Houston remodels contracting most desirable results are produced from pain staking preparation and planning. The better the remodeling planning, the better the results. This applies to all of the facets of a Houston remodel. From preparing the design plans to properly closing out the project, remodeling homes’ success is in the details.
Most everyone understands the vast number of benefits of a major Houston remodel project. We see the beautiful photos in magazines and on the Internet. These images provide inspiration that our home can look this good.
The challenge is understanding how you go from these stunning internet photo images to the real thing.
A major Houston remodel contracting project can be an overwhelming journey undertaken by oneself. Most experts recommend that you hire a remodeling contractor as a trusted adviser to guide you through the process.
But even if you hire a professional remodeler for assistance, in order to be efficient with planning your Houston remodel you will need to have a grip on the actual process and procedures required.
Learn the Important Factors of the Houston Remodel Plan
Houston remodel requires successful planning for the following topics;
- Mental & Emotional Preparation for Home Remodeling
- Select the Remodeling Contractors
- Developing Remodeling Ideas
- Develop a Financial Investment Budget
- Develop Plans & Specifications
- Select & Purchase all Materials for remodeling
- Prepare a Living Plan for Family
- Open Communication Throughout Remodel Construction
Mental & Emotional Preparation for Houston Remodel
Houston home remodels contracting is a very emotional endeavor with many highs and some lows for the owner. This is not the case for the professional design assistance and remodeling contractors that you will be working with during this period.
This is where a natural inherent conflict can begin to surface. It is natural to expect that when the owner starts seeing their home demolished, there are going to be some emotions that arise. It is important for the home remodeler to prepare the owner for what to expect before these events.
Preparing and organizing for this major event can reduce your stress and facilitate a much more pleasant experience.
Select the Remodeling Contractors
Selecting the right remodeling contractors for you and your project depends on the magnitude of the project. If you are doing a small kitchen update you would want to hire a smaller contractor that can do most of the work themselves.
Our focus in this article is on major home remodeling contracting projects like a home addition or a home renovation that involves removing walls and combining space.
Selecting the right remodeling contractor begins with understanding what they do. For a major home remodeling contracting project selecting a remodeler that is a general contractor would be the best fit.
They work with specialty skilled trades referred to as subcontractors. They work directly for the general contractor. This type of remodeling contractor can normally provide full-service design and construction services.
The second criterion for selecting a remodeling contractor is to align yourself with a professional that is like minded in your personal needs during remodeling. The owner should feel comfortable and be able to trust the general contractor that they are prepared to serve the owner’s best interest during and after the project.
Developing Remodeling Ideas
This particular step of the Houston remodel process is critical. In some cases, homeowners understand what they want, while there is another group that has challenges visualizing what they want.
In the case of the clients that can visualize a remodeling plan, it is important to be able to communicate this visualization to your remodeling contractor. Collecting photo images and product information goes a long way in clearly communicating your finished product expectations.
It is a different situation for the homeowner that has a generally broad perspective of what they want but not being able to communicate the details of the ideas. In these cases, the owner requires greater assistance from professional designers.
Their design team is required to help them to develop the Houston remodel project by asking questions and preparing visual aids like sketches and computer-generated images.
In either case any home remodeling project begins at this stage and cannot advance until these ideas are communicated and transferred to construction documents. At this early stage of the process the owner must be willing to put in the effort to conduct the research required.
Houston remodeling is a time-consuming process that requires a great amount of preparation and planning to achieve the desired results. To learn more about the benefits of a home remodel.
Develop a Financial Investment Budget
One of the most difficult factors of a Houston remodel is getting a reasonable understanding of what the anticipated remodeling cost will be. As a general rule, there are several approaches that an owner can use to develop a financial investment budget.
The first and most accurate is for the owner to share their design vision with the remodeling contractors and request a budget estimate.
The second is to develop a wish and needs list and establish a benchmark budget based upon your financial capabilities and the aftermarket value of the home from the remodeling project.
Both of these approaches only establish a preliminary benchmark for your Houston remodel project. Home construction documents called home plans and specifications still need to be developed in order to receive a high confidence construction proposal to contract for remodeling construction.
There are two approaches to establishing a high confidence construction cost proposal.
The first is having the blueprints drawn up by an architect or a designer and having these plans competitively bid by your short list of remodeling contractors.
If the construction bids come in over the pre-established budget, the owner returns to the architect to redraw the home plans to reduce cost. This process is called value engineering.
The second approach is to hire a remodeling contractor on a design-build contract. The design build approach is where the owner hires the full-service general contractor as the sole responsible party.
The general contractor hires the architect to create the home plans and collaborates with them to establish the construction cost. If the construction cost comes in over the budgeted amount, the owner and design team work on establishing priorities to make the project fit as comfortably as possible.
Regardless of which construction cost budget approach is used, the owner is required to carefully determine the priorities of the wish list and come in line with the needs list. This process continues until both the owner and remodeling contractor come to an agreement.
This agreement should take the form of a written contract that describes the scope of the project and the materials and products selected for the project.
Develop Plans & Specifications
The home plan design process consists of 3 phases. The concept phase, plan development phase, and final construction plan phase.
The process requires the owner to have early-stage requirements like the wants and needs list completed before the design begins. As each of these phases progresses the owner must approve the drawings to move to the next stage. View our infographic on the remodeling design.
As the drawings progress the owner is required to begin selecting the finished products that will be used during the remodel. If the selection of these items is not completed by the time the construction drawings are done, the general contractor will provide a cost allowance that represents the products the owner intends on using.
The construction documents are needed for several reasons;
- First, they give the owner a clear reference for soliciting bids from remodeling contractors.
- Secondly, they provide exact instructions for the remodeling improvements.
- Lastly, most major home renovations require building permits. Building departments require drawings for home remodeling.
Select & Purchase all Materials for Remodel
Selecting the materials, colors, and products before the construction begins is essential to have a smooth home remodeling contracting project for several reasons.
The first is that the more products and materials selected prior to the drawing being completed the more details can be included in the construction documents. These include such specifications as thickness heights, cabinet inserts, and clearance allowances.
When the architect understands the actual sizes of the products purchased, the more specific they can include the details for construction.
The second reason is that the more materials and products selected before the blueprints are complete the more complete the construction cost pricing can be. In many cases the material and product selections are not completed when the construction documents are completed.
This means that bidders will use estimates for future material and product selections. These are included in the bidder’s proposal as allowances.
If the owner spends more than the allowance amount for a specific line item the amount will be added to the total construction budget.
Prepare a Living Plan for Family
The last but not least matter that needs the owner’s attention is preparing a plan for the family during the remodeling construction. This preconstruction tasks are often not given the appropriate attention that it deserves.
The family must decide if they are going to live in the home during the construction or find temporary quarters. Making these decisions require an open dialog between the remodeler and the owner about the sacrifices and inconveniences associated with the remodel project.
The Houston remodel process requires patient and diligent planning and preparation prior to starting construction. It involves a collaborating effort on behalf of the owner, architect and remodeling contractor to be successful.
Open Communication Throughout Remodel Construction
The relationship of the owner and remodeler is very important.
The general contractor has a responsibility to the owner to keep them up to date on the progress and to conduct jobsite meetings to review products such as paint colors and tile patterns.
If there are unexpected issues during the remodel, the remodeler should inform the owners.
The owner has an obligation to make product selections early in the construction process and making designs decisions and sticking to them instead of changing their minds.
Changing your mind leads to costly change orders and interrupts of progress. When these expectorations break down it causes mistrust and conflict, while ultimately eroding the working relationship.
Conclusion
Good planning for Houston remodel leads to the best overall results. There are many matters to prepare for in the systematic approach needed for a Houston home remodeling.
Developing a detailed execution plan and working the plan will result in the desired outcome. For more resources, please read home renovation.
