lessons from a professional
A lot of my clients have renovated before and swear to god they will never do it again. The thought of taking on another big project brought back the stress and anxiety still lingering from their last renovation. So they called me!
Renovating seems like an exciting and inspiring project to take on right? We’ve all seen the block! Those designs drive you to pick up the tools and give it a go yourself. But what they don’t show you is what happens behind the scenes… and let me tell you it’s not pretty!
It’s a lot of organisation, planning, yelling at people on the phone to do it faster, do it quickly and do it better. It’s a lot of solving the tough problems, balancing budgets, running the numbers and then running them again. Then the inevitable happens… you make a costly mistake. You have hired a builder mate to do the construction and he hasn’t followed any of your instructions, walls aren’t in the right place and the flooring isn’t the colour you discussed with him… what are you going to do now? Pay extra to re-cover the floors? Pay your builder to move the wall only to find he’s moved into the wrong place… again!
These mistakes can cost you a lot of money, time and not to mention put you in a lot of stress. If you are about to tackle a renovation but want to avoid repeating these mistakes or don’t want to make them in the first place… you have come to the right place!
1. Taking on to much
It’s so easy to get carried away and take it all on at once. But don’t spread yourself too thin. Give each room the attention to detail it deserves.
You can get overwhelmed very quickly by renovating your home in one fell swoop and unless you have a project manager or an interior designer on board, you are going to be the go-to person. Trades are going to have a million questions about every room and it is solely up to you to provide them with an answer… and when under pressure, it may not be the right one.
Add this on top of a full-time job or a couple of little ones occupying your time and you will wish you didn’t bite off more than you could chew.
My advice
To either hire a project manager or Interior designer or space your reno out in stages. The less you have to focus on at a time the better those spaces will turn out. It’s all in the details, and we can finesse those details without time and focus.
2. Taking quotes as final price
Gathering quotes at the design phase is integral to being able to foresee your project cost. It will help you plan out where your money is going and super important to keep you under budget!
However, quotes are just that… a basic estimation and not at all the cost you’re likely to end up with at the end of the project. Stuff happens, floor joists, asbestos rears its ugly head and pipes don’t meet code. Issue’s like this are likely to pop up in a renovation project. They always do. This can blow your budget out immediately and we don’t want that.
My advice
Give yourself a 10-25% allowance in your budget for costs that may crop up and surprise you. If you end up not needing all of that allowance, even better! Upgrade some tapware or buy some designer furniture and sleep well knowing you have come in under budget.
3. Living through a renovation project
The biggest mistake you could make is living on site through the renovation. I know it saves you cash but it won’t save your sanity. You will need to get used to never having privacy, trades will be in and out of your house everyday and sometimes at inconvenient times.
We all have a rough idea about how much dust accumulated on a work site… but times that by 100 and you’re closer to the reality of the sheer amount of dust that will be floating around your home. You could clean the whole place top to bottom, but get ready, the next day on site it will start all over again.
My advice
Get out of there! Move-in with some relatives or rent a property for the duration of the project. I know what you’re thinking… that cost’s money that could be put into the renovation. But trust me when I say it’s worth it.
4. Hiring a builder without a recommendation
If you are looking for a new doctor you don’t just rock up to the doctor’s surgery and just ask for anyone, do you? You ask your friends or family for a recommendation, especially ones with health issues that are regularly seeing doctors, you trust their opinion, right?
So why would you hire a builder without one? There are experts in every field and the construction industry is a multi-faceted, detail-oriented industry, so you want the very best on your project. (Even if that means forking out a bit more cash)
My advice
Ask friends or family who work in the construction industry for their recommendation. Even ring up your local joiner, tell them you have a renovation project and ask what builders they regularly work with. Take a couple of names down and give them a call, meet them for coffee or have them out to the site for a chat. You want to ensure you get along with them as a renovation can last up to 18 months, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with them!
Or if you are hiring an interior designer rest easy knowing they have a regular builder they work with and trust. We are highly detailed oriented people and we would not hire anyone B-grade.
5. Starting a renovation without being organised
Shit hits the fan pretty damn quick if you start a renovation and fumble your way through it without a clear plan. Organisation is key. You will make 100% more mistakes costing you time, money and stress if you don’t have a clear outline, budget and design.
Get a builder and a designer in as soon as you decide to renovate, even if that renovation doesn’t start for 6-12 months. A good interior designer needs time to ensure you get the most of your design, the more time you can give a designer the better the result. Same goes with builders, if you book them 12 months in advance they have time to prepare, do you up an accurate quote and assist you and the designer with the design.
My advice
Forecast the amount of money you have to put into the renovation, have a detailed budget ready including quotes from all of your trades and start researching products and materials. Design everything and start selecting all your fixtures ahead of time! Use Pinterest and Style Sourcebook to put all your ideas together!
So there you have it, the most common mistakes I see people make when renovating… and I see these made a lot! If you are going to take on a renovation project, spend time researching and planning, don’t rush into it and take your time. Hiring an interior designer can take a lot of this responsibility off your plate. They can do everything for you. The cost of hiring a designer can actually save you money in costly mistakes, help reduce your stress so you can enjoy the process and also save you a bucket load of time. Want to see my services?
Good luck on your next renovation!
Post your renovation project on social media with the hashtag #sddrenorookie and tag me @savannah_denny_designs
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