If you follow me on Instagram than you know my family and I completed a major home renovation project in January. We took our house that was built in the 1970’s and transformed it, bringing it into this era. Below are the things I learned and you should know too.
Research your contractor!! I can’t stress this enough because if you go with a contractor that hasn’t done a lot of jobs, you have nothing to compare it too. You also want to know that they are reliable, and can stick to the deadline. You also want to know that they are capable of doing the job and getting it done in a timely and professional manner. We thankfully didn’t have a problem with our contractor because we did our research.
Pack up everything and move it into storage. We completely re-did our main floor. We changed out framing of doors, windows, new bedroom and bathroom doors, new closet systems and doors, stained the hardwoods floors, new kitchen and bathrooms. We left some furniture in the house due to our storage unit being full and dust was everywhere!! There was dust all over the bedrooms, the closets, heating boards, walls. So do yourself a favor and move everything out so your furniture doesn’t get dusty.
Rent a storage unit. We rented a PODS storage unit and it sat in our driveway for 6 weeks, which was convenient if we needed something. When selecting your pod go bigger. If you think you have less furniture and don’t need a big one, you’ll thank me later when you go bigger. I wish we had gone bigger because like I stated above we had some furniture items stay in the house because the pod was too small.
Ask all the questions. If you have any questions about the process and when certain things will happen, ask your contractor. No question is too small or too ridiculous to ask. Don’t pretend to understand everything the contractors is saying to you. Ask the questions so you can stay informed and have a better understanding of what is going to happen and what materials are needed.
Be patient! They always say patience is a virtue, and that is the truth!! You’ll need patience when going through a home renovation project. There can be delays with the materials or delays with the contractor. No matter what causes the delay just be patient. And understand they’re the professionals so they know what they’re doing.
Order what you can ahead of time. Due to Covid certain materials are taking longer to come in. But before you order anything make sure to double check sizing and the location of where the items will go with your contractor to avoid any issues further down the road. We ordered our blue double sink vanity from Home Depot at the start of our home renovation project and it took 4 weeks to come in. Thank goodness the project was scheduled to take that long anyways, so we didn’t really have any delays.
Make sure you’re satisfied with the outcome. Don’t wait till everything’s done to point out areas that need touch up or you’re unhappy with. Mention things to your contractor as it’s happening so that if it’s an easy fix, they can fix it quickly.
Lastly enjoy the process! Have fun picking out all the pieces to customize your home. Take your time when doing it too. Don’t feel rushed because there’s a deadline. How many opportunities are you going to get where you can remodel your house.
Hope you find this helpful, should you embark on a Home Renovation project of your own.
❤️ Katricia
