There are many ways to remodel your house within a budget. It all comes down to the planning…One of the best things a homeowner can do is to spend time on the front end definining your project. Start by creating a wish list of everything you really would like to have…This may include a new kitchen, raised ceilings, radiant floor heating, walk in pantry, deck off of master bedroom, new master suite, any and everything that you want. In a perfect world, your home would already have all of the square footage that you want and all of the fun details. But, who are we kidding - this world’s not perfect!
Once you’ve thrown out all of the would like to have’s, narrower your list to the top 3 gotta have’s. These are the 3 things that are so important to you that you may consider trading one of your children for them! Once you’ve narrowed down your options, you can really begin to focus on your remodel project. This is really the fun portion of the project. Clip pictures from magazines, visit showrooms for finish selections, put together a palette board of fabrics, solid surface selections, tiles, etc. Be sure to select a couple from each price range - allowing yourself flexibility to stay within your budget.
Define your budget - how much are you willing to spend on your remodel? This is actually one of the most difficult and important parts of your remodel. Without a reasonable budget, everyone involved is likely to become frustrated quickly. Even in today’s market where contractor’s are cutting their costs, there are true material costs that are not being discounted. By discounting labor, the contractor may not be around when your project falls into the warranty period. Today more than ever, defining a fair budget that is reasonable for the work being performed is critical to the success of your project.
The best way to find out if your budget is reasonable is to confide in your contractor. Be open and tell the contractor what your budget is and ask if it’s a reasonable amount for the work to be performed. Here’s where the palette board and finish selections will come in handy. Those finishes will make the biggest impact not only on the feel and look of your project, but also on your budget. That’s why it’s so critical to get samples from several price points.
Not every project can be done on a shoe string budget - having a realistic budget is the key.
Please contact me for more information or to see how I can be of assitance in planning your budget!
Kelly Allen kallen@acs-allen.com www.acs-allen.com (425) 313-1813
thanks for this info, nice post !