If you’re a homeowner, you’ve probably considered home improvement at one point or another, be it a minor one or on a large scale. As exciting as it can be, it also involves a lot of work and planning, as there are many moving parts and ideas to guide your decisions. Renovating your home can also take up a chunk of your finances, with the US having homeowners spend an average of $7,560 when refurbishing their homes. Therefore, it’s vital for you to know the right things to do and what to avoid to make it as effective as possible. Below are some common home improvement errors to watch out for, so that you can yield your desired results.
- Insufficient planning
No matter the scale of your project, it’s crucial that you carefully plan before you start. The planning stage involves identifying why you want to renovate in the first place, the scale of the changes, whether you’ll want to hire professional help throughout the project, and how long you expect everything to take. This step involves a lot of research as well to help you make informed decisions.
As you plan, you’ll also need to consider your finances and prepare for a rainy day if any unforeseen circumstances arise. For instance, what can you do to protect your appliances and systems throughout the renovation process? Getting a home warranty is a prudent step to take so you don’t have to worry too much about any damage to your most valued items.
- Rushing the whole process
Whether you’re just repainting a few areas of your home or changing some things altogether, rushing things could prove detrimental to your overall results. It would help if you took your time throughout the process to get things right and minimize the risk of you having to do the work all over again. Although it’s best to have timelines within which you’d like to complete your project, you should also leave a little room for flexibility to ensure things are done with the utmost quality and the bigger picture in mind.
- Taking up the whole project by yourself
DIY is a popular option during home renovations but can pose a few problems if you don’t do it correctly. You may not always be able to do everything by yourself, as you may end up feeling overwhelmed and worn out, which could, in turn, reflect in the final work. Additionally, if the nature of your home improvements is technical and involves aspects such as your roofing, windows, etc., it’s prudent to hire professional help. Doing this will help reduce the incidence of any injuries and prevent any extra costs you may have had to deal with if your DIY route didn’t go according to plan.
- Doing your flooring before anything else
There may be several flooring ideas you want to explore, but it’s best to wait till you’re done with other aspects of your renovation before doing your flooring. There will be a lot of movement during your home improvements, which will undoubtedly affect your flooring. Therefore, to avoid any damage to your floors, it would help if you saved the best for last. You can move your furniture in, do all the paint jobs, etc., before you start making changes to your flooring.
- Always opting for the lowest prices
Although you may want to save costs as much as possible during your renovation, you still have to keep high quality in mind in all your decisions. The lowest prices may not always guarantee a job well done. To ensure you make the best choice for yourself, you can start by comparing prices, requesting samples, etc. Such measures will help you make good choices without breaking the bank, but at the same time maintain quality.
If you plan to get experts to help with your home improvement, some factors worth considering include their reputation, reviews, and expertise. If a vendor offers the lowest prices, they may be cutting corners, negatively affecting your project. It would be best to ensure that they’re genuine and set clear working conditions before you start your journey with them.
- Making all your changes at once
If your renovation approach is disorganized, you may not know which aspects to prioritize and end up making several changes at once. Doing this could negatively affect your finances and prevent you from sticking to your budget. Additionally, you may end up rushing through everything because you’ve taken up so much at a go. There’s no harm in starting small; for instance, you can work on the areas of your home you feel you won’t immediately use while preparing for the other rooms. Making gradual changes will also make it easier for you to monitor the process, identify if you need to make some further changes, and ensure that the final result is in line with what you wanted in the first place.
- Choosing several trends at a go
One exciting aspect of home improvements is choosing styles that reflect your preferences and add a new touch to your space. However, it would help if you guarded against choosing too many trends at once, as the final work may end up looking too crowded and disorganized, defeating the purpose of your renovation. There’s always a new idea to try, but it would help if you chose a style that complements your current design to add a modern touch and maximize functionality. Another significant reason you shouldn’t combine several trends is that it may make it difficult for you to sell your home if you finally decide to.
- Poor communication with your contractors
If you hire professional help for your renovation, it’s essential to partner with them throughout the entire process. Although you may be confident that they’ll do as you’ve asked, you also need to constantly monitor and communicate with them to ensure everything is on track. You may not always have to be around physically. Still, you can also get a family member to check in occasionally to keep you updated or speak with your contractor regularly over the phone. Doing this will minimize the incidence of waiting until the project is over before you point out your concerns and ensure your renovation ends on a high note.
- Forgetting your exterior
If the changes you’re making are on a large scale, you shouldn’t only focus on what you can do inside. Doing that could affect the overall effectiveness and quality of your improvements. For instance, if you’ve redone your kitchen but forgot to repair your roof, any leakages could damage the beauty of your renovation, and you may most likely have to do it all over again. Again, if you’re thinking of repainting, you should consider whether you need to paint the exterior as well. You should prioritize your exterior as much as your interior to ensure your home will be in good condition, yield excellent results and boost your curb appeal as a plus.
To conclude, you may renovate your home for several reasons: a growing family, a desire to give your home a new look, etc. Whatever the reason, it’s essential to keep the above-listed points in mind so you know which mistakes to avoid. Making these mistakes could prove costly, affect the overall quality of your project, and make you feel overwhelmed. As you prepare to refurbish your home, you should also prioritize safety. Remember to ensure that you and anyone around during the renovations always observe essential safety rules to avoid dangers or injuries.
