of disruption. Noise, dust and chaos can be stressful, but you can take some measures to make things easier. Scheduling the project for summer when you and your family can spend more time outdoors will help. Choosing a good contractor is also important. You need to establish ground floors on which part of the home the contractor will have access to, and you need to be clear about what you want. If you want to hire the contractor yourself, try to find one who has been recommended by friends or families. Alternatively, you could try an umbrella company. Umbrella companies employ contractors who they then hire out. The umbrella company looks after details such as contractor pay and ensuring that the contractors have the right experience and qualifications. Choosing the right contractor is very important, as unreliable contractors can mean significant delays in a project. Employing a contractor who is not properly qualified can also result in shoddy work, work left unfinished or excessive damage. Fixing work that has not been done properly is expensive.
Renovation projects can give you the home of your dreams, but you also need to be aware that you could come across some things that you had not budgeted for. When considering a renovation project, you need to have a contingency fund to cover such eventualities. For example, some older homes may have asbestos in them, which is a hazardous material. Breathing in asbestos dust can lead to serious health issues later in life, so its removal has to be done by specialized experts. This can add to the cost of your renovation. Other issues that you may come across are dry rot, which you will not discover until the renovation gets underway. You can also create issues by making mistakes in the alterations. For example, removing load bearing walls or cutting roof timbers without properly compensating for the alteration can be disastrous. It may not lead to the house collapsing, but it could lead to annoying problems such as sticking windows, warped floors and partially collapsed walls. A good contractor will be aware of these sorts of issues and should advise accordingly.
Home renovation can be quite an undertaking, but it can give you the home of your dreams. Consulting with specialists and working with contractors can help the project run smoother than if you go it alone.