Hello to everyone! It’s really the beginning of Fall and it’s one of my favorite times of year. I love all the golds, greens, red, and orange that permeates our landscape as the leaves change. It’s also a busy time with the kids back in school. In my business it means the start of many long awaited home remodeling projects. So, I thought I’d outline some simple steps to help get your projects started.
Home Remodeling | Where to Start
Research
Once you make a list and prioritize from most important to least important, you can begin researching the products you might need to move forward.
Hiring a Contractor
If you’re going to use a contractor, begin asking friends and looking online for contractors in your area who have references and recommendations for on time completion to completing a project at the projected budget. That is important! We once did a remodel and the project went way over our budget and we ended up having to borrow from a relative to pay him! Not good! So, make sure you get good references and feel good about your contractor. Don’t just contract with him because you really like him, make sure he comes in on time and on budget. Give him your list and let him prepare a bid for you. Then you will have a picture of the cost and can eliminate or add depending on what he comes up with.
Try not to add more things along the way! That throws your budget out the window and your project will stretch out longer.
Picture what you want.
Start looking online at websites that help you collect your ideas put them in an online notebook or just the regular hands on kind of notebook. Collect photos of appliances, flooring, etc and then give your contractor a “picture” of what you want. Consider working with a decorator to help you keep focused. It’s worth the cost to keep you from getting confused!!
Believe me, I’ve dealt with a lot of confused clients!!
So this is, in a nutshell, how to start. I hope your project goes well and have fun!
~Best, Karen