Renovations || Lessons from THIS side
- Shore Break Designs
- Aug 31, 2015
- 3 min read
Now that the Cambridge renovation has wrapped and I've caught up on important things like sleep, laundry, other boring grown-up chores and all of my favorite Bravo shows...I have time to reflect on the process. And what my take away is from this undertaking. Without further ado... My lessons!
One can NEVER go to big box hardware stores enough during a renovation. I take pride in now politely smiling at the person in the orange apron when they ask me if I need help finding anything, and saying, “No, thank you. I’m just grabbing a couple more 3-gang plate covers, a gas-line and an overflow plate cover…and I know my way around the plumbing section like a boss!” For the record, I visited Lowe’s and/or Home Depot 9 times in the span of 24 hours.
It pays to shop around. It’s time consuming as all holy hell… but it can save you a ton of money. Costco is surprisingly a great resource for things like flooring, lighting and elongated toilets.
Prepping for a full exterior and interior paint job is something of an art. An art that I want NO part of. I would straight up lose my patience a half hour into that adventure. I’ll happily pay the professionals…and tip them.
No matter how nice or great you think your contractor might be, you’ll undoubtedly argue with them about something. Promise. I very consciously chose whom we awarded this project to. He needed to be responsive, understand construction and every trade…not that he needed to do the work, but have a basic understanding of each and every piece (you’d be surprised at the GCs I came across who didn’t)…he needed to be fun and MOST importantly he needed to be someone who I could get in a heated argument with – and we’d still respect one another and the work would still be completed. I honestly can’t tell you how critical this piece is. Especially if you’re living in the house that’s being remodeled. I’ve seen far too many friends back down to a contractor because they were emotionally tied to the outcome – and scared to say something.
I think by nature contractors are doom and gloom. Everything is wrong and it’s going to cost a gazillion dollars to repair. They’ll undoubtedly give you a worst case scenario on things that come up – if you’re managing your own contractor, do your research – it’ll save you money and time. Got no time for that? I’m available to project manage for you!
As big box home improvement stores go: Lowe’s has the best light fixture selections.
Door locksets add up quickly. Budget like a boss.
Baseboard and trim is pricey. Plan accordingly.
Always, and I do mean always… get the same dye lot on any colored tiles. Always hand-select any natural stone tiles. And ALWAYS have your contractor or subcontractor get your approval before anything gets placed. This alone could have saved me hundreds of dollars and four days of project timeline.
Thinking of getting a new sink? “Sweet! That farm sink is only $400!!” Stop yourself. Go price out a garbage disposal, garbage disposal cords, drains and faucets. Adds up quickly, eh?
Not all contractors are bad. Not all projects go over time and over budget. On this particular project we were over by $200 on the final payment and it was completed on time. Believe me when I say that as awesome as my contractor is, I doubt this would have been achieved if I weren’t managing the project and the budget on behalf of the home owner!
Good contractors are hard to come by, no doubt. You’d be astounded at the number the number of licensed, bonded and insured general contractors whom I invited to bid our first two projects who either didn’t return calls, show up to a set appointment time or didn’t follow through.
Great contractors are as rare as unicorns and other mythical creatures… treat them well, and hold on to them for future projects. Be skeptical of who you speak their praises of… because you don’t want anyone to steal away!
Your days will be long, and some times frustrating… but seeing it all come together is so rewarding. And if you’ve played your cards right throughout the renovation, you’ll have learned enough miles to treat yourself to a trip or 5 in the months that follow. More on that in a future blog post!
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