Renovating your current home is a good idea if you want to breathe new life into your home or transform the look and feel of your personal space without relocating. It is also the ideal solution if you have a growing family and love living where you are.
However, home renovations involve a lot more than is shown on TV. There are a number of things that should be put in place if you want your home renovation project to be a success.
If you are looking to transform your current abode into your dream home, here are some essential factors and steps that will help you plan a successful renovation and create the exact home you have always wanted.
Determine how long you intend to live in your current home
The length of time you have left in your current home will determine the scope of your renovations. If you will be living there for a few months or years more, then you will likely not need to make big changes, unless you intend to put the house up for sale when leaving. In that case, you want to carry out renovations that will boost the value of your house, as well as solve your immediate upgrade needs.
If on the other hand, you intend to live in the house for many more years, or it is something you want to keep in your family for generations, then you will have to consider renovations that add more space, improves structure, and makes allowance for current and future trends.
At the end of the day, your decision will likely affect your choice of materials, and consequently your expenses, as you will want to get quality materials that will stand the test of time.
Determine the current and future needs of your family
This is where home renovation gets a bit more personal. Before investing in home renovations, you have to first determine how your plans will affect you and the people living in the house.
For example, if you live with an elderly family member who prefers to “age in place”, that is live at home rather than move to a facility, or if you have a family member with physical disabilities at home, then you have to take these factors into consideration when planning for a renovation. For instance, you may have to opt for having a bedroom and toilet facilities on the down floor and install handholds and ramps at all the right places.
Another thing to consider is your personal status at the time of renovation. If you are single with intentions to get married, you want to renovate and get a home that will fit in with your new married status and is a place where you can raise a family. You don’t want to spend huge sums of money renovating only to relocate after getting married or when a child comes.
Determine what your new house will look like
Before striking the first hammer or contracting a master builder/ contractor, it is important that you have a firm idea of what your new house will look like. Having some ideas beforehand will make it easy for you and the contractor you will hire to accelerate the design and renovations process.
Thankfully, it is very easy to get Auckland house renovation ideas online, such as by looking going through house and design magazines, spending some time on Pinterest, and doing a simple Google search. Be sure to review your ideas with your designer so that you can get their professional input.
While the aesthetic value of your renovated house should not be underrated, it is equally important that you factor in how it will affect the balance of your neighbourhood.
For instance, if your neighbourhood has a tailored design structure for every house, going outside this uniform design will affect the aesthetic balance of the place. This is partly why some types of renovations require that the owner get permission from the local council.
Find out if you need permission to carry out renovations
As already pointed out, some types of home renovations require that you obtain permission from your local council. This particularly applies to major renovations that will either affect the structure of the house or the planning of the neighbourhood.
Finding out if you will need planning permission or building consent for your renovations work is simply a matter of engaging your local building council. If your planned renovation requires approval, you will need to submit an application that contains the new plans and design specifications.
If you plan to hire a contractor or master builder for your renovation work, this individual or their agency may be able to help you get the necessary paperwork and building consent approval.
Determine your renovation budget
There is one final thing you need to put in place to avoid jeopardizing your renovation plan – that is your renovation budget.
Many homeowners have gotten stuck midway home renovation because the renovations expenses got away from them. But this is a situation that can be avoided when you make a proper renovation budget.
To get started, first find out how much materials cost, how much labour will cost, and determine any other miscellaneous expenses you will have to deal with. When you have all the necessary information, add at least a 20% mark-up in case an unforeseen cost crop up.
Be sure to work with your contractor when creating a budget so that you take all the necessary costs into account.
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