February 26th 2009 Posted in
Misc Remodeling your family’s home is a realistic alternative to simply packaging up your stuff and then purchasing a more ideal home. However, remodeling expenses are not always cheaper; bad organization or simple planning mistakes will often lead to emotional and financial loss. Thorough planning and in-depth research are your best defenses to side-step the common pitfalls of a home remodel. Make sure to use them!
The bathroom, the kitchen, and the garage are great rooms to focus on when starting your home remodel project. But prior to starting your project, you should ask yourself a few questions. The most important question (which requires an honest answer!) pertains to money: what is the total amount of money you can afford to spend? It is critical that you are realistic with your financial position when considering a remodel. Unless you exercise great care when accepting bids from local contractors, your home remodel will probably cost anywhere from 20% to 30% higher than anticipated. While your house has unlimited possibilities for improvements, this article will only talk about three different rooms: the bathroom, the garage, and the kitchen.
Pretty much everyone views their bathroom as a private sanctuary. Where else can you remove yourself from the world and enjoy a relaxing bubble bath or shower under steaming hot water? When you are actually planning your bathroom remodel, you really must consider where exactly you spend your bathroom time: staring at your mug in the mirror or soaking up the water in the tub. How would you answer that question? Your answer reveals where you should focus your design ideas. Did you know you can install such things as towel warming racks and even heating flooring? And it is always good advice to spend a little extra money on higher quality bathroom fixtures. By investing more money into the extra bells and whistles can easily transform a normal bathroom into a mini at-home spa.
It is a well known fact that better than 50% of home owners don’t park their car in the garage. Instead of using the garage for parking space, they have turned it into a storage unit. Have you allowed your car’s parking spot to become a storage unit? If so, you should remodel your garage. A proper garage remodel can increase storage space, add more “usable” square footage to your home, or it could even allow you to park your car inside of it. Create your own modern garage with garage floor tiles. You can find a garage floor tile for all sorts and types of garages. You can even watch a video on how to install garage floor tiles to make the job easier.
In addition to gaining some extra storage, a garage can be transformed into an elaborate work room, a home gym, a laundry room, a garage can be remodeled into an elaborate work room, a workout room, a laundry room, or maybe even an extra living space (like another bedroom or a child’s play room). If extra living space is a possibility for your garage remodel, you will definitely need to factor in the extra construction costs for electrical, heating, and cooling. And if you need to add a bathroom or some form of hot/cold water supply, you must remember to include plumbing costs into your estimate.
Remodeling one’s kitchen is usually the most complex (and costly) house construction project you can perform. It is a big undertaking; do not take it lightly! It is always a good idea to hire a qualified contractor than to attempt to perform your own kitchen remodel. If you get bids from several different contractors (which you should), your breakdown of work needs to be very detailed about the many materials that should be used for the project (it is easier to compare highly detailed proposals). Also, if you are not specific about the construction materials, there is a strong chance your contractor will choose inferior (or more expensive) materials than what your original planning called for.
Designing a suitable layout of your kitchen is the most important phase of the construction for your new kitchen. Every aspect of the layout needs to meet with your approval before you start construction. You (and anyone else who lives in your house) must consider the down time; how long do you think you can handle being without a kitchen? The more changes you make, the longer you can expect to live without a working kitchen.
Outside of hiring a contractor for your home remodeling project, it is also advisable to hire a consultant that can oversee the quality and progress of work you receive from your contractor. Most of us wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between high-quality wiring and bulk, discount wiring, but a professional consultant can. He or she can prevent your contractor and subcontractors from taking shortcuts.
Your overall livelihood (and happiness) is closely associated with your home. Be extremely thorough in your remodel planning and preparation and your remodel experience will most likely be a pleasant one.
