Last April I started working on one of the very most thrilling projects of my career to date: the renovation and extension of my own home. Putting myself in my clients’ shoes was an eye-opening experience. Although I’ve been designing and renovating homes for over 15 years, acting as the ‘client’ gave me an entirely fresh perspective. I learnt some valuable insights that have transformed what I say to anyone looking for expert architectural advice
Get|Make Sure You Get} Impartial Advice
The whole project started with me wanting to extend my tiny utility room so that I could easily fit into a bigger fridge. My kids were eating me out of home and house, and it was impossible to put everything inside our mixed fridge-freezer.
After a brief look through the space, the shook his head and said: ‘why don’t you extend house then?’ He was right. We'd reached a point where we were able to do with more space and a bigger fridge wasn’t going to improve things in the long term.
Small projects are alright but not if they are only a stop-gap solution. I often meet people who want to add a additional room or convert part of their house, however the underlying issue with the home is a lot more significant.
Investing in an attic conversion when the design of the rest of the house is no longer working for you is not the best way to spend your budget. We’ll all favour choosing the quick win over so getting some impartial advice is vital to make sure you make the right decision. I’m the one dishing out the advice usually, however when it came to my own home, I needed a second opinion.
Wait|Hold it} Until You Have the Money to Do ALL YOU Want.|Hold it Until You Have Enough Money to Do Everything You Want.}
When we first bought our house we could have done work right away,but our circumstances were completely different (a three-year-old son and another on the way and our budget was far too small to attain everything that we wished to do, so we waited. It was the best decision we could have made.
In the past, I used to try to help clients phase the work so their budget can be spread out but now, where possible, I suggest my clients to hold back a little. This often means I talk myself out of a job but if they can move in and make the house liveable until they have enough money to do everything at once, then this is with no doubt the best decision. Not only will they get better value for money and only go through the we pushed our move day out to accommodate this.
Waiting the extra couple of weeks while for the builder to be completed entirely was worth it. Had we moved in two weeks earlier, everyone could have been trying to finish around us and what required two weeks would have dragged out to four, or six weeks even.
It’s never a good idea to move in before the work is completely finished Giving the contractor a deadline to work to is vital but make sure it is realistic and, if things cause the project to overrun you should make allowances and adapt your plans accordingly.
Over-Prepare
The build is an unstoppable process and the feeling that once you begin there is no turning back can be just unsettling. So I recommend you be as organised as you can, while the contractor will need to have a plan which can guide you when critical decisions have to be made.
My advice, however, is to have all your decisions made before the work begins This is something I domestic architects dublin always recommend to my clients. However, my experience of going through the process myself has confirmed it’s most likely the best single piece of advice I could give anyone who is planning a home renovation project.
Once the build begins you’ll feel under pressure, you will see distractions and emotions to cope with, so you won’t be at your very best when it comes to making decisions. Getting the decisions made before anyone asked you to make them will significantly lessen the stress and make the process a lot more bearable. You might even lovemit.
Keep Your Eye on the Prize
A home renovation is quite a complex process. There are so many moving parts and people involved that there are destined to be hiccups along the way. Try to predict where issues might arise and be flexible. Things can surely go wrong, but try to keep an open focus and mind on the solution rather than the problem. Be as organised as possible and stick to your decisions.
Home renovations and extensions are emotionally exhausting, so my last piece of advice is to remain focused on the end result because I could promise you it will be worth it.