Brand New Life: How to Remodel Your Old House
By Jennifer Monroe
Breathing fresh air into your old house can sometimes be accomplished simply with a fresh coat of paint, but at others, it requires a remodel. At some point, every house requires a remodel, no matter how much TLC it was given over the years. The difficulty is knowing where and how to begin the process. There are so many different options for changing aspects of your old house, so it largely depends on what you want out of the remodel. In this article, there will be five tips to get you started on the process of remodeling your old house.
Plan it All Out
Before beginning your remodel, it is best to plan out what you want to be done and how you want the final product to look. This is because when you begin, you can get bogged down and lose sight of what you actually want, and change your mind halfway through. It is also advisable to consider why you are doing the remodel, if it is for you then you can really change it to suit all of your needs, however, if it is for an investment then it is better to look into popular trends before starting your project.
Have a Budget
Deciding how much money you have available to you for the remodel will definitely influence what you want to be done and how you’ll do it. Knowing your budget before you start is one of the best things you can do, otherwise, you could end up spending a lot more than you have available to you. Your budget will determine how much you can do, whether you will need to do the remodel in stages, and what materials you will have at your disposal.
Test for Hazardous Materials
When remodeling an older home, toxins will be lurking where you least expect them. Before you start tearing into walls and removing flooring or tiles, have your home tested for asbestos and lead, both dangerous health hazards. If you unknowingly disturb these materials during the remodel process, you could also be looking at a hefty price tag for the clean-up. Lead causes permanent cognitive damage, violent behavior, autism-like symptoms, loss of IQ and more. Asbestos causes lung-related disease like mesothelioma. Best to have a blueprint of where hazardous materials are so you can take proper precautions.
Do Your Research
When planning to remodel your home it is important that you delve into research; ask those around you who you trust and have done something like this previously for advice and look at the prices and different styles that could potentially be what you want your house to look like at the end. By researching there is a higher chance that you won’t have the wool pulled over your eyes and will feel more confident in your choices. It also helps in the sense that you will have others to tell you what will work and what won’t before it is built instead of going ahead with your vision then realizing it doesn’t have the impact you would want it to.
Think About What Needs to Stay
When remodeling your home, it is wise to investigate what can’t be moved from where it currently is. This is particularly true for things like a load-bearing wall because you will be unable to knock this down even if it is the main thing that you want to accomplish. It is also good to keep your small devices so you don’t have to spend extra money on buying new ones. Sometimes there will be ways around it, which is another way your research will come in handy, but otherwise, some things won’t be able to be adapted as you may want them to, so you’ll need to work the remodeling around this.
Contact a Professional
If you want something done in a specific way, or you feel that a job is beyond your skill set, it is best to call in a general contractor. Contacting a professional early on in the process can be handy as well because they can advise you of any pitfalls that may occur in both the planning and building stages. This is where doing research by talking to others who have already been there can come in handy, as they will either have recommendations or be able to tell you who to avoid, which is important as you will need to be able to trust the people who will be spending that much time in your home.
Final Thoughts
So, before you even begin any work, it is important that you look into the different points above. There is no reason that you won’t be able to accomplish the plans you want, but you need to be aware of all the work that is needed in the process of remodeling so that you aren’t caught off guard by anything.
