Committing yourself to a home renovation means you are also committing yourself to a world of stress. There will be dust and debris everywhere. You will have tradesmen coming in and out of your home. There will be the health and safety aspects to consider, especially when you have pets and children underfoot. You will be making endless cups of tea, not only to calm your nerves but to be respectful to the thirsty workmen you may have hired too. There will be times when you will wish you had never considered a home renovation project at all!
Fear not! While we can’t reduce all of your stresses, we do have some tips to make things a little more bearable. Consider the following to help keep your frayed nerves in check.
Don’t go it alone!
To cut the cost of the renovation, you may be tempted to get on with the work yourself. Bad idea! No matter your skills with a hammer and nail, things may still go wrong if you’re not completely au fait with what you are doing. You may end up with added expense to correct any mistakes you have made. You can reduce the stress of finances as well as the pressure to do everything yourself, by calling in the professionals. But on that note, consider the next point.
Research the professionals
You don’t want to end up with a cowboy builder (or any other type of rogue tradesmen). There are those people who will dazzle you with promises and cheap offers, but if they aren’t up to the job, they will only let you down. You must do your homework, reading customer reviews on sites such as this one, Mark Leonard Plumbing, and by asking friends and family for recommendations. You might also ask for references from the tradesmen you are considering. By hiring the right people – those tradesmen who won’t leave a job half done or have extended lunch breaks – you are cutting out a lot of your stress right there.
Get the kids out of the way
Our advice is this: don’t live in your property while it is being renovated. The noise and dust will drive you crazy. If you have friends and family to stay with, then you will be doing yourself a world of favours by doing so. However, if you are out of options on that regard, the best thing you can do is to still get the kids out of the way when work is in progress. If they can stay elsewhere, you will have less to worry about, especially as they could come to harm within the chaos of a renovation. And the same applies to your pets. You don’t want kitty getting stuck behind a wall, so if you can find reliable pet sitters for the duration of the project, then do so.
Know what you need
When planning your home renovation, don’t go overboard with your plans. While there will always be things you would like to have, focus on those home improvements that could be considered a necessity first. Such renovations will add value to your home and provide a financial benefit, so it’s in your best interest to budget for these things before you set your sights on anything that wouldn’t be considered a priority. Good planning will also serve both you and the workmen well. By knowing what you need before work begins, you are less likely to interrupt any work carried out by a sudden change of mind. The financial implication will be high if you do dither on what you want, and you will extend the running time of the project.
Schedule when it suits your family
You don’t want to call in the workmen at a time when the added disruption isn’t ideal. If you work from home, for example, or if your children need to study for exams, then the noise is not going to be welcome. While there may be no ‘perfect’ time for the renovation to begin, at least schedule it for a time when your family is not going to suffer unduly because of it.
Tell your neighbours
Finally, put this on your checklist of things to do. You don’t want to cause a feud between yourself and the people who live next to you, so do the neighbourly thing and warn them about the oncoming storm of noise and clutter. They might still grumble a little bit, but at least you have done the honourable thing by letting them know.
Despite the stress, the home renovation should be worth it, provided you don’t bankrupt yourself in the process. Let us know your thoughts, and if you have any other stress-busting tips for our readers, then please let us know.
