Last April,|In April of this past year,} I started working on one of the very most exciting projects of my career to date: the renovation and extension of my own home. Placing myself in my own clients’ shoes was an eye-opening experience. Although I’ve been designing homes for over 15 years, being the ‘client’ gave me a completely new perspective. I learnt some valuable insights that have changed what I say to anyone looking for expert architectural advice
Make Sure You Get Impartial Advice
The whole project started with me attempting to extend my tiny utility room so that I could fit in a bigger fridge. The boys were eating me out of house and home,|My kids|The boys|The children} were eating me out of home and house,} and it was impossible to put everything inside our mixed fridge-freezer.
After a brief look at the space, the shook his head and said: ‘why don’t you extend house then?’ The man was right; we’d reached a point where we could really do with more space and a more spacious fridge wasn’t going to improve things in the long run.
Small projects are okay but not if they're only a stop-gap solution. I often meet people who want to put in a additional room or convert part of their house, however the underlying issue with the house is much more significant. Investing in an attic conversion when the layout of the rest of the house is no longer working for you is not the most convenient way to spend your money. We’ll all favour going for the quick win over so getting some impartial advice is essential to make sure you make the right decision. {I’m usually the one who dishes out the advice,|I’m the one dishing out the advice usually, but when it came to my very own home, even I needed another opinion.
{Wait Until You Have the all the Money to Do ALL YOU Want.|Wait Until You Have Enough Money to Do Want.
{When we first bought the house we could have done work right away,but our circumstances were very 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 whole renovation job so their budget can be spread out but now, where possible, I advise my clients to hold back a little. This can indicate I talk myself out of a job but if they can move in and make the house liveable until they have the money to do everything at once, then this is by far the best decision. {Not only will they get greater value for money and only build process once but they will also have the added advantage of time, which might mean that their plans change leading to a much better job in the future.
Build Up Contingency Into Your Timescale
Build some breathing space into your timescale. The build process can be an unpredictable one and even the most organised among us can come up against issues that push deadline out.
Our build process took 7.5 months, which is quite good. We had hoped to be ready in 7, however, some of the changes took longer than planned and so we had to push our move time out to accommodate this.
Waiting the extra time while for the builder to be finished entirely was worth it. Had we moved in a couple of weeks earlier, everyone would have been trying to finish around us and what would have had taken two weeks could have dragged out to four, or even six weeks.
It’s never a good idea to move in before the work is completely finished Giving the builder a deadline to work to is essential but make sure this reasonable and, if things cause architect dublin the project to overrun you should make allowances and modify your plans accordingly.
Over-Prepare
The build is an unstoppable process and the feeling that once you begin there is absolutely no turning back can be quite unsettling. So I recommend you be as organised as you can, while the builder will need provide a program which can serve you as guide when critical decisions have to be made.
My advice, however, {is to have all of your decisions made before the work starts on site. This is something I’ve always told my clients. However, my {experience of going through the whole thing 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, there will be distractions and emotions to cope with, and that means you won’t be at your best as it pertains to making decisions. Having the decisions made before anyone asked you to make them will significantly lessen the strain and make the whole process much more bearable. You may even enjoy it.
Keep Your Eye on the Prize
{A home redesign 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 will 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 exhausting emotionally, so my last piece of advice is to remain focused on the end result because I could promise you it'll be worth it.