What is the main purpose of your renovation?
Do you want to add extra space by extending
the house, upgrade the kitchen or bathroom,
improve the security of your home, or revamp
the house for aesthetic reasons? - What are
your options? For example, do you need an additional
room or can you redesign existing floor space
to create more room? Could you do with a new set
of built-in wardrobes and shelves instead of
breaking walls, or spending on building a new
room?
• Is there anything unique about your
home that you would like to keep? If it is an
old house you may not want to tinker with the
exterior appearance.
• Get input from all members of your
household. What are their needs and wants? This
is important. Your teenager may have his/her
views on renovation if it is their room that
is being refurbished. - Consider both the short
term and long-term implications of your decisions
- are your requirements likely to change in
the future? For example, knocking down walls
to create space in a flat is fine. But if that
means knocking out one room, think of the implications
if you decide to have children in the future.
Or if your house is frequented by guests, that
extra room could come in handy as a guest bedroom.
Collect Ideas and Information
• Study magazines and books to get an
idea of the "look" that you want.
Clip or photocopy information that is useful
and file it for easy access. This will help
when you are briefing the contractor.
• Visit manufacturers' and suppliers'
showrooms (e.g. windows & doors), examine
products and materials, note prices and collect
more ideas. This way you can compare prices
and also stretch your budget if there is something
you really like. Chances of the contractor cheating
you are much less if you are well informed.
• Speak to relatives, friends and colleagues
who have renovated recently. They could give
you some valuable tips.
Determine your budget. You may not know how much
your renovations will cost, but you need to
have some ballpark figure of what you can and
want to spend. Home owners often finance renovations
through a combination of savings or short-term
loans. Check with more than one financial
institution to figure out your options. Keep
the following in mind when meeting with financial
institutions:
• the amount you have saved
• the costs associated with the renovation
• the amount you can, or are willing to,
borrow - the total amount you are prepared to
spend
Consult Professional Contractors
Once you have all this in place it's time to
contact the contractor. Ideally, it is better
to contact more than one contractor in the initial
stages to get a better idea of cost and professional
advice on how to proceed.
Hiring the right contractor is crucial. Go
for a reputed contractor even if he proves
to be a little more expensive. In the long run
an efficient contractor will deliver good quality
work and will meet deadlines. Cheap contractors
might use sub-standard materials, and if they
extend deadlines your costs will escalate.
Renovating your home
is exciting and rewarding whether you make small
changes in a couple of rooms, or convert the
entire house. Either way those changes will
be there for a long time. Plan carefully to
make your dream a reality.
