Constructions

Costly House Renovation Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs

House Renovation

Renovating your home is a big investment, and you can’t afford to make a mistake. Sadly, a lot of people’s dreams end up being stressful and costly nightmares. Fortunately, this does not have to be the case. Controlling costs and avoiding budget overruns must begin from the very beginning of the project. The aim is to avoid costly house renovation mistakes by seeking the assistance of construction experts.

It is affected by the team you select to work with, the brief you develop, the choices you make, and the paperwork you provide. Also, the way you engage with your contractor and the degree of discipline you maintain throughout the building process.

Here are four reasons why renovation budgets go over budget and some advice on how to avoid those costly house renovation mistakes.

1. Poorly established scope of work

This is one of the most common, costly house renovation mistakes that homeowners make. It may be difficult to determine where to begin and end when managing a renovation or expansion and limiting expenses. Unless you fully grasp this, you run the danger of experiencing substantial cost overruns while working on the project.

Having a clear idea of what needs to happen in your mind is just half of the answer. You’ll also need the ability to convey that idea to the tradespeople or the builder effectively. This is when your collection of documentation will come in handy. Included in your collection of paperwork should be a set of professionally produced plans and an Inclusions Specification. And this is a document that lists any items missing from the drawings, such as inclusions, fittings, and finishes.

So, what do you do to avoid this costly house renovation mistake? The house renovation company quoting the project must have access to this information to guarantee that the estimates are accurate, complete, and readily compared. Asking the builder to provide their own written Scope of Works and documenting what is excluded from their quotation is a smart approach to verify that their project concept is aligned with yours. Like reverse engineering, the best approach to show what is included is to explain what is not. That way, the builder may point out anything you might have overlooked, and you can eliminate any potential ambiguities.

House Renovation

Costly House Renovation Mistakes to Avoid #2 – Demolition

Demolition is a necessary and time-consuming part of any renovation or addition project. It’s also a little like opening a bag of worms since it’s difficult to predict what will happen after construction begins, which is why demolition often results in extra expenses. A wall must not be load-bearing before it is removed. If you don’t, you’ll have to account for the wall having to be restructured.

If at all reasonable, limit the amount of demolition and, if that isn’t an option, get expert guidance on how to handle the removal of load-bearing walls. Never make the mistake of thinking you can start from scratch after tearing down your previous home. It’s one of the common, costly house renovation mistakes that you must avoid at all costs.

3. The knock-on effect

When one choice affects many others down the line, the knock-on effect is one of the reasons renovation projects tend to leak money. To make a space seem larger, it may seem logical to eliminate a non-load-bearing wall. You must repair and patch the gaps left by removing this wall because it is also connected to the floor, the ceiling, and two other walls. So, how can you avoid this costly house renovation mistake?

If the knock-on effect is high, prices will rise since you will have to repaint the walls and ceilings that have been repaired. And because you don’t want it to seem as if you’ve just painted the patched walls. You will have to repaint not only the whole room. And remember that this is now one large room because you removed the wall,) but also the corridor that the room is now openly linked with. 

If you want to save the original hardwood floors, you’ll have to repeat this exercise because of the effect the removed wall will have on them. This will cost you more money. You may not avoid these expenses if you want to see the project through to the end. However, to properly budget, you’ll have to look at it as a whole and be honest with yourself about the expenses.

Read more

House Renovation

4. Electrical oversights

Electrical work is one of the most common places where the budget goes over the line. Builders will frequently include the basic minimum of electrical equipment in their estimates. Which may be as little as one light and one power point per room unless instructed differently. The batten holder with a globe is often all that’s provided in the way of light fixtures as well. There are extra costs for more light and power points (you will be charged per point) and real light fittings if you are unaware of this.

To add salt to the wound, any extra costs over and beyond those stated may be subject to a builder’s margin of up to 20% on top of those charges. Again, utilizing an Inclusions Specification helps guarantee that the bids provided by contractors or tradespeople are complete and meet your expectations. Once again, being well-prepared and well-informed is critical if you want to be honest about the expenses.

We at Unik Constructions aim to make sure that no one makes these costly house renovation mistakes. And for this reason, we’ve provided you with these suggestions today. Do you have a house renovation project that you need professional help to succeed? Please get in touch with us today; we can help you. 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.