5 Things You Must Consider Before A Home Renovation Project

The right home renovation project should elevate your property and give it a new lease of life. Renovations can take old and boring houses, turning them into modern pieces of paradise. That being said, it’s easy to look at the promise of a renovation and assume it’ll always deliver. Realistically, this isn’t always going to happen. Some renovations end up being poor investments - and it’s something you truly have to think hard about before moving forward. 

Don’t just embark on a home renovation project; consider these critical things before doing anything else: 

1. Whether The Renovation Meets Your Goals

Most homeowners view renovations through the scope of making their home more attractive to buyers. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. It’s a common goal that makes a lot of sense - if you’re spending money improving your home, you want the money to mean something in the long run. Should you ever sell your house, it helps if the renovation ups the asking price and nets you a profit. 

Some people will explicitly make renovations because they’re thinking of selling, and that can be a smart idea as well. 

Nevertheless, your renovation project doesn’t need to focus on its monetary value in the long term. For some of you, the ROI of the project is best represented by how it impacts your normal life. Maybe you need a renovation because you want to add an extra room to your house, making it easier to expand your family. Perhaps your renovation focuses on the kitchen or bathroom because both are rundown, and you just want a nice place to cook or wash. 

You can have whatever goals you like from a renovation project - just make sure the project itself meets those goals. For example, if increasing your home’s value is the core goal, you should pick a project that’s proven to do this, like a kitchen renovation. 

2. How Much You Can Spend On The Project

You can’t move forward with a home renovation project if you don’t have a budget. NerdWallet puts the average cost to renovate a house between $15 and $150 per square foot, which is a fairly vast range! 

It goes without saying, but you should only renovate your home if you can afford to do so. 

Do not spend money you don’t have or obtain hefty loans you’ll struggle to pay off. Everyone’s budget will be different, and the only advice is to check your finances and work out how much you can afford to spend without it affecting your regular bills and payments. 

Working out a budget helps you figure out which renovations get the green or red light. Perhaps an extension is out of the question - but maybe you can go for a smaller renovation, like a garage conversion, instead. 

3. Choosing The Right Contractors For The Job

What is the number one mistake people make when proceeding with a renovation? No, it’s not forgetting their budget - it’s actually choosing the wrong contractors for the job. Invest in exceptional construction services to ensure your project is completed to the highest standards imaginable. You shouldn’t hire a construction company that cuts corners and uses cheap building materials/methods. 

Why? Because cheaper and lower-quality construction services will leave you with a renovation that doesn’t last. This happens all the time: someone (who will remain anonymous) once told me they got a conservatory installed at the back of their home. They picked an affordable contractor to do the job, but after a few months, the conservatory started leaking. They had to come back and reinforce the walls/roof, but the same problem kept returning year after year. 

It made the renovation completely worthless and extended their budget beyond what they expected to pay. While you may be worried by the idea of spending money on quality contractors, the investment pays for itself in the long run. Quality providers will also include longer warranties on their work, meaning if problems arise, there’s a higher chance they can fix them for free. 

4. What Needs To Be Done & Your Non-Negotiables

It’s bizarre how many homeowners don’t consider what actually needs to be done during a home renovation project. 

What do you want? 

That may seem like a simple question, yet you need to think long and hard to come up with some plans - as well as a few non-negotiables. Plans are bound to change slightly during the renovation process, be that because of budget constraints, a lack of certain materials, and so on. However, you should have a few things that you absolutely will not go without when the project is over. This could involve features within the renovation, or whatever is desperately important to you. 

Make a list of what you want to see when the renovation is over, and be sure that it meets your desires. Don’t be afraid to tell your construction provider that things aren’t completed, even if they think they are. Point back to your non-negotiables and make sure they tick all the boxes before leaving. 

5. How The Renovation Affects Your Daily Life

The prospect of a renovation is exciting, but how will the renovation process affect your daily routine? 

Think about it; the entire process could take anywhere from a few days to a few months, depending on what’s being done. You need to weigh up the pros and cons of the renovation based on how much it disrupts your life. Things to consider include: 

• If you’re left without a proper bathroom, and how long this might last

• If you work from home, and can still work from home with the disruptions

• The safety risks with young kids in the house

Add more things to the list as you see fit, but you should be able to understand what we’re talking about. You don’t have to cancel a renovation if you think it will have too big an effect on your daily routine - you just have to plan for the disruptions. 

The moral of this story is that renovations aren’t plain sailing, and you must consider countless things before investing in one. Go through each of the five points above and make sure you’ve thought them through thoroughly!