(Guest post by Marcus Lansky.)
Property renovations can be as much a source of frustration as excitement – if you want to cut costs, save time and ensure your first home project goes smoothly, you’ll need to be prepared. Here are a few of our top tips for east Oregon residents to help you succeed when it comes to renovations.
Types of Renovations
The possibilities for home renovations are endless, limited only by your imagination and budget. Try some of these examples to spark inspiration.
- Attic conversions: The attic has huge potential when it comes to improving property value and home utility. There are countless ways to modify this space, whether you’re repurposing it as an extra bedroom, art studio, viewing deck, or something else entirely.
- Garden studios: Utilizing the space in your backyard can add significant value to your property and provide a space for artists, craftsmen, or gardeners to express themselves creatively.
- Home offices: A home office can increase your property value, improve your professional life and simultaneously provide social functionality when doubled up as a guest room. Consider investing in a sleeper sofa, storage ottoman, or cabinets to store bedding.
Preparation
No matter the scope of the project, correct preparation is crucial for success. This means setting a budget, an airtight schedule, and hiring contractors.
- Budget: Creating a budget for a renovation requires first determining the scale of the project and deciding how much you are able or willing to spend. Consider the costs of materials, licenses, utilities, legal fees, disruptions to your daily routine, and, most importantly, the cost of labor.
- Schedule: It’s important to create estimates and a reliable schedule that your team can use as a reference. Take into account the complexity of the project, availability of materials and labor, and external factors that may slow progress.
- Contractors: A contractor is used to oversee and coordinate the renovation process, including hiring subcontractors, procuring materials, and ensuring work meets standards. When you hire a contractor, you should ensure to have a written contract in place outlining the scope of work, timeline, and payment terms.
Additional Tips
Even when you’ve covered all bases in a renovation project, it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve to ease the process and ensure transparency.
- File organization: Each home project is likely to entail lots of paperwork. For this reason, it’s important to have solid file-sharing protocols in place before work begins. You can start by converting any digital documents into PDF format – receipts, forms, notices, letters, or anything else related to construction work should ideally be kept together. A PDF merging tool can help with this, combining multiple pages and helping you to reorder these accordingly.
- Estimation software: Construction takeoff software allows you to effortlessly add material and labor costs to estimations and can also help create transparency between you and contractors by allowing online payments.
- Permits: Obtaining building permits from your local municipality is a requirement for most construction projects. Your contractor can assist you with this process – just be sure to factor in any additional time to apply for and secure the necessary documents.
By approaching a home renovation with an organized mindset, even the most challenging projects can be made manageable. Homeowners all over eastern Oregon are enjoying the fruits of their well-planned, correctly priced property upgrades.
Eastern Oregon Living has a lot to offer. You can have it all with the rural community lifestyle and an abundance of attractions within an hour’s drive. Learn more about our services at: www.easternoregonliving.com
