Starting a Remodel

Deciding to remodel your home can be a stressful situation. You may be without a bathroom or a kitchen, your access to your home may be impeded by your intent to improve it, you may have to (almost assuredly) deal with dust for a while, and you most likely will second guess yourself at least a couple of times. Relax, it's all okay. Take things one step at a time. First, think of the end product. How are you going to use it? How much do you think you will enjoy it? Is it something you've waited a long time to do? Does it improve your home? If "yes" is an answer to any of those questions, you're on the right path. Some people think they should remodel to improve the resale value of their home. This is true in some cases, but it should not be your sole motivation for going through the process. Some areas of the home provide a better return on your investment by way of resale dollars, but NONE of them return dollar of dollar. In best case scenarios, such as kitchen remodels, it is possible to get an 85% return on value. So if this was your sole motivation, you just invested in something that lost you 15%.

Now, it may seem I am not selling the remodel process very well, but hear me out. If you do this same remodel to improve performance of your kitchen, or have always wanted to remodel your kitchen, and you know you will enjoy it and it will last longer or hold up better, then you have not only improved your resale value, you have improved your lifestyle value. The same holds true for bathroom, bedrooms, patios, etc. You have to weigh your lifestyle enjoyment as part of the equation for making the decision to remodel or add on to your home.

Now that you've established your motivation for wanting to remodel, your next step would be to decide specifically how extensive of a remodel you want to do. Most people would LIKE to re-do it all at once, but it doesn't always work that efficiently for most. How long can you really last without a kitchen, bathroom and your closets? Not long. This is where you live, where you come home and want to relax. So it will seem like the contractor is taking FOREVER, even if he is working hard every day. Trust me, I have done enough remodels to know that when you tear apart someone's personal space, they seem to notice. So, if you decide how much you can handle, it will be a much more enjoyable experience for all involved. On that point, get a schedule from the contractor. Every contractor should be willing to submit a schedule with his budget estimate. It's his job to know how long it should take and to let you know what will be happening each day. Communicating these expectations helps everyone be on the same page and reduces unnecessary stress.