Are you considering starting some home renovations? Renovating your home can be both exciting and stressful. The exciting part is when you can envision the end result and how beautiful things will look when you are done renovating. The stressful part is the actual renovation process, including any nasty home renovation mistakes that may happen along the way.
Whether you are doing the renovations or hiring someone to do the home renovations for you, things can quickly become frustrating, especially if this is your first time.
Before you begin any home renovation projects, you want to read this, and make sure to avoid all of these top 10 Nastiest Home Renovation Mistakes.
Skipping the Planning Stage of Your Home Renovation
All too often people decide it is time for a change in their home and they simply begin tackling the job without having a plan in place.
When it comes to home renovations you cannot simply wing it.
If you do you will quickly make renovation mistakes which will probably cost you way too much money.
A well planned home renovation should include exactly what work you want done, who will do the work, and how long it will take.
Poor Budgeting for Home Renovations
Renovating a home without having a budget in place is one of the biggest and nastiest home renovation mistakes people make.
As your mother always said “money doesn’t grow on trees”.
The cost to renovate a home can add up quickly, and if you are not careful, you could end up draining your savings or maxing out your credit.
Before you begin any work, go over your list of what you want to work on and begin figuring out how much everything will cost, right down to the last nickel.
From there, make decisions about what you can truly afford to work on and what you may have to leave for later.
During the entire home renovation project you want to make sure that you manage your budget well or you will be sorry in the end when there is more work than money.
Taking Incorrect Measurements
Incorrect measurements, even by a quarter of an inch, will cause you so much grief.
As you walk through your home with your project list of the work you want to do, and you begin taking measurements, make sure to take the same measurements three times and write everything down.
Always make sure you know how to measure.
For example, if you are adding new window blinds to your living room windows, you need to know exactly which measurements of the window are required before you order your new blinds.
Otherwise, if you order your new blinds and you made a mistake when measuring, and they do not fit, you cannot return them.
The same goes for a new counter top for your kitchen, for example. If you decide to install a new counter top and your measurements are wrong, obviously it will not fit right. But worse yet, you will be out that money, because you will not be able to return it, since it will be custom cut based on your measurements.
Taking the wrong measurements can quickly blow your budget when doing home renovations.
Forgetting to Update the Electrical System
Older homes often have outdated electrical systems which can be very expensive to upgrade.
If you are doing a renovation, such as remodeling your kitchen for example, make sure that your electrical systems are up-to-date.
And if they are not current, make sure to hire a licensed electrician to rewire your house properly.
Before you hire one, speak to several electricians, and compare their prices, and get references for their work. Then you can make a good decision on who to hire, without wasting money.
Forgetting to Update the Plumbing
There is nothing worse than tearing a bathroom or kitchen apart only to find that the plumbing is old and rusted or cracked. Yuck!
If your home is older and your home renovation includes plumbing, again, make sure that you find out exactly what type of work needs to be done to bring your home up to code and how much it will cost.
Those costs need to be included in your budget, so start calling your local plumbers and get estimates. Estimates need to include material and labor.
Also ask each plumber about their availability, and ask for references.
Include all of that information in your home renovation plans. This will help you make the right decisions, which in turn, will save you money.
Choosing the Wrong Contractors
Another one of the biggest home renovation mistakes that people make is hiring the wrong contractors to work with.
Whether you are hiring an interior designer, general contractor, electrician, or a plumber, you always want to make sure you are working with licensed contractors.
Fortunately, in the US you can do an online license search to verify if the person you are hiring is licensed.
Before you hire anyone you want to meet them in person to see if they are a good fit for you and your project.
As mentioned above, you want their references. You want to speak with a number of people that they have done work for, and it is always good to ask if you can see their work in a few other homes.
And never ever hire someone simply because they are the cheapest person to work with.
I have a friend that hires the cheapest contractor every time she needs work done in her home, and every time she has been ripped off. Actually, the last guy took her money, showed up for work the first day, even left his tools in her home, but never came back to finish the project.
Neglecting Permits
Some home renovation projects require permits and some do not.
It is up to you to find out which ones do, and if you are doing any of those projects, make absolutely sure that you take out the proper permits right away.
If you hire a contractor and they say they will get the permits for you, make sure you see a valid paper copy of them, before any work begins.
Neglecting permits can cause you grief if you ever have an issue that leads to an insurance claim. It can also be an issue when you sell your home.
Buying the Cheapest of Everything
There is nothing wrong with trying to find the best deal of both materials and labor. That is why your budget and planning is so important, and needs to be done first.
But as you make decisions about products to use in your home renovation and people to work with, always choose the best quality.
When it comes to home renovations, the best quality is important because the last thing you want to do is to go through all of these renovations now, and then have things break or fall apart in six months or a year from now.
Just the thought of having to do it all again, is nasty enough.
Lack of Contingency Fund
As discussed, managing your budget well is extremely important for any renovation project.
But we all know that even the best home renovation projects will run into an issue (or a surprise) at some point.
When you create your budget make sure that you allocate a certain amount of cash towards your contingency fund so that you can rest easy if you run into a major issue.
A general rule of thumb is anywhere from an additional 10 to 25% of the original cost of the entire project.
If you end up needing the extra cash for any nasty reno issues, it is there for you, and if everything goes smoothly, then just put that extra cash back in the bank.
Not Managing the Home Renovation Project Well
You might choose to do your home renovations on your own or you might choose to hire professionals.
Either way, you are the one paying the bills, so you still need to make sure you manage the project well from beginning to end, to avoid any nasty situations.
Yes, positive thinking is important, but when it comes to home renovations, never assume that things will just work out fine on their own.
If you have professionals working on your renovation you still want to make sure that things are going according to plan and budget.
Never be afraid to ask them questions.
Be extremely fussy when it comes to how the work is done and what the finished product looks like.
Whether you do the work, or you hire someone, make sure everything is done 100% right.
After all, you need to live there and you might want to sell your home one day too.
If you have renovated your home at some point in your life you most likely fell victim to at least one of these nasty home renovation mistakes.
Keep in mind that each time you work on a home renovation project you will learn new things and gain more experience, which will hopefully make your next renovation easier.
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