Home Renovation –How You Can Save Money and Hassle
Home Renovation How You Can Save Money and Hassle
Indeed it is true that most of the stories you hear about home renovations are replete with tales of cost overages, poor workmanship, delays and even lawsuits. This is fairly typical and there are actually a number of good reasons the problems occur.
Most homeowners have little to no construction experience and even less experience dealing with contractors.
Unfortunately a high percentage of residential renovation contractors are minimally qualified, minimally financed and have a questionable work ethic. Many of these folks literally operate out of the back of their pickup truck while feigning a real business operation. In spite of this a number of them end up doing an acceptable, if not good job when all is said and done.
The biggest and most consistent problem in this scenario is frankly the homeowner's desire to rely on verbal descriptions of the project as he sees it and on the contractor's promises to get him what he wants for a price they mutually agree on. Typically there is little documentation of the project beyond a standard form agreement usually created and presented by the contractor. The homeowner knows that an attorney will charge a good bit to review the document and will likely add a lot of legal jargon to justify his fee, thus complicating the situation. Again, the homeowner honestly wants to trust that the contractor is honest and competent and that he will perform as agreed so he ends up signing the written agreement assuming that all will be fine. Little does he know that this contract, created by or for the contractor, is not only extremely vague relative to the project at hand but it is also weighted significantly in favor of the contractor in virtually any potential disagreement or conflict. Often the lack of sufficient verbiage offers the implication or inference that the contractor is the professional in this situation, therefore the contractor's interpretation of almost any project related item will be the correct one. If you are a homeowner planning a home renovation this should make you very nervous (and cautious).
So how can you, the homeowner, at least minimize your exposure and maximize your control over the project's outcome? Simply stated the answer is "define your project". This is something you need to do well in advance of your first meeting with a contractor. Essentially the process is to describe what you want your project to include or to be in as much detail as you can. Obviously different people will have different ways of describing things. While a drawing or set of drawings is probably the best and most reliable method of describing your project not every homeowner is equipped to create meaningful drawings of this nature. You could hire an architect, engineer or even a knowledgeable drafts person to do this for you but the cost of getting it done properly may be prohibitive depending on your budget and the size of your proposed project. The alternative is, of course, a verbal description of what you envision. Obviously this should be done in writing, although you can use a portable recorder to start out. Essentially you would start in one of the areas to be renovated and describe, in as much detail as you can, what you expect. This would include removing walls, doors, windows, etc., possibly raising ceilings, moving electrical devices, cabinets, etc., etc. At the same time you would describe the finished product that you envision. It is important to keep the demolition (removal items) and new construction items or descriptions separated to avoid confusion. As you walk through the area to be renovated doing this, be sure to be reasonably methodical and consistent in your approach.
When this procedure is completed it is often best to get away from it for a day or two and then look back at the overall description. At this point it is important that you walk back through as objectively and critically as possible and try to make sure your description is clear and concise and that the route of what you described as you walk through the project area' is logical.
Then, if you really want to be sure you have done what you think you did, have your spouse or a friend who has never seen the description walk through and see if they can follow the description and understand what you are after. It is important to ask them to be very objective and to tell you about anything in the description that may be unclear, ambiguous or just sounds silly'. An objective review by an uninvolved, unbiased party is an excellent check.
This process could save you untold amounts of money in cost overages and a tremendous amount of hassle related to what your intent was and what the contractor says he agreed to do.
Having generated, proofed and validated your project description you are now ready to meet with a contractor. The description you generated together with any mutually agreed modifications to it should ultimately be attached to your contract or written agreement with the contractor as an official "exhibit".
5 Things you should know about Kitchen Cabinets Different Carpet Cleaning Methods Bathroom Cabinetry Essentials – What to Look for? Prevalent Kitchen Area Improvement Issues You Could Evade Experienced Real Estate Professionals Use Podcasting to Gain More Prospects The Strength and Beauty of the uPVC Door The Lowdown on Steam Carpet Cleaning What are Double Glazed Doors Make your kitchen special with the rugs Home Improvement Plan and Shopping Guideline Wooden Childrens Furniture Must-Know Facts Stylish yet Functional Home Design Tips What to Look for in a Removal Company