It’s no secret that remodeling your entire home is a major undertaking. While thinking about the end product is exciting, the process itself may feel a bit daunting.
There are numerous reasons to renovate or upgrade your home and your particular motivation will affect various aspects of your project. In general, however, there is a step-by-step process you can follow to help you organize your Delaware home remodel—whether you’re targeting specific rooms or the entire residence— and protect your time, money, and sanity.
Where Do I Start if I Want to Remodel My House?
If you’ve decided on a renovation project then you’ve already taken the critical first step to creating your dream house. What follows after is refining your vision, figuring out logistics, and making sure you have your ducks in a row to efficiently execute your plan. Here is an overview of where to start:
1. Planning and Prioritizing
When making a decision about housing, the first step should be to evaluate your current and future needs and create a prioritized list of what changes or home improvements are needed to satisfy them. A few questions to consider:
- What do you like about your home?
- What is causing discomfort or frustration on a regular basis?
- Do you need more space to accommodate a growing family or a live-in caregiver?
- Are you trying to make your home conducive to aging in place or multigenerational living?
- Would you benefit from new rooms designated for a specific purpose, such as bedrooms or bathrooms or do you need more multi-functional space to support working from home, hosting events, or other activities?
If you’re only remodeling a certain room such as your kitchen, bathroom or basement, many of the same questions apply. Every answer you generate will take you one step closer to developing a clear, cohesive vision for your home improvement project. It’s also okay to dream big—write down not only the things you need but also the things you want. Once that’s done, make sure you list them in order of priority so if you need to scale back later on, you already know what is non-negotiable and what is up for compromise or cutting. As you do preliminary planning for your home renovation, here are some of the areas and attributes to mull over:
- Adding more livable and/or storage space
- Enhancing the energy efficiency of your property with new doors, windows, insulation, and/or climate control systems
- Designing a floorplan that is customized to your family’s lifestyle and daily routines
- Upgrading appliances, fixtures, flooring, wall treatments, and other characteristics
- Increasing the resale value of your house
To get inspiration or gather ideas on potential floorplans, interior design features, and exterior modifications, you can research home remodeling websites, like Houzz, Facebook, Porch, Dwell or This Old House.
2. Budgeting Your Project
It’s impossible to create an itemized budget until you’ve finished schematic drawings for your home remodel and selected your materials, fixtures, and finishes. However, you need to go into the project with at least a ballpark number of what you can and want to spend. Doing preliminary research on the cost of similar home improvement projects in the Delaware market can give you an idea of a realistic range. You also should review your funding sources to see what you can afford for the project. Are you planning to pay for the renovation entirely out of pocket? Do you need partial financing? There are numerous options for covering the costs of a home remodel, so it comes down to which one is best for you based on your income, credit score, personal assets and other factors. Talk to your bank, credit union, or another financial institution to get more information.
Remodeling increases your home’s value, but that is also impacted by other factors, such as the neighborhood in which you live. You don’t want to make the mistake of improving your home well above the average value of neighboring houses, especially if you plan to sell in the next couple years. If enhancing your home’s resale potential or overall value is a top priority, be realistic and base the estimated return on investment (ROI) for your remodel on the home prices in the surrounding market which tend to reflect local home-buyer tastes.
3. Hiring a General Contractor
The success of your whole home remodel—as well as the overall experience—depends significantly on the company you hire to carry out the project. As you move forward, you should start looking for a home remodeling team near Wilmington, Delaware. A quick online search will generate numerous options, but it’s more helpful if you can get a couple recommendations from your family, friends, a trusted realtor, or another professional in the industry.
Once you have a short list of local home remodelers, look into their professional standing, from their license number and insurance policy to whether there are any outstanding complaints or lawsuits against them. Read reviews and testimonials or ask for a list of references. As you interview prospective remodelers and peruse their portfolio of past projects, take stock of their signature style and confirm that it aligns with what you’re looking for. Some remodelers specialize in historic renovations and traditional styles, while others are skilled at creating sleek, modern spaces. You should make sure you’re compatible with your general contractor in other ways, including your preferred method of communication and level of involvement. Once you’ve chosen the remodeling team for your home improvement, you will work with them to finalize your design, make selections, and develop a more precise budget and construction timeline. They also order materials, coordinate subcontractors (if any), and help you pull the necessary building permits for your project.
Remodeling Your Home in Delaware
Remodeling is the perfect opportunity to evaluate your home after years of living in it. Take time to figure out what you like and what no longer works for you or how your tastes and lifestyle needs have changed. Once you’ve created a vision to enhance the size, function, or overall look of your house or individual rooms, you need a trustworthy, experienced remodeling team to bring it to fruition. Bromwell Construction Company specializes in affordable residential remodeling. With the help of our team of designers, contractors, and engineers, we can transform your home improvement concept into reality.
