These steps offer a broad foundation in how to get started if you are thinking about renovating your home.
Gather your ideas
• Watch renovation shows (but don’t trust the timelines as a lot can happen during commercials).
• Visit web sites that show renovated areas which are similar to what you have in mind for your renovation.
• Visit showhomes in the city to get ideas.
• Research professional renovators to find one who has all the credentials with a proven track record.
Meet your chosen renovator for an in-home consultation
• Let your renovator know your thoughts and ideas for your home.
• At this point, a good renovator can also coach you on a good stop / start point for your renovation.
• The key to a successful renovation is to seamlessly incorporate renovated areas into existing areas.
• This meeting should end with aligned expectations on budget and vision of the project.
Are you ready to take the next step?
• Is your budget and the renovator’s ballpark price aligned?
• Are you excited about giving your existing home a wash of fresh design and perhaps additional square footage?
• If you answered yes to the above, it’s time to begin the process in earnest.
Assure yourself that you are spending prudently:
• A professional renovation is an investment in your home which you will recapture at some point in the future.
Design and detailed planning:
• Work begins by measuring your home, then drafting the plans for your renovation.
• After you approve the conceptual drawings, its time for the specification writer and estimator to meet at your home to define, with you, the details of your renovation.
• With this meeting complete, the team can now document the project by writing a detailed scope of work and calculating the fixed contract price.
Good to Go:
• Upon your request to begin the renovation, the next step would be to meet with the in-house interior designer to select all the products and colours for your new renovation.
• Once products that are required have been selected, the team will begin the work on site.
• Depending on the scope of the renovation it might be necessary to find an alternative residence to live in for the duration of the project.
• Check with your renovator if they offer accommodations.
• As the homeowner, you should be kept in the loop every step of the way.
• A professional renovator will handle all the hurdles of the renovation to keep your stress to an absolute minimum.