Planning a Home Renovation? Remodeling Contractor Explains the Home Renovation Process

Planning a home renovation can quickly become frustrating and overwhelming for homeowners, however, learning and understanding the remodeling process upfront, then much of your anxiety can be prevented. A Home remodel is similar to building a new home, just smaller in scale. You still need to secure financing, find a remodeling contractor, have plans drawn, subcontractors and more. Most people do not realize that a kitchen renovation involves as many steps and subcontractors to be involved as building a new house. But don't fear-as a home builder and remodeling contractor I explain this process below.

Financing Your local bank is the best place to secure a home improvement loan. There are many types of specialty loans available.

Scope If you plan on moving walls, then you need a local draftsman or architect to draw your plans. Plans are also needed for obtaining an accurate quote from a remodeling contractor and will be submitted for the permitting purposes.

Finding and Interviewing Remodeling Contractors You need to receive multiple quotes from remodeling contractors on your home renovation project. This process is crucial, not just to obtain a reasonable price for your project, but to see in action the contractor's attitude for the project, timelines, references and more.

Permits The remodeling contractor will need to pull permits based on the project scope. Even if you choose to do the home renovation project yourself, you will still need to pull city or county permits for your local area. Depending on your local area, the permit process can take a considerable amount of time. If you choose not to do so, you are subjecting yourself to fines.

Subcontractors Expect lots of subcontractors during your project. For example, a kitchen renovation may need a framer to rebuild walls, drywall installer, painter, cabinet installer, trim carpenter, flooring installer, electrician, plumber, granite installer and more. Be prepared for a barge of people coming and going from your home.

Timeline Staying realistic in your timeframe is my best advice. Though you may want your home renovation completed at warp speed, remember you also want a quality job. Expect work to be completed during the early mornings and sometimes on weekends, this is important if you are staying in your home during the remodeling process. When working in a small area, such as a kitchen or bath, subcontractors have to be scheduled differently because of the space restrictions of the area. This is prevents subcontractors from working at the same time and getting in each others way. When building a new home, subcontractors can work on opposite ends of a house and not get in each other's way. This is not the case with smaller remodeling projects. For example, the plumber and flooring installer cannot work at the same time because the plumber will be standing in the way of the tile installer. By staying realistic with your home renovations goals you can expect a much smoother process.