Traps That Occur During Renovation Projects

Giving your home a fresh-faced update is integral to maintaining or heightening its' resale value as well as reigniting your love for the property. However, there are several common traps that can occur when undertaking a home renovation if a homeowner enters a job without proper planning, guidance and knowledge. If you don't want to affect the value of your home in the long run, it is important to be aware of the problems that may arise during home renovations.

RenoQuotes.com offers 5 tips on common home renovation traps to be aware of!

1) Planning your renovation budget

The budget can be considered one of the most important aspects of pursuing a renovation project. It is crucial to be realistic when planning the allocation of your renovation budget, as it is easy to end up spending large amounts of money when being overly optimistic about costs, as well as spending on unnecessary work or unnecessary materials.

It is important to leave some room in your budget for movement. We suggest that after calculating all costs, another 20% should be factored into the overall amount to cover things that may arise during the process or anything unexpected that might happen. Since renovating is a process, costs could be altered at any moment, so it is important to stay grounded when planning your budget.

It is also important when allocating a budget to be careful of post-cost control. Oftentimes homeowners will begin renovating without taking all costs into consideration, or, will continue looking at products and buying when the renovation is already underway. These overlapping issues are problematic in that it is very hard to control how much is being spent following the original budget planning.

It is critical to stick with the initial budget, trying not to divulge too much from the materials and costs already considered. That way, if something big goes wrong, you'll have the money to back it up.

Here are some useful links and articles you can use to calculate your home renovation budget:

• Our home renovation cost estimators (kitchen, paint, home extension, flooring, etc.)

• Home renovation price guide

• How to establish a realistic renovation budget?

2) Visual Result Versus Realistic Planning

It is easy to get caught up in the glitz and glam of a renovation project. Visualizing an end result may get in the way of being realistic about how much work, time, money and skill is involved. It is crucial to be aware of the "unseens" of a project and prioritize key issues in the structure or foundation of your home.

Instead of blowing most of your budget on top-of-the-line appliances or name-brand paints and materials, make sure you offer a lot of attention to the fabric of your home, including electrical, heating and plumbing systems, as deterioration is a real problem in these areas. Also, repairs can be exceptionally costly if issues go unnoticed or are left too long.

3) Miracle Cures

If you found a product or material that you want to use in your home renovation project, and it sounds too good to be true, that's likely because it is. Try your best not to fall for miracle cures when performing home renovations. 

These can include treatments that state incredible claims such as "never paint again" or "instant" or "the ultimate solution to..." Usually what these products and their producers don't want you to know is that they are not environmentally friendly, sometimes blocking crucial ventilation paths in walls, ceilings and roofs.

Using an instant damp sealant traps dampness inside walls, having the opposite of the desired effect. It would be better to choose products based on their longevity, as well as their effect on your home and the environment. Use products that are safe and certified, even if they take a bit longer to dry.

4) Knowing how to prioritize renovation projects

Do not get caught up in the curb appeal of a property! If your renovation project is heavily focused on the exteriors or facade of your home, with only aesthetic pleasures in mind, it is important to ask yourself if or why the renovation is happening or necessary. 

Although updating and refurbishing the exterior of your home could strengthen its resale value, it does not change or alter issues that might need to be dealt with in the interior or foundation. Interior or foundational issues could have a much greater effect in the long run if ignored.

Before moving forward with a renovation project, make sure you can weigh its costs versus the result: will this renovation improve your life as well as your peace of mind?  

However, if you have the cash to make an extravagant change, go forward with the project, just make sure to look at every single angle of your home before launching into the process. Spending excessive amounts of money on the outside of your house will likely be appreciated by your neighbours, but make sure it can be enjoyed by you and yours as well.

5) Doing It Yourself

A lot of homeowners consider undertaking renovation projects from a DIY standpoint. However, unless you are trained, qualified or completely aware of everything that a renovation project will entail, it is not recommended that you do it all by yourself. 

Get the advice of an expert before moving forward with any form of large home reno project, as the use of incorrect materials, overbuying or underbuying, as well as buying cheap or overly expensive materials are easily overlooked but all factor greatly into the process.

Doing-it-yourself can take twice as much time as contacting and hiring a professional. On top of this, the project itself may not turn out the way you intended, as things could be installed incorrectly or poorly, leading to greater problems in the long run. 

As we've stated, this could end up affecting the resale value of your home. Make sure that if you don't want to hire a professional, that you at least consult one for advice. 

Here are two useful articles that can help you determine which projects should be carried out by experts and which ones you could work on yourself:

• 7 renovation projects that should always be left to professionals

• The best home improvement DIY projects