How to Plan for a Renovation
If you have never embarked on a renovation project, it can be really hard to know where to start. Whether you just bought a house or you have been dreaming of this project for years, three questions that might feel top of mind are WHO, WHEN, and HOW MUCH?
WHO - PICKING YOUR TEAM
If you are planning to renovate a kitchen, a bathroom, or another existing space, you will definitely need a contractor and ideally, an interior designer as well.
Architect
Whether or not you need an architect is a more nuanced question. When renovating an existing space, even if some walls will be moved, you likely will not need an architect, as long as you hire an interior designer to do the plans. You may need to contract with a structural engineer and get their stamp of approval on the plans, if any major supports are going to be altered.
Architects come into play when you are planning for an addition, or major internal restructuring. What constitutes as “major” can vary . A true interior designer (not a decorator) with strong drafting skills can provide construction drawings for reworking the floor plan of your first floor, for instance, but if you’re doing a full gut, you might need an architect on board. Your best bet is to reach out to the interior designer you want to work with and find out if they think you will need an architect as well, or if they can handle the scope of your project.
INTERIOR DESIGNER
If you’re not sure where to start, pick your interior designer first. Likely, they will have recommended contractors that they like working with and produce great results, saving you from doing your own hunt. An interior designer can give you a sense of the overall anticipated budget for your project. If you bring in a contractor first, they won’t be able to give you a bid on your project with any accuracy until they know the design plan.
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Once you have your interior designer and/or architect selected, they can give you a recommendation for a general contractor. You may desire multiple bids on your project. Asking family and friends for referrals who have renovated in your area can be another avenue to finding a great contractor. GCs can get a bad-rep, but there are lovely, trustworthy people out there and they are worth the extra money. Undergoing construction on your home is stressful enough. Avoid any added stress by making sure you have a super strong team in place.
WHEN - DETERMINING THE TIMELINE
My biggest advice regarding the timeline of your project is to give yourself the longest runway you possibly can before demo begins. This gets really tricky if you’ve just bought a fixer-upper and are planning to move in quickly. In that scenario, know that you will have to make sacrifices to your team, your budget, and your desired selections. If you aren’t willing to make those concessions, consider figuring out another plan that will allow you to take your time to adequately plan for your renovation— whether that means finding another temporary place to live or delaying the closing on your home. If you can buy yourself more time to plan, you will be glad you did. I have been in the position of moving into a home that was unlivable without renovation and I don’t wish that stress and intense timeline on anyone!
THE PLANNING STAGE
Depending on the size of your project, you may want anywhere from 5 months to a year to plan. For example, if your are planning for a kitchen renovation, you are going to want a month or so to find an interior designer. Then, you need to get into that designer’s schedule, which could happen quickly or you may need to wait a few months, pending their availability at the time. Once you begin the process with the designer, it will take a few months of design work to get to a place where you are ready to start construction. During that time, you’ll need to bid the project with a GC and get on their schedule as well. All of this takes time and if you don’t have the luxury of waiting, you may have to settle with whichever designer or GC is available immediately, cabinets from the vendor with the shortest lead time, appliances in stock, etc. When you’re investing a lot into a renovation like this, ideally, you don’t have to make sacrifices like this.
CONSTRUCTION
Once your existing space is demo-ed, don’t expect much renovation to happen is less than 2 months. Two months may be a reasonable timeline for a bathroom, but anything more than that and you should plan on 3-5 months. Of course if you are gutting your entire house, it could take a year or more to renovate. These timelines vary greatly, but your designer and GC should be able to give you a proposed timeline once you have an agreed upon design.
HOW MUCH - creating your budget
So what is this going to cost me? This is a hard question to answer accurately until designs have been drawn and selections have been made. However, it’s understandable that you, as the client, need to know what it’s going to cost before you sign on with a designer or GC or architect. The best way to get a preliminary budget range for your project is to schedule an inquiry call with an interior designer. When I’m on an inquiry call, I typically have your house listing pulled up in front of me so I can see the space and I will ask about what you want to do and if you have a budget in mind. If you tell me a number that I don’t think is possible, I will tell you. If you don’t know, I will most likely be able to give you a ballpark range, based on my experience and your answers to my questions about your project and your desired outcome. Sometimes, my GC will need to be consulted to give you a more accurate range, but more often than not, I can provide some references from similar projects so you have a good sense of what the overall cost may be.
Be warned— there are many ways to get inaccurate numbers when planning from your project. These include:
Google. Numbers you see in articles online are typically low and do not always reflect accurate numbers for where you live and the cost of labor in that location.
GC walkthroughs. This can be accurate, but when you start with a GC walkthrough before you have a design, the GC doesn’t know exactly what is going to be involved or what level of finishes to account for. Also keep in mind, often the lowest GC bid ends up costing you the most in the long run.
Friends. People often underreport to friends how much they actually spent on something. If you see your friend’s beautiful new kitchen and ask how much they spent, take their answer with a grain of salt!
The best part of renovating, is the end result. Don’t let Instagram or HGTV fool you, the process of renovating your home can be long and stressful. The best thing you can do to set yourself up for a successful project is to take your time planning and picking your team and set reasonable expectations. Almost all renovations have surprises, unexpected extra costs, and delays. But the end result of a home you love, with every material and item hand-picked to suit your needs and aesthetic, is an enormous reward. It will be so worth it!