Doing a home renovation can seem like a daunting task – at times it can be almost as intimidating as building a new house from scratch. Coordinating with contractors, managing your bills and budget, keeping track of all the necessary permits – it can all be a bit overwhelming. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that most of us simply keep putting it off, turning a blind eye towards rows of cupboards that have stood by long past their lifetime, or sun-bleached walls that could desperately use a new coat of paint.

The thing is, a home renovation doesn’t have to be all that complicated or stressful. We’ve listed down a few simple steps and tricks you can follow when organising your renovation project. Not only will these help you demystify the whole process, but it’ll also help ensure that the final result is something you’re happy with and proud of.

Developing a plan for your home renovation

Often times with renovation projects, people adopt a process of dealing with each build task as it comes – little planning is involved and it’s more of a reactionary set of actions that follow one another. And in many ways, this is the root of the issue.

Planning everything out is essential for a stress-free renovation project. To start things off with, identify exactly why you want to renovate your house. Outline the end goals of your project and list down all the requirements you can think of. This will give you an all-encompassing idea about your project, which will come in handy as we move onto the next few steps.

It’s also a good idea to draw up blueprints or sketches of the final designs during this stage. In fact, it’s the best way to visualise everything you need for the renovation. Get your builder involved in the discussions that lead up to this; their expertise can prove invaluable for developing the most cost-effective approach that will live up to the final vision you’ve conjured up in your head.

Your builder can also help you figure out whether you need any permits for your home renovation. If you’re changing the structure of your house drastically or thinking of undergoing certain projects – like a garage conversion – you’ll need additional building permits. Mark all of these down along with your requirements; you can start applying for all necessary permits once you got everything else set and are ready to build.

Setting a budget for the project

Finances tend to make or break most building projects, and this can be particularly true of home renovations. When the costs start racking up without an ending in sight, quite often most people will simply call a ‘temporary’ halt to the project – it can always be restarted, right? Worse still, you might be compelled to rush towards the finish line, opting for a quick hack-and-slash approach for the remaining phases of the project.

Setting a detailed budget for your project prior to building commences will help offset these issues. To start off with, decide on how much you are capable of spending. Set aside around 1/10th of your budget for ‘unexpected expenses’. Now, start distributing your remaining amount for each phase of the project. An expert builder can be extremely useful here, and can help you efficiently distribute your resources –  they can point you towards the most efficient building techniques, materials and strategies. So, consider involving them in this process as well.

Your builder might give you cost estimates that exceed your budget. If so, go back and look at your plan, and see if you could do without some of the more lower priority elements of the project.

Hiring help

Now that your plans and budgets are sorted out, it’s time to get your build teams set up. Years of experience, proper licenses and certifications are what you need to be concerned with. It’s a good idea to talk with several different contractors before you settle on one. Remember, the whole home renovation process is a partnership between you and your team, and the success of the whole project will hinge on the strength and dynamics of this relationship. So get your builder right! You can go over the home renovations service we offer right here.

Now that we’ve gone over how an expert builder can help with both planning your design and developing your budget. Likewise, they can point you in the right direction when assembling your build team. Most builders already have a pre-established network of connections from prior projects, and they can pick and choose the best individuals that suit yours from it.

Developing a timeline for your home renovation

With your teams and budgets set, it’s time to create a timetable for your home renovation. You can begin from the start date or with the desired date of completion and work your way backwards – it’s up to you.

It’s especially important to have a detailed discussion with each of your contractors during this phase. Establish clear time-frames for each of your project’s elements, and allow a little wiggle room (around 2-3 days) for each on top of the expected duration.

Additionally, don’t forget to set time aside to seemingly benign activities like both pre and post project cleanups, shipping and delivery of building materials and potential holidays your contractors may want to take.

Getting started with your home renovation

With a detailed timeline created, you’re pretty much done with organising your home renovation. Now it’s time to get building!

With all the hard prep work you’ve done, the building process should be relatively smooth sailing – should you hit any rocky waves you can always fall back on the contingencies you have set up. By sticking to this relatively simple plan for organising your home renovation, you’ll have the project done in no time, and soon you’ll be relaxing in your new and improved house.