The Basics…4 of 4: Define what you are willing to do.

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Lastly, are you ready for what it takes?You will be investing much more than just money.
  • Define what you are willing to do. Do you have the time to deal with a renovation?

    • The bigger the job, the more time will be needed in dealing with all the decisions involved. If you are not excited and raring to go and ready to do what it takes to get through it, you may want to look closer at what is really involved.

  • Are you going to have to move to get it done?
    • If you are like most, the thought of moving all of your possessions…well, you really don’t want to think about it. And then you have to move it all back again!
    Conversely, a lot of people think they can live through a renovation to save cost, but after the water or electricity gets shut off, workers come and go at all times during the day, and the noise and vibration of construction doesn’t let up for days, to weeks, to months on end. And if they’ve tried to tough it out, they’re nerves are shattered, and patience, gone! They may end up moving in with friends or family (!) or get away to a hotel. Even if you have a sense of adventure, be smart and have a back up plan just in case. And make sure you’ve discussed the realities of staying in the home during construction with your prospective contractor.

  • Are you prepared for it to last longer than you think?
    • Construction is not an exact science. Weather delays and subcontractor no-shows are all too common that affect your completion date. Making sure you understand all the decisions you need to provide in a timely manner are key to minimizing delays. Some items needed for the project have long lead times and can hang up various trades from going forward until those items arrive on the jobsite.
    I have had a few clients that planned their renovation to conclude just in time for some event, like the Christmas rush of family coming into town, a wedding shower and so on. Most of the time these ‘schedules’ were conceived before talking to anyone about doing the project! Unless the event is well off into the future, I tell them not to get their hopes up too much. Trying to rush a project or just missing your personal deadline can cause more headaches and lead to a major disappointment.

    A lot of home owners believe some things to only take a few weeks to accomplish. And that’s fine if you are only doing minor upgrades to a room. You want to make sure that you truly understand that most projects take several months and occasionally, over a year to construct.

    If you can at least provide a framework to these first questions, you will be far ahead of the game in determining whether renovation makes sense for you. I have had the displeasure of bursting a few bubbles by going through this with clients who have not really prepared, in some fashion or another, an idea of what it really will take to do a renovation project on their home. I’d much rather show a client how to make their dreams a reality than to tell them how unrealistic their dreams are.
    After all, it’s my mission as an Architect and designer to keep clients excited about their project to make it more fun!

In the next several posts will I discuss how to get prepared to dive in…(can you even do what you are looking to do?) Preparation is the difference between a difficult and scary process to one that will run much smoother and be much more enjoyable.

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