Home renovations can be both exciting and dreadful. It’s nice when your home has a fresh new look, but there’s a lot of red tape to go through. First you have to secure the appropriate permits as required by your city, then, if you don’t plan to do the project yourself, you need to find a reputable contractor. There are a number of other things to consider during a home renovation. Here are some tips for remodeling your home.
Gather References
Before you hire a prospective contractor, you should try to gather as many references as you can. Look up reviews online and ask friends, family and co-workers. You can even ask the contractor themselves if they can provide some references. These people will be inside your home, possibly while you’re not there. It’s important that they can be trusted.
Have A Definite Plan
You should know exactly what you want before the renovations take place. Have things like your flooring, paint color, skylight and counter choices lined up and ready to go. If you don’t, you risk letting the contractor steer you toward more expensive options.
Clearing the Air
Depending on how thorough your home remodeling process will be, there is likely to be a lot of dust created by sawing, sanding and demolition activity. This dust doesn’t just leave an unsightly layer on all of your belongings. It also gets into your nose and lungs where it can cause severe allergy symptoms and generally make life miserable. To minimize the amount of dust floating around your home, be sure to change your furnace filter at least once during the renovations and again after they’re finished.
Document Paint Types
If you plan on painting walls or cabinets, it’s strongly recommended that you write down what you use. Document the paint color, the brand and also whether it’s gloss, flat, eggshell or something else. Although you might be able to recall the name of the color you used years later, you may not remember the other features. This will be really handy if you need to perform any touch-ups or want to paint something to match the room.
Get Your Money’s Worth
The most helpful tip of all is to wait until the renovations are completely finished to pay the contractor. If you pay them when there are still loose ends tie up, they may never be back to finish the job. Some people decide to pay up early just because things are almost done, but once the contractor has their money, they don’t have any reason to return. A few missing tiles or some partially-painted cabinetry don’t matter to them.
VTECH Skylights manufactures quality skylights. A new skylight can brighten up any home and benefit any home remodeling project.