Remodeling: A Home That's as Good as New

As with many types of projects, success with a home remodel often starts with preparing to avoid failure. If you can prevent the most common failures during a house remodel, your odds of producing good-looking results within your budget will go up significantly. Contractors will encourage their clients to plan around these four potential risks.

Insufficient Communication

Even if you've found the best contractor in the area to do the job, they're not going to be able to make all of the decisions on their own. Clients need to be available at regular times during the week to discuss the state of the project. If there are problems, the customer also needs to listen to the contractor's recommendations and then choose a course of action. From the initial design phase to going over the last item on the checklist at the end, communication is critical.

Scope

The scope of a house remodel needs to be clear before renovations begin. You should talk with the contractor about the goals for the remodel. Likewise, you should define where the work will take place. Use the planning phase to play around with ideas, but make sure you finalize your plans before starting any work. Establish a clear scope for the project so you can set benchmarks in terms of both budget and time.

Compliance

Always know the regulations for a home remodel where you live. Don't assume the contracting team is familiar with the rules even if they live in your area. They have to work in multiple locations, and they can be hazy about what the requirements are in terms of permits, inspections, and retrofitting. Contact your locality's code enforcement office to learn what the remodeling rules are. Otherwise, there's a risk that a violation could shut the remodel down for weeks or even months.

Practicality

Remodeling often focuses people on the fun and beautiful stuff. However, failing to account for practical problems can run a house remodel off the rails quickly. For example, the budget for the bathroom renovations should reserve some money in case the remodelers run into issues after they strip out all of the surface-level fixtures and materials. You might discover decades-old plumbing that's leaky and non-compliant.

Likewise, think about practice issues like elbow room and traffic flow. Addressing these concerns now will be much easier than trying to fix them down the road. Look for practical problems to solve and then attack them during the remodel.

Contact a service like AK Webb Remodeling & Construction, LLC to find out more.