Check List to Help You Remodel Your Home
· Figure out how much money you have to spend on your home renovation project.
· Seek referrals from friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and others who have had similar work done.
· Check out local online forums and Local Newspaper forums. Type into the Google Search Engine , “your local city” example: “Ventura online forum”…and you will get results to local online forums. This website came up as a result for searching “Ventura Online Forum”: http://www.topix.com/forum/city/ventura-ca . In Ventura The Newspaper had an online forum and this is the link to give you an idea of what you are looking for as an example of a local newspaper online forum
· Contact remodelers trade associations such as your area’s local home Builders Association, Remodelers Council or the National Association of the Remodeling Industry known as “Nari”
· Check with your local Better Business Bureau or local state office of consumer protection.
· Check with the Chamber of Commerce
· Verify the remodeler has the appropriate license(s) in your state and that they are current.
· Look for professional certifications, associations and designations.
· Ask your professional remodeler for a written estimate of the work to be done based on a set of plans and specifications.
· Be prepared to pay for this package.
· Select a professional remodeler who is a specialist with your type of project.
· “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten.” The lowest price does not ensure a successful remodeling project. My Father once taught me that it is better to pay a little more to get the job done right the first time so you do not have to pay over and over again.
Home Renovation Tips - Remodeling Tips
When considering remodeling your home, ask yourself:
Do I want to add a bathroom and possibly a bedroom to the main level?
How can I make my kitchen more functional?
How much money can I budget for this project?
Will other members of my family benefit from modifications?
Will remodeling increase the energy efficiency of my home?
Where do I find a professional I can consult with about my needs?
Photos are a great way to get your point across. Take photos of different parts of houses and show your remodeling specialist. The General Contractor and his team of expert tradesmen are skilled in building, but you have the vision of how you want your remodeling project to look! You must be the creator and be able to share that vision with your general contractor.
Look through magazines that contain a multitude of pictures of renovated and decorated homes to find the layouts you want. Cut these pictures out and put them in a file to show your contractor.
Find the homes you like in your area or take photos of the ones out of your area and tell your contractor you want it to look like this, and if you want to add some minor modifications like a different color for the cabinets.
A qualified contractor should be able to recreate the photo and to make any changes to that picture that will be necessary. Get final drawings of the overall design so that you know you’re both on the same page.
One of the classic home remodeling tips is to maximize resale value by spending your money in kitchens and bathrooms first. Have your contractor install fine crown molding which can really dress up your house.
Instead of wasting time giving directions over the phone, print out directions to your house and fax them to your contractor.
Local building codes require a certain number of electrical outlets in a room. However, some electricians will slap the plug-in outlets into the walls in an unattractive configuration when you consider where the phone and cable jacks are going.
Tell your electrician exactly where you want the outlets and jacks to be and how high you want them. Hide your new outlets and jacks behind the furniture.
Be sure that your painter saves you some paint in the cans for touch-ups and duplication later.
When renovating, it is important to specify to your contractor what you expect with your drywalls. Some contractors will screw in the ceiling drywall, but nail in the walls. With fluctuations in humidity, the nails invariably pop out within a few years at the latest. Screwing the drywall in takes a lot more time, and the contractor may charge extra, but I generally think it’s worth it in order to have the job done right the first time.
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