You’ve just bought a place and need to rip it out and start again, or you want to make your existing home work better for you. You can either manage everything yourself or you can call in an expert like The Home Stylist, to help save your sanity.
Not that we want to sway you, but here are a few pitfalls about managing your own renovation project that you need to know, before you go it alone.
Stress. Co-ordinating everything and everyone, so that tasks happen in the correct order, can be stressful
Lack of time- managing the project will take time. Time you may not have or that will eat into your leisure, work or family time
Schedule of works – knowing which tradesmen to use when
Trade contacts, relationships- do you know who to use, who will rip you off or do you need to research everything from scratch?
Trade discounts- do you have any?
Financial management- if you don’t have experience in this area, you could have problems
Trade management- ditto the above
Drawings and design ideas- do you even know what you want before you get the contractors in?
· Schedule management- again, any experience?
Peace of mind! If you manage everything yourself, do you know that everything will work out as you want and you know you won’t waste money?
And as an added bonus here is what to look for in a contractor….
Reliability
Reputation – has a few good references, not just one!
Good communication
Good trade contacts
Attention to detail
Check out at least a couple of the past projects and speak with the clients!
You personally like them – you will go through some very stressful times and you need to know that they can handle it.
One of our recent renovation clients, had this to say about our service.
““Our Home Stylist consultant, Lynne, advised on many design and construction aspects before and during the renovations. We used a Home Stylist recommended contractor to carry out the work. They completely fulfilled our brief and Lynne’s experience and skills were useful in reviewing our designs and suggesting alternatives that we had not thought about and helped us to choose appropriate materials and finishes. She was also an invaluable intermediary between us and the contractor; helping with schedules and avoiding unforeseen issues.
Both Lynne and our contractor Fred were excellent in regard to communication throughout the project and both gave us valuable and creative design input. We would definitely recommend the Home Stylist to our friends, in fact I have already recommended them to a colleague who is improving the exterior of their village house.”
At The Home Stylist, we can help with managing your renovation project; from translating your initial ideas into a workable design, to gaining the most from your contractors, with our architectural experience, our input is sometimes truly invaluable. Contact us now to ensure that at the end of your renovation, you will truly love your home!
10 Pitfalls of Managing Your Own Renovation Project….
