Home Remodeling

Home Remodelingthe very words strike fear into the hearts of many.With planning, research and a good team, the process can be almost painless.

Not only do I help my clients with their remodels, I am in the middle of one on my own home.I have previously built two homes, but a remodel is a whole different ballgame.You’d better have a good relationship with your contractor and his crew, because as you stagger to the breakfast table at 7 am with your morning coffee, they will be the first faces you see.No, they won’t live with you.It will only feel like it!

The first step in a remodel is deciding what your house is lacking that a remodel can fix.Just want a facelift?More space for a growing family? Fixing up to sell?Make a list.I’m big on lists!Then decide what your priorities are what is a must haveand what are extras that are not a necessity, but would be nice to have.

Next up is the budget.Decide what you can realistically spend either through savings or financing.Call several banks and get some preliminary rates.What would make the most sense for you an equity loan?Line of credit?Construction loan?Your banker can explain your options.

Now comes the best part finding a contractor.The best advice I can give is GET RECOMMENDATIONS!!!Talk to anyone you know who’s done a remodel and find out what they liked and didn’t like about their contractor.Call your local Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been lodged against them.Interview several contractors and get preliminary estimates – what is included in the price (materials and labor), time frame for starting and completion of the project and time frame for disbursing funds.If he wants all his money up front RUN!!

Don’t pick a contractor solely on price.Are they open to your ideas?Can you communicate effectively with each other?Did the contractor promptly return your phone calls?(My biggest pet peeve!)If you have trouble now, it won’t get any better during the process.Pick the contractor you clickwith.Our contractor, Mike, called a few minutes before the initial interview to say he’d be ten minutes late.That one phone call earned him a lot of points!

After you get some estimates and pick yourself up off the floor from a dead faint (yes, its going to cost more than you thought), you can refer to your list of priorities and extras and see what stays and what goes.A fireplace in the dining room was one of my extras that got put on the chopping block.We opted for more windows and a view of the forest which was more cost effective.

Once you agree on a contractor and the scope of the job, your next step should be to hire an Interior Designer.Besides making your home look nice, and Interior Designer can fill in the gaps between you and the contractor.Before the plans are drawn up, discuss the functions of the new space.What furniture are you keeping?What would you like to add to the room?Space planning is extremely important.You don’t want to complete a remodel and realize your Great Aunt Edna’s armoir is 12 inches too long for the wall.If you have a plan furniture plan, you can make sure that wall and window placement will work.My contractor is constantly asking me questions such as How much space do you need between these windows?and Does this wall have to be exactly 60 inches?I can refer to my plans and see my furniture layouts and know exactly how much space I need.Knowing your furniture placement also helps with lighting and electrical plans.You don’t want to have a V8 momentwhen you realize that you didn’t include floor plugs for your lamp tables that are floating in the middle of the room.

Your designer can also help choose paint colors, flooring, fixtures, and cabinets.The earlier these items are ordered, the smoother your remodel will go.

PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING!! I can’t stress it enough.You and your contractor should touch base on a daily basis.You should also schedule weekly meetings between your designer, your contractor and yourself to make sure everyone is on the same page and work is progressing in a timely manner.

You not only have to plan out your remodel, you have to plan out how you are going to LIVE THROUGH your remodel!

Kitchens Will you have access to a stove, refrigerator, microwave?If not, you are going toget to know the take-out folks in your area really well!

Baths Will you have access to a shower and toilet in another part of the house?

Whole House Rehab Will you and/or your furnishings have to move out for all or part of the remodel?The cost has to be figured into your budget.

Remember, even when you plan everything down to the smallest detail, there will still be surprises.Expect them and build a 10-20% cushion into your budget.I didn’t expect my town was going to ask for a septic inspection on my four year old septic tank.Five hundred dollars later, I realized that these little extraswere going to pop up and we hadn’t even started the construction yet!

Expect that the job will take longer than estimated.Weather, inspections, busy subs and back ordered stock are all out of your control.If you have a deadline for finishing your project, make sure you add on at least 20% to the time frame.Make sure your contractor is doing everything he can to avoid delays.

Expect your life to be chaotic and inconvenienced.No one said this was going to be easy!!

Remodels don’t last forever.When I get to serve Thanksgiving dinner to my family this year in my new dining room, the chaos of the last few months will be a distant memory and worth everything we had to go through to get here!

Rosanne Palazola isan Interior Designerat tuttle&co, Salem, Massachusetts.www.tuttleandco.com. tuttle&co specializes in residential interior design with a simple, tasteful “un-designed” look.