Choosing Renovation Over Building from Scratch: What You Should Know

If your home doesn’t fit your needs anymore, you have three options. Move to a new house, demolish your existing home and start from scratch or renovate your space. If you want something quick and cost-effective, it’s best to opt for the last choice. However, renovations aren’t con-free either. Here are a few things to pay attention to during your home reno.

Consider your costs

If money is a huge issue for you, make sure to grab a calculator and do some math. It’s important to keep in mind that costs per square meter of renovation tend to be higher than the costs of a new build. This is mainly due to complicated upgrades to your existing home. But, most people do their math with the most basic projects in mind. Of course, as you start building your home, you’ll want to customize and add small luxuries, the costs of your new build will rise quickly and end up costing you more than any renovation. So, if you’re interested in designing a unique house, renovations will be much more cost-effective.

Always overestimate your costs

No matter how good you are at calculating your budget, house renovations are unpredictable and most jobs will require more money, time and work. So, it’s always better to overestimate than underestimate your costs. It’s best to add 20% to your estimated price just to be safe in case you run into an issue. If you don’t have that much money, cut the job back as much as you can. In case you don’t run into any unfortunate surprises, you won’t lose anything, but in case you do, you’ll be covered.

Update the electrical works

When you’re renovating your home, you should consider investing in new appliances. New washers, dryers and stoves are not only more aesthetically pleasing, but they also provide better performance. Additionally, most of them have amazing eco-friendly features that save both electricity and water. Places like Australia which aim to be more sustainable always recommend these new models instead of wasteful old ones, especially if they are faulty. However, keep in mind that your old home might not be able to support your new appliances, so you must find a good level 2 electrician from Sydney as you update your power supply network. Any changes to the power supply require level 2 ASP assistance so make sure to have someone experienced at hand.

Pay attention to your stairs

It’s amazing just how much stairs impact the rest of your property, so make sure to take your time and pay close attention to your stair design. Before you start any work on them, think hard whether you want to keep them at the same spot or move them somewhere else. Consider the flow in your home and the costs of moving your stairs. If you’re into Feng Shui, you might want to avoid placing your stairs facing the front door or at the center of your house.

Update your ceiling plan

Most people only pay attention to their floor plan and totally neglect their ceiling. As you go forward with your renovation, there will be changes that make your home’s ceiling look a little wonky. For instance, as you enter the bedroom, the ceiling drops a little and it can ruin all your hard work. So, make sure to look up as much as you look down and create a ceiling that’s beautiful and safe.

Hire an interior designer

So many amazing renovations got completely ruined with horrible interior design ideas. Many times, people pay all their attention to architecture that they forget about the design of their interiors. Or, in they think they can create a lux space just buy throwing in their old couch and carpet into a new room and calling it a day. If you want your renovation to be effective, it’s a great idea to leave some room in the budget for hiring a decorator to create a beautiful and practical interior design that will make your renovation worth all the money and effort.

Avoid last-minute changes

Unless you’re experienced in renovations and contracting, you might underestimate small last-minute changes that you make. However, something that seems very simple to you like moving a power outlet a few feet to the right or moving your toilet from one corner to the other can cost you thousands of dollars. Make sure to consult with your contractor about every change you make and consider the costs.

Renovations are a great way you can keep your beloved home and stay in your neighborhood, but make sure to keep these tips in mind during your projects so that you end up with something worth all the efforts and costs.