Renovating a tired, unloved property into a fresh and desirable home can be a hugely rewarding experience. Unlike building from scratch you are not starting with a blank canvas therefore you will come across complexities and challenges.
In reality, it’s all too easy to make innocent mistakes and find yourself living in a half finished bomb site. Here we’ve listed some common pitfalls so that you can avoid them.
1. Ignoring Rules & Regulations
There is no point in ignoring the requirements of the law, as it will eventually catch up with you, so do not undertake any work without first checking with the appropriate regulatory body for the type of renovation you are undertaking.
Altering an existing building without consent could land you in trouble. If you fail to get approval, you will have to prove compliance. This may mean undoing completed work. This can be an expensive lesson to learn.
2. Poor Cost Control
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bottomless pit for your renovation? Sadly this is usually far from reality. Last-minute impulse purchases, plus design changes, once a quote has been accepted and work is underway on site can play havoc with costings.
Keep a generous contingency sum, say 10 to 20% of the overall build budget. Try not to lavish money on expensive frivolous fittings.
Keeping a lid on costs also depends on good communication, so it’s worth scheduling regular tradie-client site meetings. This should prevent misunderstandings over small details which otherwise have a nasty habit of growing into expensive disputes.
Before the renovation starts, it’s important to think about the details — light switches, taps, basins and so on, so your tradesmen know exactly what’s required.
3. Underestimating Costs
Renovation work always costs more than you expect. This is because some problems are not revealed until you start work and uncover them, but mostly because items are forgotten from the budget, or because you change your mind and alter the design or specification.
Professional renovators always leave a contingency to cover these costs and fully expect to have to spend it. There are also a lot of ‘hidden’ costs that people sometimes forget to include, which often isn’t included in quotes, including:
- professional fees for surveyors, architects and engineers
- fees for planning and building certification
A lot of homeowners only discover halfway through the works that their plans are completely unachievable on their budget. So it’s essential to research prices in advance. Engaging a licensed builder will alleviate a lot of the surprises here.
Prepare your own budget by listing all tasks, the materials required, and who is going to do the work. You can then go out and get quotes for materials and estimates for each trade. Make sure you allow for skips, scaffold hire, plant hire, and tools.
4. Low Ball Quotes
Steer clear of quotes that are too good to be true. Quality tradesmen have operating costs to cover and cannot compete with the unlicensed cash guy down the road. Proceed with a very low quote and you will generally lose out in the end. The tradesman will realise they’re working at a loss. If they walk off the job, it will cost you dearly to get someone else to finish it, with all the hassle that goes with that. It may be cheaper in the long run to go for a medium-range price rather than risk work being skimped to recoup losses, leaving you with a poorly completed job.
If your project is not time critical, employing ‘friends of friends’ or friends on ‘mates’ rates’ may work. But more often than not something else will come up on the day when they promised to finish your job, which could then hold up the following trades.
Take the time to plan, research and engage reputable quality tradesmen and you will keep your renovation project costs in order.