It’s time to renovate your home! Home renovation projects upgrade your house, and it’s your chance to install additions like garden ponds, verandas, or new cabinets. Before you start renovating, however, there are a few things you need to consider.
Check out these 6 helpful home renovation tips that will make your project hassle-free and much more convenient:
Check with reputable renovation contractors
Not all construction projects need contractors, but it’s always best to check with reputable home builders on how to properly renovate your home. You may need to figure out if the foundation of your house can withstand adding another floor, or whether you may be running across the electrical supply when digging up your garden.
There are some renovation projects that will require the expertise of renovation contractors, particularly when it comes to anything that needs a foundation, and anything electrical. Upgrading your home to fit modern electric and water treatment systems will also require renovation contractors, as they can safely integrate these into your home.
Always get the opinion of a reputable renovation contractor first. Take a look at your blueprints before doing any sort of renovation to find the sewage lines, electrical lines, and built-in pipes so you can avoid them. Inspect for weak spots and foundation with a home building company so you can safely do renovations.
Schedule your day
Renovations aren’t like some art project you can take on for 1-3 hours; renovations take time to plan out, execute, dry, cure, paint, etc. There’s so much to do with every home renovation project, so free up your day to tackle the project!
Put your full attention to the renovation project. As with any construction job, staying alert and focused minimizes accidents, and gets the job done quickly. You don’t want to end up running to the store for errands only to return to your grout curing in its container rather than your tiles!
Having a busy schedule is just one of the reasons why hiring a home renovation builder is more convenient than doing the renovations yourself. Not only do these companies have the expertise to tackle the job, they put their full focus on it while the project is underway, freeing you up to get other tasks done.
Clear the room of mess and items
Don’t get paint or spackle all over your heirloom oak wood table or your pristine sofa cushions! Maintain the cleanliness of your furniture by clearing them away from the room when it’s time to renovate. Store these items in a separate room, along with
Children and pets can also get into hazardous situations when they get into rooms under renovations. Children and pets can also make it more difficult to work on renovations, as they can be distracting. Keep children away from the renovation project, and keep pets in restricted areas. As much as possible, gate off the room to keep people away from the renovation area.
Protect your floors and fixtures with tarp
Most home construction messes are tough to clean, especially when they get into areas you don’t intend them to. Home floors are typically made from sensitive materials like marble, wood, or carpeting. These materials dissolve in the same solutions that dissolve paint, grout, and cement. Keep your floors clear by covering them with tarp before you start renovating.
If you’re working on floors, it may seem easier to control the paint, grout, and spackle, but they can detour into walls and other surfaces. In the bathroom, you may find grout from your tile work getting into fixtures like the sink and bathtub. Keep these clean by covering them with a tarp to ensure you don’t get any construction debris on them, and for easier clean up.
Use painter’s tape when painting walls
Painter’s tape is used as a guide when painting to ensure that the paint has a clear cut line, and does not spill over to unintended areas. When painting a design on your walls, painter’s tape protects areas that you don’t intend to paint over, like the crown moulding and adjacent walls.
However, painter’s tape is not foolproof, and can leak paint in small increments. Our favourite hack is to keep a bucket of paint with you in the same colour as your existing walls, and paint that over the edges of the painter’s tape first, and let it dry. This creates a thin layer of seal that will keep your new paint colour from leaking into the taped off areas.
Keep damp rags on hand
Renovation projects and construction can get messy, and accidents can happen at any time. Construction materials also dry fairly quickly, and are incredibly difficult to remove once cured. Be prepared, and keep cleaning materials on hand in case of any spillage or splashes.
Clean up messes as soon as they happen with some damp rags. Keep damp rags and cloths on hand for when you need to clean up a bit, or wipe away that spilled paint. Keeping solvents around also helps, as you can immediately remove any messes that occur during renovations.
