Your Home Improvement Project: Avoiding Mistakes
You have looked forward to that new addition to your home; it will provide the room your family needs. Or perhaps you have long planned to add a new porch, deck or patio to enjoy during the summer. Or you want to enlarge the kitchen area, upgrading the cabinets and counter tops to create the ideal place to practice your culinary arts. Whatever the reason, when you decide to make a major improvement in your home, you are enthusiastic, but you may be entering into territory fraught with danger. Many things can go wrong with a home improvement project. Here are tips on what to do in order to avoid costly mistakes.
First be very clear on exactly what work you want to have done, research materials and other costs, and get a fair idea of a price. Then it is time to seek a contractor for the job. Do not just rely on the phone book. Ask friends and neighbors if they can recommend a contractor. Call for bids, but do not just quickly accept the one with the lowest price. Check their references. Also check with the Better Business Bureau and online lists that rate contractors.
Finally, choose a contractor you feel you will enjoy working with; someone with whom you can have a frank conversation. There will be many obstacles and concerns to be sorted out during the construction.
Demolition needs to be done carefully. It can affect the existing structure in which you live. The workmen need to have an overall knowledge of the electrical and plumbing structures of your house, and especially the structural walls. Lack of caution can lead to an expensive error.
Make sure you have all the building permits needed. Lack of one can cause delay, wasting time and money.
Construction creates a lot of dust and debris. Your contractor needs to check whether any of this is toxic, from older building materials that may contain asbestos, formaldehyde or other toxic materials. These need to be removed carefully.
Where it is simply a matter of keeping your living space clean, place plastic covers over surfaces to protect them. Put up plastic sheeting that protects the rest of your house from the construction area.
Either you or the contractor should supply a dumpster for construction debris. Try to keep it well away from the house.
Make sure water or electricity or gas is shut off when necessary during construction, to protect both the workers and your home. There may be periods of time when you need to eat out, or do laundry elsewhere. Take this in stride and try to plan ahead for it.
In a major project there are bound to be some unforeseen problems, especially in an older house. Know that this is not unusual, and try to meet these with equanimity. Work with your contractor patiently, but at the same time let him know you expect him to keep the work on schedule as much as possible. You can place clauses in your contract that are punitive to unnecessary delays.
Make sure your floors are protected as workers wearing heavy boots. Dust and dirt that are tracked in during construction can damage floors. Hardwood floors especially should have a covering that protects them from scuffing.
With these tips in mind you can avoid some of the common mistakes made during home improvement projects. Keep the turmoil of the construction process under control, and save yourself from stress. Then when it is completed you will be able to enjoy the improvement happily, with no regrets.
