5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Your Next Home Remodeling Project
Have you thought about what you really want from your home?
You may not know. All you may know at this point is you’d like to do something different. That’s okay. That’s the starting point.
However, you’ll end up saving yourself time and money when you consider the following questions:
- How Will Renovating One Room Affect the Others?
If you don’t know what you want to remodel yet, just consider how the rest of your home might appear if you remodel one room. For example, if you remodel your kitchen, how might that impact the way you feel about your living room, patio, and dining room?
- What’s Your Budget?
Your contractor will have their costs. But remember there can be costs outside of your contractor too.
For example, will your contractor, or a consultant, help you do the design for your remodel? Will you move out for a few weeks while the work gets done?
Will you replace your appliances, lighting fixtures, or furniture? And will your contractor take care of that for you?
Remember to talk with your contractor about what their price exactly includes. And ask them if you’ll have to search for any outside services, and what their costs might be.
- How Will You Use Your Newly Remodeled Room?
Will you use your room to entertain your guests? Yourself? Both? What’s the primary use going to be?
Or will it be more functional, allowing you to do more types of cooking in your kitchen, for example?
You’ll have to consider these questions and their answers carefully so you end up with what you want.
- How Important Is Sustainability to You?
Do you want your new remodeling project to be as environmentally friendly as possible? Does it need to put a premium on energy efficiency?
That may increase the cost of your project. But it will also reduce your energy costs too.
Consider what role sustainability plays in your project.
- Do You Like Your Contractor Enough to Work with Them for Weeks…And Maybe Months?
Working with a contractor is much like getting into a long-term relationship. You’re going to have to let them get into your personal space, and you’ll have to spend a lot of time with them, showing them what you want in your project.
Not only do you want to see the appropriate licenses, but you want to feel comfortable with your contractor as a person. Do you feel like you can trust them without having to supervise them? And, do you feel comfortable talking with them about practically anything related to your project, even your most serious concerns?
When you answer,”Yes,” to those questions, you’ve found a keeper.
If you don’t know all the answers to those questions, you may learn them as you talk to various contractors. Just make sure you find clear and definitive answers for yourself before making a choice.
