As projects go, there are few more complicated than home renovation projects. Most are older homes with older plumbing, heating and electrical systems that need updating themselves in addition to tying into the proposed new work. Homeowners dealing with the demands of work and family now have the enormous To Do List that these projects represent, a full time job unto themselves, not to mention the time and budget pressures added in to the mix. It's not easy. Here are three suggestions to help keep construction going smoothly:
1. Set up a Schedule. In a perfect world, all decisions would be made before construction starts but that almost never happens and somethings demolition has to happen first to know what choices you have in front of you. So for those "To Be Selected" items, it really helps to know by what date decisions need to be made on things such as finishes, fixtures and colors for the job to continue to operate on schedule. Setting up a flow chart with the builder at the beginning of the process can help you avoid a rush of last minute decisions and charges for delays later on. Don't forget to enough time - often it takes weeks of searching to find the right combination of items.
2. Get Organized. Having a checklist and keeping everything in one place can help you see what you've selected and what is still needed. Binders are a great help with this. For our renovation, I used one for the whole house with dividers for each room and a separate binder just to handle the kitchen. Everything went in: shopping lists, pictures from magazines, sketches, brochures, business cards, paint colors, invoices etc.
What we like to see: a well organized job site.
3. Be Prepared. And by this I mean mentally. Knowing that expecting the unexpected is par for the course in renovations can help you handle them in stride. It's generally considered a standard rule of thumb to budget 5% for unanticipated costs during construction and I would add that the older the house or more complex the addition, the higher that figure should be.