On paper, some renovations are classed as ‘simple’. However, by the end of the project, most people are left with few hairs remaining on their head. Put simply; the construction beast is a tricky area to conquer. Whether you are sat in the homeowner or contractor camp, the same issues crop up time and time again and mean that delays often come par for the course.
Sometimes, these hiccups just can’t be avoided. However, there are also some occasions where you can plan a little differently and ultimately make the project run a lot more smoothly. Whether you are working on a kitchen renovation or building a completely new extension, let’s tune into some universal suggestions that can help your plight through these challenging projects.
Seasonality is key
Granted, a kitchen renovation probably falls outside of this issue, but on the whole, seasonality is going to affect most larger renovation projects.
Winter is a time where delays are completely common. Particularly if you are contemplating any external building work, frost and the generally cold weather can mean that it’s not physically possible to carry out. Then, there are the workers themselves, who obviously need added winter protection to deal with the elements. In short, if you can plan your project to avoid this time of the year, you’ll be doing your timescales no-end of favors.
Go as granular as possible with costs
There is a time and a place for doing guesstimates – and most of us get this completely wrong. While putting together a rough idea of costs as you weigh up your project is straightforward enough, but as soon as you commit to it, you need to make sure you have dug as granularly as possible.
This tip applies whether you are the client or contractor. One of the worst things that can happen to a project is for it to run over cost because the necessary due diligence hasn’t been performed beforehand.
Research the paperwork requirements
In some countries, the building laws are quite relaxed. In others, well, they’re not.
Regardless, there is probably some red tape that you need to navigate for this project. If we take the UK as an example, it might be seeking the necessary planning permission. Granted, this is only going to be applicable for particularly large extensions, but it’s worth being aware of.
Then, there is building control. Again, it’s not going to be something that is required for every project that you get involved in, but you will tend to need to get a lot of projects signed off – particularly if they are interfering with the structure of a building.
You commit to tight deadlines
It sounds simple, but it happens a lot. Huge contingencies should be built into most of your renovation projects, as very few end on time. We don’t have any hard and fast statistics to hand, but try not to pressure yourself into finishing something for a set date. If you do, there’s every chance you’ll be disappointed, and changing plans could be costly.