In 2024 my wife and I survived a home renovation project. In all reality, our project was relatively smooth and pretty painless. But we did learn some things. After talking about it for over four years, gathering multiple bids and opinions; we finally signed on the dotted line and ventured into the partial finish of our basement and remodel of our kitchen. All told we added just shy of 1,000 square feet of living space to our home.
The wisest thing we did was hire a professional builder/contractor and his crew to complete the project. We knew this was far beyond our scope, expertise and learning curve. We wanted the benefit of someone with a good track record who would tackle the project with a reasonable projected start and stop date, disrupting our home life some, but not drastically. Making the decision to work with a professional and his team was likely the smartest decision we made.
We were told to expect roughly a 90 day start to finish timeline. That was exceeded only by a couple of weeks – not bad. The fact that I was able to be on-site much of the time was a plus, as I could answer questions, ask questions, run errands, receive deliveries, and make sure things were secure and buttoned up at the end of the day. These things became one of my part-time jobs for the final quarter of the year, and just a given in our routine through that time.
Here are some of the things we learned in surviving our home renovation project:
• Always get dressed when you get up in the morning. You never know when the doorbell is going to ring or who is going to show up at or in your house ready to work.
• When the project manager tells you they can do the new kitchen cabinet install in about 3 or 4 days, he really means 4 weeks.
• You can wash dishes in the bathtub, although it doesn’t do much for your back.
• Make sure you time your kitchen reno with a plan to sample the restaurants and fast-food outlets of your city.
• It’s amazing what you can make with a microwave, slow cooker and little creative thinking.
• If you opt to forgo the porta potty (in respect for the neighbors) and offer your half-bath instead, just figure on that half-bath becoming exclusive to the crew!
• Even the best intentions of a project manager or contractor to cover and protect your floors will not be failproof. There’s going to be some wear and tear on the parts of your home that are not being updated!
• Do not assume workers will be as concerned about turning lights off or locking doors as you.
• Be flexible, flexible and then flexible.
• Don’t make a decision without checking with your spouse first!
• That contingency budget? You’re probably going to need it!
• Just keep telling yourself how nice it will be when the project is done. It will be!
danielcash 