CONSTRUCTION SUCKS
Don’t get me wrong, you should still remodel your house. But when is change ever fun? Do you enjoy losing weight? Do you enjoy going to therapy? If you answered yes to those questions then I’m not writing this to you… Because you are likely insane.
I’ve been professionally remodeling houses for around 8 years now, and never has a project gone 100% as planned. there are endless variables and opportunities for mistakes to be made. Designers are human, your gc is human, your tile installer is human… and humans make mistakes! besides, even if you have the best construction crew imaginable, that doesn’t mean the crew who originally built your house (or previously remodeled your house) were the best. Did you know that 46% of construction workers are drunk all the time? That’s not true, but you never know, the people who built your house very well could have been drunk. And the mistakes they made will inevitably create problems for your new team. That’s why hiring someone (eh hem) who has seen everything that can go wrong in construction, and can help avoid as many mistakes as possible, is worth every penny. But trust me, mistakes will still happen, which is another reason why hiring someone to help walk you through the process is critical. there will be a point (most likely many points) where you will need someone who knows how to figure out solutions for the myriad of problems that arise during construction. but I’m not writing this to convince you to hire me, I’m writing this to try and help anyone heading into a construction project by setting realistic expectations and give them some encouragement: as much as it sucks, it is worth it in the end! As I said, I’ve worked on hundreds of homes, and the projects that go “smoothly” are the projects when the homeowner knows there will be problems and is willing to figure out the best solution possible to move forward.
here’s the best advice I could give anyone looking to remodel their home… Be Flexible and get creative. Sure, some mistakes just need to get fixed, but often times you’ll run into a road block and what you wanted to happen becomes either impossible or too expensive. Full Disclosure, almost every time we finish a project there will be at least one aspect of the design that people love and i’ll have to admit it wasn’t originally planned, or it was the result of having to get creative to solve a problem or fix a mistake. to be honest, most of the time these are my favorite parts of a finished project (don’t get me wrong, during the process they definitely pissed me off). But as cliche as it sounds, I do believe things happen for a reason (usually…… Sometimes. Lol).
Oh, one more tip… Please don’t try and live in the house when it’s under construction! I know sometimes there isn’t any other option, but it will make your project 10x more frustrating if you are living in the house when it’s under construction. Plus it typically costs you more than just renting another place to live intermittently because it generally means you’ll need to do the project in phases. And A project done in phases will typically cost you 35% more than just doing it all at once (no source for that statistic, I just made it up, but it’s probably pretty accurate). It only makes sense. the more trips a contractor needs to take to your house, the more it’s going to cost... So find an airbnb and save yourself the money and headaches!
What’s your favorite part of your remodel that wasn’t planned?