The Essentials: Your Complete Remodeling Prep Guide

For many, renovating a single room in their home is a big project. Renovating the whole home may seem like a bigger project than you can even prepare for. But, with time, a remodeling prep guide and a careful plan, you can break the whole home remodel into smaller steps that are less overwhelming.

To help, we have a whole-house renovation checklist for you. It’s not comprehensive, but it is a great place to start before your remodel. 

1. Choose Your Contractor 

Unlike in many other home projects, when you choose a contractor for your whole home to remodel you are typically choosing the firm that will design and then build the reno. Few contractors will jump into a whole home remodel someone else has started and few will work based on someone else’s design. So, you’re making a long-term commitment. Seek out resources to help make this decision easier and take your time with it. 

2. Prepare Your Budget 

Only you know what you can truly afford but talking to the professionals about your budget and what kind of wiggle room is in it can be very helpful. Typically, you want to build in a contingency to your budget, potentially up to 15%, for unexpected costs. If your budget is for a full 100% of what you can afford, the project may get out of hand. It is better to be conservative with your financial estimates and the professionals can help. 

3. Finalize Your Design 

When you finalize your design, you will be setting the project in stone. However, many homeowners end up trying to make last-minute changes, and this can complicate the design and extend the timeline significantly. To avoid this, for your own sake, take just a little bit more time with the design process. Those extra days to think about the design can help make everything better down the road. 

4. Extend Your Plans 

When you are doing a whole home renovation, you can’t live there during the process. People plan to live elsewhere, with family or in a hotel, but often don’t build wiggle room into the plans. If you end up needing to stay for a few more days than expected, you want whoever you’re staying with to be prepared. 

5. Live Through the Renovation 

In many ways, just waiting for the professionals to finish their work is the most stressful part of the renovation. Having a team dedicated to giving your regular updates can help with that stress level.  Communication is key! 

6. Assess the Work 

Many homeowners don’t realize that they should be doing a final walk-through of any renovation project with their contractors. Especially when they worked on your whole home, take your time with the process and ask all of the questions you need to. The team should continue to be available to you afterward. 

Remodeling Prep Is Easy With The Pros

Are you ready to start the whole home remodel experience? Team Shane is the right partner to get you through it and help you end up with the home of your dreams. Talk to us about your ideas today.