First Floor Renovations in Louisville, KY

With the holidays and tax return season coming, homeowners everywhere are starting to turn their minds toward home improvement. In 2017, more than 80% of homeowners had plans for home improvement. Whether you’re looking to tackle a total kitchen renovation, or just spruce up your guest bathroom, we’ve got a few tips to help you through the planning stages of your first floor renovations.

Consider Your Budget

Before you get carried away fantasizing about countertops or backsplashes, it’s important to have a realistic idea of your budget. While many of us have grand designs (and secret Pinterest boards to boot) for our dream homes, allowing yourself to get swept away in a fantasy beyond your budget can make the reality of what you’re able to accomplish feel disappointing. If there are certain items that are an absolute must, make sure you budget for them, and decide where you might be able to make concessions elsewhere.

Scout for an Experienced Remodeling Contractor

Your relationship with your contractor is one that will require trust and communication, so it’s crucial that you get off to the best start you can by selecting a contractor you feel good about. An experienced remodeling contractor will not only help you execute your vision to its fullest potential, but will also be able to translate the design you have in your head into the real world. A good contractor should be able to communicate design, understand your budget, and work within a designated time frame in order to deliver the first floor renovations you deserve.

Make Sure Your Design Plan is as Detailed as Possible

Once you’ve secured a contractor for your first floor remodel, the first step is to make sure that you and your contractor sketch out as complete a design plan as possible. While a good contractor will be able to help you translate your more abstract ideas into a concrete vision, they won’t be able to read your mind. If there’s something that’s important to your vision, be sure to advocate for it from the beginning so that nothing gets left behind or forgotten.

Order Materials Before Construction Begins

In order to avoid headaches or costly additions to your labor, be sure that all of your materials are picked out and ordered before your first floor renovations begin. When contractors fall behind or fail to work within deadlines, it’s often due to a holdup with materials, and the cascading effect that can have on projects’ abilities to be completed on time. Making sure you have as much of your material as possible at the outset will not only allow you to keep a good hold of the timeline, but will allow you to stay on top of your budget as well.

Plan for the Unexpected

Of course, even with the best planning and relationship with your contractor, it never hurts to leave room in your budget for an unexpected cost. Whether your kitchen remodel requires unexpected plumbing changes, or your labor winds up skyrocketing due to unforeseen circumstances, leave yourself some breathing room in order to keep your sanity. That way, if nothing happens, you can reallocate your just-in-case money to upgrade projects or appliances that you might not have planned for otherwise.

These are just a few tips to take the headache out of planning first floor renovations. Is there something you wish you had known when you were in the middle of kitchen remodeling? Let us know in the comments below.