Purchasing a home can be the first step to living in the house of your dreams. Whether you splurged for a custom-built house or you opted to save some money on closing costs and a down payment by settling on a fixer-upper, there may be some things about your property that you would like to change. As a homeowner, one of the benefits of your end of the deal is that you get to have full creative control over what your house looks like. The sky’s the limit–along with zoning regulations, laws, HOA specifications, and your budget, of course.
Whether you’re a first-time homeowner or you’ve owned your home for a while but you’ve never remodeled it, taking the time to look into what the remodeling process entails before you undertake a large, expensive project can be an intelligent choice. Going into remodeling blind with brazen confidence can lead to expensive consequences such as backtracking plans when they don’t work out, paying for extra work if your initial plan doesn’t work out, and jobs becoming more involved than you initially thought they would be. This can cost you time and money down the road, so it’s best to save yourself some home-owning heartache and follow our tips for renovating your house for the first time as we’ve listed them below.
When It’s the Best Time to Remodel
Choosing a time to remodel your home requires the consideration of a few key factors. Firstly, you’ll want to plan to relocate your home during a time when you will be okay with not using the part of the house under construction or remodeling. If you know that your family will need to throw a massive holiday party and use the kitchen to cook food for the event, the winter season might be an inconvenient time for you to plan a remodel. On the other hand, if you tend to spend parts of the year at another property or traveling to other places, those can be the perfect times to plan for a remodel as long as you’re comfortable with your contractor team being there while you’re gone.
Picking the right time to get your renovations done may also fall under more financially lucrative seasons. If you get a tax return, you can wait until that hits your bank account to schedule home repairs and renovations. Alternatively, if you know that you’ll have less work during certain times of the year or major expenses, you can avoid scheduling large contracting jobs then.
If you want to go with popular contractors to complete a remodel for the first time on your house, you might be at the mercy of their availability. After all, contractors who are in high demand might not be able to drop everything to come and complete repairs or cosmetic renovations on your home if they have a full roster of projects. Of course, if you’re not as picky about who completes the jobs you have in mind, you may be better able to select contractors based on your preferred timeline. Ultimately, timing has to do with finances, the weather, your schedule, and the schedules of the team of construction professionals you hire.
Plan Your Renovation from Start to Finish
For your first home remodel, you won’t want to throw caution to the wind and fly by the seat of your pants. Since you won’t know how to organize a home improvement project series to the same degree that folks who have renovated their homes several times would, you’ll be better off if you put your ideas on paper and have the professionals let you know if your ideas seem realistic before you proceed to shell out the money it takes to make them happen. Depending on whether you intend to renovate the whole house or just one section of the home, you might need to coordinate different projects so having a list of your intended changes can make it easier to decide where to start and what order makes sense for planning the projects.
Starting a home renovation can be an incredibly daunting task. To do it properly, you really have to keep your budget and timing in mind. Things can come up unexpectedly that could throw your entire operation off course. If you’re working on your renovation in the Spring or Summer months, you always have to be aware of flood damage. When rain begins to pile up, if your sump pump isn’t up to snuff, you could be looking at some serious basement damage. Before you begin your renovation, be sure to keep these aspects in mind. The more you prepare yourself and budget your whole project accordingly, the better you are off working on these types of renovations yourself. Another important thing to keep in mind is what rooms you want to renovate. Doing a bathroom renovation is very different than a kitchen renovation. You should also remember that you and your family will be displaced from whatever room you are renovating for however long the project takes. For more information, get in touch with a home remodeling contractor to get started with their services,
Stay Flexible on the Small Stuff
When you’re renovating your house for the first time, you may have an idealized version of your home in your head that feels completely possible to execute. As the rubber meets the road–or the hammers hit wood and metal–you might need to let go of certain concepts for the greater vision to happen. Seasoned home renovators may be used to switching plans in the middle of a remodel if something isn’t working out, but new home renovators might have a hard time when their darling ideas don’t make the cut.
While it’s normal to feel disappointed if you can’t hang your dream chandelier from the living room ceiling or take out a wall that turns out to be a support for the home’s overall structure, it can be freeing to let go of old concepts to make room for fresh ones. For little things like shades of paint and the exact day that a project gets done, going with the flow can make your home renovation process less stressful and more enjoyable.
Work from Top to Bottom
If you want to fix or replace an old roof and finish an unfinished basement in your renovation plans for the first time, you should prioritize the roof that needs to be replaced over the “nice to have” finished basement. Sometimes, it may make sense to complete projects in a certain order when you’re remodeling your home. Before you schedule unnecessary or cosmetic projects, you should focus on getting the most dire ones completed. To determine when it would be best to replace your roof or fix structural damage to it, you can contact a commercial roofing company for their professional opinion on the matter.
As you’re working on creating a plan for your renovations, it’s important to prioritize projects that may impact the structure or integrity of the home. If the roof hasn’t been replaced in several decades, you should work on that before you attempt to do other tasks. Alternatively, if the roof was replaced within the past few years, it would make more sense to put other tasks ahead of getting your dream roof, since you’ll have some time to spare before you need to think about replacing it again.
Don’t Forget the Outdoor Spaces
Sometimes, you may be so focused on renovating the inside of the home that you neglect the outdoor areas. If you’ve always dreamed of having a louvered pergola or a beautiful deck in your backyard, the home renovation season might be a good time to make that a reality. If you entertain a lot and find that your indoor area doesn’t have enough square footage to accommodate your typical number of guests, adding outdoor entertaining spaces can double or even triple the amount of room you have to work with for hosting parties and events.
Before you decide to attach an outdoor structure to your home, you should consult with contractors to ensure that your house can support this structure and install reinforcements as necessary. Sometimes, small or older homes may struggle to support heavy structures that attach to them. Additionally, if you live in an area that is prone to flooding or natural disasters, you should base your designs and choices for outdoor areas on preserving them in the event of a flood. If they’re too low to the ground, they may become a pain to maintain in the long run once heavy rains or high winds hit.
Call Multiple Contractors for Quotes
When you’re renovating your home for the first time, you might just be thrilled to have someone call you back for a contracting job. Unfortunately, some companies may prey on new or naive home renovators by charging more compared to other companies since they know that green homeowners won’t know what a typical job will cost. To avoid losing money by overpaying for basic projects, you should call multiple contractors for a job before you agree to hire someone.
When you’re looking into roofing companies, more expensive doesn’t always mean a better job will be completed by them. At the same time, you shouldn’t go for contractors who charge well below the average roof replacement cost since they might be cutting corners or scamming you if you’re unfamiliar with that company. Always ask around for referrals through word-of-mouth and compare quotes with the experience or value that a contractor brings to the table.
Upgrade Your Power Source
When you’re renovating your home, it can be a good time to change your power source from regular electricity to solar power. As more people are using solar energy, companies are innovating solutions to convert the sun’s rays into usable energy. If you’re not sure if solar energy is right for you, it may be a good idea to call a solar company for a quote for their services, equipment, and more.
If you live in an area that offers wind energy or tidal energy, you could also explore those options. Older homes may be more challenging to upgrade, but that doesn’t mean that it would be impossible. Changing the power source of your home may cost money upfront to install new equipment, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t save you money on your bills over time. As a result, it’s wise to be open to change even if it doesn’t seem like it’s what you may want initially.
Customize Indoor and Outdoor Features
Homeowners who have never renovated space before may find that they are drawn to pre-made options for indoor and outdoor aspects of the home. Even if you don’t feel confident in your home design skills yet, you should think about what it could be like to design something from scratch like a custom dock to make your home stand out from the rest. If you lack the design skills and other abilities necessary to create custom designs, you can partner with interior and exterior home designers for inspiration or practical advice in this endeavor.
Rely on Local Help
While you might be inclined to go with large companies that advertise nationally, it’s a better idea to see if you can find a local construction management company to complete your first renovation job. These companies may be more affordable than ones that work all over the United States. They might also be more accessible if you need to complete a job quickly or notice issues with a job after the initial work is done. National companies that travel a lot may be tougher to hold accountable if they do something wrong or if you need support after the renovation is completed.
Pave the Way for Greater Things
Where you park matters as much as other parts of the house. If you want to convert your gravel driveway into an asphalt one, you’ll need to hire professionals who specialize in driveway paving. Although you could try to do it yourself, the professionals will have a better idea of how to safely complete this job.
Homeowners who are inexperienced in renovating may go with the first paving company they see on internet search results. Although this might work out fine, we recommend doing your research. Be sure to ask companies for their rates and recommendations before committing to one so you don’t end up paying for it in the end with a botched driveway.
Upgrade Entrances and Windows
The places where you enter and exit your home can be guests’ first impressions of the home. To improve curb appeal, any first-time renovation should include upgraded doors. You can either paint them a new color or change the style and material of the door to suit your style better. While you’re at it, you can also schedule a window replacement so that anyone who drives past your home or walks past it sees the inner beauty reflected on the front of the house.
For those who are remodeling their home for the first time, it can bring up a range of feelings. Whether you’re excited, nervous, or a mix of both, you can do this! With the proper support, you’ll be well on your way to constructing your dream home from the property’s original framework.
