Renovating can be expensive and time-consuming, but if you're determined to renovate a home, it can be done. With the help of this article and the resources it suggests, you can decide if restructuring is the right thing for your situation.
Steps
Step 1. Imagine
Just imagine. Assess your needs and consider the simplest solution. This project will quickly expand if you don't give yourself a stop. Check the money in your wallet / bank account and base it on it. If you have a spouse, make sure you both have the same wishes. It is much easier to understand the sacrifices you make for something you both want, rather than the sacrifices that one partner makes for the other's pleasure. And, of course, there will be sacrifices.
Step 2. Do your research
Go to the library and look at magazines that fit your needs. If you need another bathroom, stay away from bedroom magazines. Stay away from colors and flashy things. If you can do with an upgrade or conversion of an existing room, do it.
Step 3. Draw
If you are not good at drawing, use graph paper and measure the room you intend to build or convert. This is to help you express yourself better. People selling services and supplies can understand a two-dimensional tub in a 1.50 meter wide room better than your description.
Step 4. Talk to an electrician and construction cost contractor
Request a quote from each. If you can do drywall, you can save money. Don't build roofs unless you already have the necessary skills and tools. Don't be an electrician, unless you really know how to do it. What you learned in high school doesn't matter. Look at the cost estimate and review.
Step 5. Hire an architect
For a room, it may not be worth it. However, it won't be very expensive either. The town planning office of the municipality will appreciate the architect's design. The importance of the architect is that he will be able to quickly represent your design ideas and offer ideas and suggestions that you may not have thought of. A good architect offers you an overview, with the critical issues related to your project. Talk to your spouse about the architect's thoughts and requests. Also ask the architect what he thinks of the suppliers, but remember that the responsibility for the contract with the builder will be yours as the owner of the house. Ask the architect what permits are needed and ask if he can assist you in obtaining them.
Step 6. Go to the bank and take out a loan for at least 10% more than the cost you think is necessary for the job
Even if you are doing the work yourself, there are the unexpected.
Step 7. Ask your friends and colleagues who have done housework about their experiences with some entrepreneurs
The loan officer can also help you with this.
Step 8. Check if the contractor or the architect will be interested in obtaining the building permits
Step 9. Talk to several contractors about the project
Request a detailed, written estimate for the cost of labor, including labor and materials. Note that it is not advisable to choose the lowest bidder, bearing in mind that the price does not necessarily correspond to the quality. Reliability is very important; and this is the reason for talking to many contractors.
Step 10. Contractors are usually willing to negotiate the price
If some parts of the job seem easy, or at least require skills you have, you may want to complete them yourself. It is also a wonderful feeling to know that you have completed parts of the renovation, assuming that the job has been done satisfactorily.
Step 11. You can also include in your contract provisions that the work is completed before the rains begin
Or at least that the roof is completed before the rains begin. You will have to accept the responsibility of guessing the day when the rains begin. Normally no sensible contractor will promise to get the job done before it rains, but they could finish the job before a certain date, for example, October 15th. Consequently, it can be specified that the coverage will be completed by October 15th or, if not, deduct a penalty from the cost. You won't get this clause easily.
Step 12. Hire a contractor
Schedule weekly visits with the contractor or site manager to discuss progress. You don't want to get in the way of work, but you also don't want something to go too fast before it's finalized. In this way, that 10% destined for unforeseen events begins to disappear.
Step 13. Inspect the work every day, after the employees have finished the day
You may want more electrical sockets, lights, sinks than described in the project. For most of us, the materiality of the walls and their physical arrangement is easier to understand than the drawings. Also, if something doesn't seem right, for example a bathroom fan with no power outlet, report it to the contractor within a day of noticing. The more the work progresses, the more small problems will be buried. The more buried small problems are, the more expensive it will be to fix them.
Step 14. Don't try to take advantage of the contractor, don't try to cut the price a lot
While you can have the money, the contractor has your house and you hostage. The best thing is that both of you are happy with the result.
Advice
- Plan your construction to start during the favorable weather seasons.
- Most of the craftsmen are well paid and do the job efficiently. Consider a fair cost for your time and work. If you earn 25 euros an hour, do you really want to discuss a job that someone knows well and can do for 10 euros an hour?
- If you are not neurotic about planning, there will be changes in schedules as the work progresses. Make sure you have an additional 10% more funds than the contractor estimates. Even so, he may have underestimated, and charged more.
- Thank the employees, and praise them for their work.
- Take a course in renovation, painting, roofing, etc. so he can appreciate the work they are doing, and will be happy to shell out the money.
Warnings
- If you can afford to stay in a hotel, it is advisable to do so, so you don't have to sacrifice privacy, but remember that this is NOT a good time for a vacation.
- This can cause stress in your relationships.
