Control Costs of Your Home Renovation Project
As I have moved around the country, I have renovated kitchens in three houses now. The most challenging occurred when I bought an 80-year old house in Lexington , KY, for it’s beautifully proportioned rooms and its “charm ” , overlooking the 40 year old kitchen and a steep stairway to the second floor. In part, I did it because I had seen so many bad renovations of otherwise charming houses in the area. When I finally finished renovation, the contractor told me I did a “great job of containing costs.” Here’s what I learned along the way:
1. Don’t accept a bad plan. Many designers like to dream, not stick to a budget. Be ready to fire an architect who won’t pay attention to your preferences or your budget. If you say “keep expansion to the footprint” and they say it can’t be done, try another designer before you throw in the towel.
2. If the price seems excessive for the job, keep checking. I found there is a huge variance in the cost estimate depending on how busy the renovator is. Ask the designer to recommend a list of ten or so who do your size job and who will give you a bid.
3. Make sure you have a firm contract that you understand. You should also get a firm timetable and a warranty. Check local remodelers’ associations for standards.
4. Make sure you understand and are happy with your plan before you begin. Most jobs are bid “as planned.” Every change will add to the design fee, as well as the cost.
5. Set your priorities. There were two things I wanted to do but ended up cutting. One was moving the washer and dryer to the first floor and the other was a fireplace in the kitchen. Each can be added later, and each cost an additional $5,000 beyond my budget. Changing the ceiling to reflect the roof pitch, a change mid-stream, cost an additional $1,000, but could not have been easily changed later on. Each time you get an estimate for a change consider: How much do I really need it right now? You will enjoy your renovation more if it is not straining your budget every month with big payments.
6. Make sure you re-use as much as you can. We re-used appliances, chose a standard free-standing stove over built-ins, and used less expensive cabinets without sacrificing the look we wanted. We even re-used white porcelain cabinet knobs. With new brass screws, they look great.
7. Pay attention to the choices – you want o choose the right quality of door and window, go over the electrical outlet placement carefully, and follow each step of the construction. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or stop progress if you’re not satisfied.
8.. Check the quality of what you get. If the contract stipulates cabinets with “three coats of paint,” make sure it’s true.”
8. When the job is almost finished, ask someone else to walk through with you and look it over. You have been looking at it every day and might not notice, for example, that the door doesn’t seem to line up correctly or that the access to the attic hasn’t been restored, or that you have holes next to holes where screws were misplaced. (All of these I saw too late…)
9. After it’s done, live with it for a year before you even consider any more changes. At first I was still missing that fireplace in the kitchen, but then I filled the wall with a tall cabinet and hung decorative plates on the wall – and now it’s home.
