Remodeling Home: Things Not to Do When Remodeling your Home

When you don’t want to leave your family home, but it doesn’t meet your current needs, the solution is to remodel your home. Maybe your kitchen or bathroom need updating. Do you need a little extra room for a growing family? What your home needs is A+ construction & remodeling.

Whatever the reason may be for remodeling your home, here are 5 things NOT to do when remodeling your home.

Don’t forget your home’s exterior and yard

When considering how to remodel your home, your first thoughts may be improving your kitchen and bathroom or adding some extra room with an extension. However, the first impression anyone gets when visiting your home is the exterior and front yard.

Simply adding a fresh layer of paint to your exterior woodwork can completely change the look of your home. Exterior lights that illuminate your garden path or driveway can improve the aesthetics and also aid security. Careful landscaping can enhance the appearance of your home rather than hiding it behind shrubbery.

One clever trick used by English aristocrats in bygone years was to fool visitors into thinking the surrounding beautiful countryside as part of their private garden by using a simple illusion called a Ha-ha. The ha-ha is a wall that provides a strong barrier around your property, but the ground on your side of the wall is raised so that from the viewpoint of your home there is no visible barrier.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew

Doing a large proportion of the remodeling yourself rather than contracting a builder to do the job can help keep costs down. Also, using the cheapest builder saves money. However, you must be careful.

Don’t take on tasks you are not experienced enough or qualified to complete. When changing household electrical wiring, fitting kitchen appliances, or plumbing in new bathroom fittings, a poor job may cause danger for you and for others.

You may also be breaking the law when the task requires specific certification from local authorities. And you won’t save any money if you damage an appliance you are attempting to fit and are then forced to purchase another.

When employing a builder who quotes the lowest fee, ensure they are adequately experienced and qualified for the job. Seek references or check out their reviews online. Many con artists use inferior materials or employ workers who cannot perform basic tasks to standard.

Some fraudsters simply take your money and then disappear. Ensure that your builder is experienced, qualified, certified, and reputable before handing over any cash or providing access to your home.

Don’t ignore your neighbors

It’s your home, so why do you care what your neighbors think? Well, for one thing, you have to live next to them for the foreseeable future. Do you really want them to hate you because you opened a new window in your roof that overlooks their swimming pool?

Take into consideration how your remodeling will impact on surrounding properties. Perhaps bounce ideas off your neighbors before committing to any expense with an architect, planning applications, or materials.

You never know. Your neighbors might even provide you with ideas about how to remodel your home effectively that you never considered. This is especially true when a group of houses was built by the same construction company and your neighbors have already made the changes you’re proposing.

In some countries, neighbors can block certain alterations to neighbors’ homes by protesting against planning applications or citing obscure laws to ensure you don’t change your picket fence into a wall or extend your home across a forgotten right-of-way.

If you tell your neighbors in advance what you propose to do, they may be less likely to complain to prevent you from achieving your dreams.

Don’t underbudget

People often underestimate how expensive remodeling can be. Advertisements from building companies and articles sponsored by the corporations that manufacture DIY or building projects often give the impression that building extensions or new kitchens are much cheaper than they really are.

You need to be certain you know exactly how much that new wraparound porch will cost.

Before beginning that remodeling project, budget carefully, and explore all the options. Consider options like re-used materials. Timbers and weathered bricks were taken from a demolished Victorian building that is structurally sound can add more character to your home.

Look for bargains where manufacturers are selling off the last items from a range or wholesalers have gone into liquidation.

Be wary of getting into debt you cannot repay. The whole point of remodeling your home is to improve your family’s quality of life. Payments you cannot afford will most certainly prevent this.

Don’t make big changes without the necessary permissions

It’s shocking how many people make huge changes to their property while unaware that they are breaking the law. They either make changes that are not allowed for their home or that breach quality and safety regulations in their state.

Before you rip out those original blown-glass windows in your antebellum farmhouse or colonial plantation house, carefully check what your local authority allows and demands during a home remodeling.

The most important factor is where you live. Certain small changes to your property may be allowed without filling in any paperwork with local officials.

For example, in many areas, you will be allowed to add a small porch or garden room to your property as long as it is less than a certain size, which is usually stated as a fixed proportion of the existing property.

The second consideration is the type of building you inhabit. If your home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places or your local equivalent then it may be impossible for you to make any alterations at all.

When you do make changes to a historic property, there will often be regulations in place to ensure that the alterations are in character with your home’s original structure and its surrounding area.

The final factor is your local building regulations. In order to ensure your safety, as well as that of your guests and neighbors, local authorities impose certain minimum safety and quality standards.

You need to know what these are and also ensure that any builder or contractor you employ to help you remodel also follows the requirements.