Are you thinking about renovating your home, but you do not know where to start?
Starting an home refurbishing is not that easy, but thanks to a careful and well-designed renovation project your house value can really increase exponentially. It is therefore worthwhile to renovate your home, but only after a careful analysis and project. I list in this article the things you have to know before renovating home.
1. Clarify your goals
As a very first thing, before starting any home renovation, you must have clear in mind your goals: that is, what do you want to change your home and why. Maybe your heating or plumbing systems became obsolete? Or you need a different layout, more practical or open? Are you thinking about a new kitchen and/or bathroom? Or just about changing the whole style, because you would like a more contemporary interior? Or maybe you need to work on the lighting?
It is also worthwhile, once you have decided to undertake a renovation, to evaluate if there may be other things you can improve that you did not consider at the beginning. Having clear in mind your objectives from the beginning will help both you and the professional who will work on your home renovation.
Tip: create a Pinterest board where you can pin your favorite inspirations will give you fast and easy guidelines!
2. What’s your budget ?
The most important yet difficult thing to know before starting any home renovation is the money you intend to invest in the refurbish.
The problem is that it is not that easy to understand if the budget you intend to allocate is actually fine, in the reality, to complete the renovation. The advice is to ask for a professional advice and, always, to evaluate your budget for excess because -no doubt- during the renovation you will have extra costs and setbacks.
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3. The council regulations
Contact your local council to find out if and what kind of building permits should be delivered, according to the renovation you intend to do.
In many cases, you will need to ask a technician who will take care of drafting the project and the necessary paperwork; for simpler jobs you may not even need them, but always remember to check first with a simple phone call to your local council. You may risk a hefty fine if your renovations don’t adhere.
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4. Timing matters!
Another thing to consider carefully before starting any home renovation is the timing.
I realizes that clients often do not have any realistic idea about how long it takes for an interior renovation, always finding themselves in delay and forcing the professionals to work too quickly. Please consider that this may have consequences in the final quality of the work and in the costs too!
There are also some practical considerations to make before deciding if and when renovating your house: for sure there will some inconveniences, for example for a period of time you will not have the basic services i.e. the bathroom or the kitchen. Have you thought about what to do in the meantime, where to live in the days of the renovation?
Even in the case of a simple restyling with just new paintings and other superficial works, try to make the builders’ tasks as easy as possible, by packing up everything in advance.
|| Read here about our tips for choosing the right interior paint
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5. Finding the right builder
As mentioned in point 3, in many cases you will have to contact a professional (surveyor, engineer, architect) in order to deliver the validated project to the local council. The technician will also help you in choosing a reputable builder: it is important, for example, to choose a builder specialized in renovations, because it is a very different field compared to the new construction.
By contacting a technician who will supervise the builders, you will save for sure a lot of time, especially during the construction phase: before undertaking a do-it-yourself renovation, make always a careful assessment of the times and of costs.
