Whether you’re renovating your very first home or you’re a seasoned veteran onto your 10th property, unexpected projects always pop up. This can be incredibly frustrating–but manageable!
And the sooner you work with your designer or general contractor to get these projects out of the way, the smoother the rest of your renovation will be. Here are some of the most common hidden home renovation projects we run into:
1 Building Permits
Dependent upon where you live, building permits may or may not be fixed costs. Sometimes they exist on a sliding scale or as a percentage of the overall cost of your home renovation. They can also take time to secure, and time is money!
2 Temporary Displacement
If you’re doing more than painting a few rooms, you and your family will likely have to move out of your house for a few weeks or even a few months. Consider these accommodations when evaluating your overall budget. Even if you are able to stay in your home, if your kitchen is being redone, you likely won’t be able to prepare your own meals, which can involve an added expense as well.
3 The Gross Stuff
If you’ve bought a beautiful older property and intend to maintain it, you’ll be discouraged to learn you may have mold, water damage from plumbing issues, or asbestos. These issues greatly impact the structure of a home and the health of its inhabitants, which is why we always always always insist upon a thorough home inspection prior to getting to the fun projects so we can take care of the necessary evils first.
4 Shoddy Wiring or Other Code Updates
An older home may be improperly wired, or generally not up to code. Building codes vary from city to city, and though you may not be planning on it, you may find your home needs requiring to be brought up to code. Luckily this won’t take too long and you can move onto more exciting cosmetic projects quickly!
5 Outdoor Maintenance
It takes a lot to maintain a gorgeous yard, especially if you have a lot of land. Talk to your landscape architect about yard maintenance so you’re aware of all your options, like automatic sprinklers and water reduction systems that help limit or recycle your water usage.
6 Clean Up
Construction sites get messy! It can be discouraging to have your beautiful new home finished but have left over materials strewn about. Be clear up front about who is responsible for clean-up and clean-up costs after a construction project or design installation. Cities charge different amounts to have dumpsters parked on the street. And after having installers track dirt around, you’ll likely need new flooring professionally cleaned.
7 New Walls
If you want to remove a beam or other structural element of the home, that can usually be done, but it will cost you. In order to maintain the home’s structural integrity, added walls or reinforcement have the potential to inflate your overall budget by 15-20%.
8 Hourly Fees
Use your consultation time wisely! Many (if not most) designers will charge an hourly rate, similar to that of a lawyer. If new necessary projects are discovered or there are delays, it can inflate your overall budget.
9 Moving Furniture & Storage
During a giant overhaul, you may need to remove any existing furniture and have it placed in storage for the duration of construction. Consider the logistics and timeline that moving and storing existing belongings entails in determining your overall budget.
10 Changing Your Mind
Once a design/build plan has been decided upon, a clearer picture of how much it will cost will begin to fall into place, closing the gaps in the price ranges designers or contractors give you. Because of that, if you change your mind it will cost you. Your designer will have to go back to the drawing board, implement the design change, put in new orders for materials, which will likely have either longer lead times or will cost more for rush shipping.
Our Advice: 3 Tips for Managing Expectations
- Your home is never really completely “done.” Accept that. Even with impeccable design and structural integrity, things around the home will always require upkeep whether that’s in the form of replacement or slight upgrade so ask your designer and contractor questions about down the line: 5 years out, 10 years out.
- Consult with a general contractor or designer who can give you realistic budgets and timelines for your home improvement projects: if a designer or contractor gives you too firm a budget or timeline, rather than a range, without having first done a deep home inspection into your personal needs, run for the hills and find someone who will!
- Take your time! We’ve written before about how overwhelming home renovations can be, especially when you try to do everything at once. Most design projects can wait, so be sure to prioritize. We shared even more specific tips on how to prioritize your home improvement projects in last week’s blog: Read it here.
