With new home design trends emerging each year along with the deteriorating condition of our houses over time, it’s only natural to plan a house remodel. After all, we all want to transform our homes into our dream houses. However, doing so can often turn into a daunting experience for many. From getting the right contractors to selecting home designs, there’s simply a lot to do when remodeling your house. As a result, most homeowners often don’t know where to start.
Moreover, house remodeling is often a once-in-a-lifetime project and requires significant investment. Therefore, it’s crucial to avoid making any mistakes, preventing the loss of money and effort. By following the proper steps and creating a well-thought-out plan, your house remodel is guaranteed to go smoothly. So, to help you with this purpose, here’s the ultimate checklist you’ll need to follow.
Move your valuables off-site
During a house remodel, there’s always an excessive use of heavy tools for remodeling purposes such as demolition, painting, or crafting. As a result, dust and debris make their way through the entire home, covering every object. So, if you want your valuable belongings to stay safe from damage and dirt, it’s best to move them off-site. You may think that it would be sufficient to cover your belongings with plastic wrap or cloth. But better safe than sorry. What’s best is that moving your valuables off-site will make it easier for workers to remodel your house, as there will be more space for them.
Nonetheless, it’s crucial to choose the right place to move your belongings. After all, you don’t want to move your belongings away from your home only to have them damaged or lost. If you live in or anywhere near Salt Lake City, renting a self-storage unit is the best option to store your valuables safely off-site. So, ensure to check out Salt Lake City self storage and achieve a safe and smooth house remodel.
Decide what you want
People often make the mistake of commencing a house remodel without having a clear idea of what type of house remodel they need. Consequently, such people end up with an unappealing remodel and waste a significant amount of money on unnecessary designs and materials. So, if you want to avoid making regretful decisions, ensure to determine what type of house remodel you want. What’s best is that by doing so, you’ll be able to stay more focused, executing the plan as efficiently as possible.
To set the right goals, you’ll need to seek inspiration that will help you develop your ideas for a new home design. For this purpose, you can read magazines, explore home design stores, or visit websites and find popular designs. For instance, minimalist designs are popular these days and are even budget-friendly. Moreover, you can also elicit some advice from friends or relatives who have recently renovated their houses. And while looking for design inspiration, check out what materials were used to achieve those designs. It may help you find cost-effective materials you may have been unaware of otherwise.
Research
Perhaps the biggest mistake one can make while planning a house remodel is excluding research from the checklist. Proper research is a major driving factor behind making the right house remodeling decisions, preventing the loss of money and effort. To begin your research, you must start learning about the type of materials and decorations you’ll need. For this purpose, you can visit various stores and websites to get an idea of the different materials available. While doing so, consider two essential factors: quality and cost. So, to select the best materials, it’s crucial to maintain a balance between quality and cost.
Alongside researching materials or decorations, it’s essential to research contractors as well. After all, your house remodeling contractor will be the one in charge of all the construction, demolition, and design. No one wants to end up hiring an incompetent contractor. To find an experienced and skilled contractor, you can visit different house remodeling websites, read online reviews, or seek recommendations from family and friends. But ensure to arrange a meeting with the contractors before you hire them.
Create a budget
Even if you have allocated an amount for the house remodeling project, creating a budget is crucial. Making financial decisions based on a budget helps cut unnecessary costs, saving a significant amount of money while helping you stay on track with the expenses. However, to create a home remodeling budget, you first need to prioritize. For instance, some people prefer to spend money on style, while others spend on quality and comfort.
Once you have your priorities in mind, you can determine the prices of materials, decorations, and designs to include in your budget. But to score the best prices, it’s viable to compare the different options available. For this, you can also ask your contractors for recommendations and price lists. However, before you finalize your budget, it’s crucial to set aside some money for unexpected costs. Without doing so, you may need to exceed your budget in an unexpected situation, such as rising material prices. Setting aside 10% of the budget is typically enough to account for unforeseen costs.
Take time off work and move off-site
House remodeling can be an exhausting task. After all, you need to take care of planning, budgeting, hiring contractors, and several other things. In such a situation, going to work can make it incredibly challenging to focus on the remodel, leading to stress and physical health issues. Therefore, it’s essential to take some time off work for a smooth and stress-free house remodeling.
Moreover, it’s equally essential to reserve a place for yourself to move into during the remodeling. Doing so will help you stay safe from the dust, debris, and other pollutants produced by dangerous chemicals. Not to mention, staying on-site may lead to hearing loss caused by the use of loud machinery during demolition. Any noise above 70 dB can damage the ears.
Conclusion
Many homeowners consider house remodeling a challenging and exhausting task. Since it involves negotiating with contractors, buying good supplies and materials, and overlooking the process till the end, many people avoid it altogether. But you can avoid any hiccups in the process, especially if you have the ultimate house remodeling checklist to follow. So, stop worrying and start preparing to transform your house into your dream home by following the list above. Within no time, your property will be as good as new, ultimately increasing its resale value as well.
