Are you considering a small home renovation project? Maybe you want to spruce up your living space or finally make that home office you’ve been dreaming of. Whatever the reasons, renovations can be exciting and rewarding, but they can also involve lots of hard work and extra costs.
Before making any significant changes to your house, there are four essential things that you need for your project to go smoothly. Read on for all the details!
An Understanding of Measurements
The first thing you will need for a successful small home renovation is an understanding of measurements. Most people do small renovations by themselves since it isn’t too challenging. However, if you don’t have a solid understanding of measurements and the various systems of measurement, it might be a tough time.
For example, there is the metric system and the imperial system, and you might need to convert 5’6 in centimeters when buying furniture for example. Then, there is the question of what you will use to measure: a long ruler or a tape measure? Do these instruments show only centimeters, or do they show all three commonly used metric measurements, such as millimeters, centimeters, and meters?
Having the right tool to perform the measurements you need and having an understanding of measurements will go a long way in ensuring that you have a successful small renovation.
A Plan for the Renovation
The next thing you will need, and arguably one of the most important, is a plan for the renovation. One of the biggest mistakes many new homeowners make when performing a small home renovation is jumping into it without plans of what they will do. If you have contractors, this might be a bit frustrating for them, especially if you keep changing your mind.
The first thing you should establish before performing the renovations would be, why are you renovating? Are you performing this small renovation for quality-of-life improvements? Are you doing it to increase the price of your home? This will determine what renovations you will be undertaking.
As mentioned, you need to know exactly what you want to do before you do it, so you can get the materials and contractors needed.
Research About What You Will Need
You will obviously need materials to perform your small home renovation, and that begins with knowing what you want to do. Once you have established what you will be doing, you must research everything you need for the project, especially if you aren’t DIY savvy.
For example, if you are building a fence, there are crucial questions to ask. How tall will it be? How long will it be? Do you have a drill, screwdrivers, and hammer? Is it being attached to a wall? You might need brackets, in which case you will need screws long enough to stay in the wall and nails to join the boards of the fence. If there will be a gate on the fence, you will need hinges and a clasp so that the gate closes.
A Timeline
Now that you have established what you will be doing and researched everything you will need to complete the small home renovation successfully, you will need to establish a timeline. Of course, this depends entirely on the magnitude of the project.
If you are performing a small renovation on an entire room by yourself, you should split the project up so that everything can be done in neat sections. For example, repainting the ceiling is one project, repainting the walls is another, replacing cupboard door handles is another, and so on. You should do this instead of trying to start on everything at once so that you can complete one thing at a time without the entire room looking in disarray.