Renovating your home is a great way to personalise your living space to ensure that it better suits you and your family’s unique needs. Renovation projects also boast the potential to increase the overall value and appeal of your property. From swapping out outdated fixtures for more energy-efficient lighting and appliances, to investing in modern hardwood flooring, updated features throughout a home can easily bump up its market worth in the long term.
Whether you’re planning a few simple updates or some major renovations like additional rooms, any scale of transformation is an investment, and should thus be organised with the utmost care and attention. If you’re feeling a little lost about where to begin with this seemingly monumental task, then you’ll be happy to hear that we’ve put together a little guide, designed just to help you navigate through these unfamiliar waters.
Read on to help you develop a realistic timeline and game plan for your own home renovation project.
Organise Your Storage in Advance
It goes without saying that container hire is an essential component in the process of preparing your home for renovations. Not only do transportable containers provide a great solution for safely storing build materials or tools for the renovation project itself, but they can also be used to store furniture and other items that need to be removed in order to clear space in work zones throughout your home.
Simply put, hiring a container or two gives you peace of mind that all of your possessions are being kept safe, and that there are no hazardous materials or even clutter on work sites that could cause potential damage or injury at any point in time during your renovation.
Plus, thanks to container delivery and pick-up services, you can ensure adequate, flexible storage is available to you and your family during the renovation process without even needing to set aside any time to procure these storage options themselves. Talk about convenience!
Take Measurements and Determine What Materials You Need
If you’re working with a contractor for your renovation, they will likely come into your home well before construction is scheduled to commence in order to take comprehensive measurements so that they are aware of the scope of your project, and perhaps even what quantity of materials are needed. Taking measurements is a crucial component of any renovation project, as it provides the foundation for your project timeline.
If you’re handling your home renovation independently, however, we still urge that you set some time aside prior to commencing construction to ensure that your own calculated measurements and materials orders are in alignment. Regardless of whether you’re looking to update your kitchen cabinets or add a new bathroom to your home, maintaining a clear understanding of the construction materials and other resources required in the completion of your project will naturally help keep your renovations right on track.
Make sure you take into account things like the height of door frames, the placement of windows, and the space needed for cupboards and cabinets to open up at their fullest. The last thing you’ll want to deal with is uninstalling a cabinet because it can’t actually be opened!
Remove Any Furniture and Decor That’s in the Way
When you’re gearing up for renovations in your home, As we briefly mentioned earlier, one of the most daunting tasks that you’ll find yourself contending with when gearing up for renovations in your home, is simply ensuring that your working sites are cleared of debris or other hazards and maintain adequate floor space.
This is why it’s important to remove any furniture or décor that may get in the way of your contractor and their crew prior to commencing construction. While it might seem like a chore, removing furniture and other smaller items from active work sites is essential in creating a safe working environment that ensures minimal disruption and maximum efficiency when renovating your home.
And as an added bonus, working with an open and clear space will also give you more creative freedom as you design your dream home. How so? Well, more cleared space means more room for your imagination to run wild!
Cover Furniture to Protect Against Dust and Debris
When planning to remodel or renovate your home, one of the more important steps that should not be overlooked is to cover your home’s existing furniture with protective sheets so that they are shielded from any dust and debris generated during construction. Doing this will help you avoid costly repairs down the road, as wood, metal, and fabric can become pitted and even torn if exposed to building materials or work tools.
Be sure to look for furniture covers made of thick, high-quality plastics, just so you can experience reduced risks of sheets tearing if they’re ever snagged by loose tools. That being said, you’ll also want to make sure that no moisture is trapped inside your plastic covers, as this could lead to your furniture accruing mould. If your plastic furniture covers aren’t particularly breathable and you live in a warm or humid climate, it could be a good idea to remove the covers periodically and outside of working hours, just to make sure that your furniture has a chance to breathe.
Additionally, it’s important when placing the covers on furniture or rugs that no stress is put on these decor pieces. Smooth layering without creasing is key as it will prevent damage once renovation work starts.
Secure Windows and Doors With Plastic Sheeting
On top of covering up furniture and decor to protect them from construction activities, you’ll also want to make sure that you secure all the windows and doorways in and around the construction site with similarly sturdy plastic sheeting. Doing so keeps dust created from the building work from entering your wider home and causing potential damage to other rooms or even to your family. Dust can negatively affect the air quality in your home, which can in turn lead to the development of respiratory issues in you and your family members, so it’s absolutely imperative that you take steps to ensure that all construction activities and materials are isolated from the rest of your home.
Plastic sheeting also helps to keep out pests such as insects or rodents that are attracted to food smells that may linger long after lunch time on your construction site. For best results, we recommend using multiple sheets of heavy-duty plastic that are taped or even stapled securely in place.
Always Disconnect All Electrical Switches
Home renovation projects are typically always accompanied by the potential danger of damaging electrical wiring or even plumbing pipes during the construction process. Negligence during the preparation process or even just careless mistakes that come about in the spur of the moment do have the power to have devastating consequences, so it’s naturally in your best interests to make sure that any incidents aren’t worsened by electrical shocks or other similarly negative outcomes.
Disconnecting electrical switches for all outlets and fixtures that are in construction areas will help to ensure the safety of your family and all construction workers on-site, as you won’t be working with a live current.
Although cutting off power may feel like a pedantic or time-wasting measure, it is truthfully essential for avoiding any needless harm or damage to your home during the renovation project. If there are circuit breakers or electrical switches that are difficult to operate, it’s best to hire an experienced electrician to guarantee swift and secure service.
Lastly, on the topic of safety, we also encourage homeowners to walk through each area of their home that is scheduled for construction with their contractor in advance and get details on how best to keep everyone safe as well as manage ventilation, movement of materials, and other logistical concerns.
Although renovating can involve a significant amount of stress, by having a comprehensive plan put together before starting, everything will be sure to run more smoothly than expected.
