Preparing and planning for renovating a house requires a deep Google search for home renovation contractors near me. The sooner you search and engage a short list of qualified contractors for home renovation in Houston, the more complete your planning will be.
Having a complete understanding of the renovating process helps the owner better understand the renovation contractor and the applicable scope of work. The process and the house renovator are often one in the same.
Home renovation contractors provide guidance and advice throughout the entire renovating process as an owner’s trusted advocate. The need for finding home renovation contractors near me early in the preconstruction phase is essential to allow enough time to vet them and make a final selection.
There are many reasons to select one house renovator over another. The most common reason used by owners for selecting a house renovation contractor is the price of their services. Although without tightly controlled bid documents, this is not the most dependable justification.
Tightly controlled bid documents mean having professionally prepared construction documents and a defined scope of work. Without these documents multiple bid proposals can vary widely in the services provides, quality of products proposed and methods used in executing the construction.
Another miscue in owners selecting a house renovator is not taking enough time getting to understand how the renovation contractor does business. Ideally an owner should hire a house renovator that is like minded in their vision for the project and like minded in their business practices. The breakdown of most owner / contractor relationships is due to with poor communication and financial misunderstandings.
So, an owner should take their time and properly prepare construction documents and conduct an in-depth vetting process before committing to a specific home renovator.
Home Renovation Planning
Planning a house for renovation is generally understood as the first step in renovating. We have already discussed the importance of selecting the right house renovator as part of the planning and execution phases.
Planning begins with reimaging the house space by collecting design ideas from magazines and the internet to share with your renovation designer. These home renovation ideas can illustrate complex design ideas that are difficult to communicate for an owner.
Either making temporary living arrangements or developing a plan to live with house renovating are often a necessary reality for the owners during renovating.
Other planning matters include developing a target budget to use as tool for designing the project. The renovation contractor can be helpful in creating a preliminary budget.
But one of the most important decisions to make early in the preconstruction planning phase is for the owner to determine to project delivery method.
House Renovation Contracting Delivery Methods
There are 2 generally accepted delivery methods for creating the design to construct approach an owner wants to pursue. The first is the traditional method of an owner hiring an architect or designer to produce home plan drawings to solicit bids.
The second delivery method is called the design to build method. In this approach the owner hires a design build contractor to develop the construction documents, prepare a formal bid proposal from the documents and to execute the construction improvements.
The owner must determine which of these delivery methods is best for their interest. The determination of the appropriate delivery method will also likely influence the owners choose of home renovation contractors. If they select the design to build method the owner will need to hire a design build contractor.
Creating House Renovation Plans
With the owner having the inspiration photos collected and choosing the project delivery method it’s time to begin the design process.
The remodeling design process begins with the designer creating an as built if there are no original construction plans. With the floor plan template in hand the design team gathers to begin sketching out the floor plan changes and implement the new space details.
Once the changes are approved by the owners, the designer continues to create additional architectural details like dimensions, wall sections and cabinetry profiles. If structural modifications have been implemented, the designer will need to have a structural engineer prepare plans and details for the proposed changes.
With a complete set of construction plans, the owner can know solicit bids from the house renovation contractors they have selected.
Home Renovation Cost
Home renovation cost vary radically depending on the scope of work and magnitude of the changes incorporated into the construction documents.
When the magnitude of the repairs / improvements are considered major, the cost can be nearly as much as building a new home. Even in a case that the owners conduct a minor renovation, they are still a substantial investment.
The house renovation cost vary for different areas of the house;
- Kitchen Renovation Cost – The cost range for upgrading a kitchen is $30,000 – $120,000 This range covers minor projects like painting cabinets, replacing backsplash tile and countertops. Major projects would include cabinet replacement, appliances, new plumbing fixtures and floors.
- Bathroom Renovation Cost – Minor upgrading of bathrooms will start at $20,000 which would be, new shower tile, new floor tile and new countertops. Whereas renovating a major bathroom one can expect to pay as much as $100,000 to gut and move plumbing locations, replace cabinetry and tops, wall and floor tile, and plumbing fixtures.
- Window Replacement Cost – Depending on the quality of the windows the cost of window replacement will range from $30,000 – $75,000 for a home with 25 windows.
- House Painting Cost – The cost of painting the entire house, inside and out will be in the range of $20,000 – $40,000 for a 3,500 sf house
- Floor Replacement Cost – The cost of replacing the floors of your home with tile or hardwoods will range from $35,000 – $70,000 for a 3,500 sf home.
- Whole House Renovation – To gut a house and complete a whole house renovation for a 3,500 sf home will cost in the range of $500,000 – $900,000
As you can see home renovating is an expensive endeavor and should be planned carefully while placing priorities on areas of the house and the products that are most important to the owners.
The Home Renovation Contracting Process
The house renovation construction process is a logical sequence of steps that start from demolition and goes through the completion of the project scope. This is the construction process that a home renovation contractor follows during renovating a home. We have provided the typical process steps for a whole home renovation, based on the assumption that the planning and documents creation phases have all been completed.
- Long Lead Time Product Procurement – One of the critical factors of maintaining a reasonable schedule is to have the materials on site when they are needed. All long lead time products should be identified early in the preconstruction process so that they may be ordered early to avoid delays.
- Demolition – Demolition is required to get access to plumbing and electrical lines as well as to properly assess the frame structure for changes or repairs.
- Existing Conditions – Inspecting the structure is an important step prior to rebuilding the dwelling. This allows the renovator to evaluate the foundation and frame structure for needed repair and support.
- Structural Changes – Either by engineered plans or identifying a need from inspection the existing conditions, this is the time and stage that load bearing conditions are supplements and reinforced. Structural modifications and repairs are often a critical factor in redefining the space of a house.
- MEP Modifications – For dwellings that are of 50 years in age, it is common to replace duct work, 2 wire electrical lines and steel plumbing supply lines that were commonly used before 1970. Bringing these components up to code is generally expected to extend the service life of the house.
- Exterior Upgrades – This is items like painting, windows, doors, roofing shingles, siding and porches. These upgrades may also include new driveways, patios, fences and landscaping.
- Insulating & Drywall – One of the benefits of gutting a dwelling back to the studs is that it provides an opportunity to increase the energy efficiency of the building envelope by increasing insulation values. Sanding of the drywall allows for a very smooth finish. In some cases, owners want a textured spray applied to the drywall surface.
- Interior Doors & Trim – Interior millwork and doors are installed after the drywall. This is considered the beginning of the finishes.
- Painting & Enamel – Prepping the woodwork for enamel and priming the surface is common before latex painting of the drywall surfaces. If feature colors are to be applied, they should be applied later during the finish construction.
- Cabinets and Casework – Prefinished cabinets are the most popular option f. or cabinets and other casework. Although job-built cabinets are always an alternative. If the owner selects job-built cabinets, they would need to be built during the millwork work phase so they can be painted with the doors and casing.
- Counter Tops & Appliances – With the cabinets installed the renovator will schedule the installation of the countertops, backsplash and installation of the appliances.
- Bathroom Wet Area Tile – Bathrooms are best served by waterproofing all floors and the walls that will be tiled. This is a multiple step procedure to properly waterproof.
- Mirrors & Glass Work – With the bathrooms near complete its time to install the mirrors and any glass enclosures.
- MEP Trims – The placement of mechanical, electric and plumbing trims are the finishing touches for the dwelling and allow the devices to be operational.
- Hardware – Hardware is considered items such as door knobs, towel and paper holders, door stops, kitchen pulls and door closures.
- Flooring – Depending on the flooring selection will dictate the stage of insulation. In the case of tile or wood, the installation is general done after painting. If the flooring is carpeting, it will be placed at the end.
- Final Inspections – There are coverup inspections before home renovator insulates and then again at the completion of the house. Any structural, mechanical, electrical or plumbing work must be inspected at the end of the project and permits closed out.
- Warranty – The structural changes of the dwelling have a six-year warranty, while new plumbing and electrical hard lines have a two-year warranty. All other general renovations have a limited warranty of one year.
Conclusion
Understanding the home renovation contractors near me methods and means is critical to collaborating with then on renovating a home. From preconstruction planning through the construction steps of completing the dwelling, the owner’s interaction with the home renovator is nearly every step of the process.
These realities of house renovation contracting is why it is critical finding and hiring the right home renovation contractor for your needs.
