Whole Home Remodel for the Best in New Living Spaces

There are many reasons and justifications for conducting a whole home remodel on an aging house that has a sound structure but has faded in its ability to support a quality life style. For there are many alternatives to select from when considering home remodeling.They generally are associated with the location and or preservation of a house that the owners have an emotional tie to. More about this further on.

The whole house renovation is normally a complex process of moving load bearing walls and changing the space layout to accommodate a larger open living areas or the combining of rooms. This is principally due to older homes having smaller room spaces.

In order to facilitate these types of whole sale changes the owners find it wise to hiring experience renovation contractors and remodel designer to advise them early in the process.  

The selection process for hiring these professionals is a time consuming but important step in developing a working team through the design process.
We will discuss these items and offer some insights for understanding the cost of home renovation.

Benefits of a Whole Home Remodeling

As we have pointed out there are many reasons for taking on a full home remodeling project. Many of them have to do with the location of the property.

There is a shortage of available lots in the metro Houston area for new home construction. This fact and the common knowledge that new home building can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months to complete make purchasing an older home to gut and remodel becomes an attractive alternative.

There are also additional benefits for undertaking a remodel whole house project for the betterment of the property. Gutting a house allows the owner to replace outdated plumbing and electrical wiring that would otherwise be difficult and more costly to replace during a partial remodel.

It also provides the opportunity to inspect the foundation and frame structure for pest damages or areas compromised by environmental conditions.

It also offers a great opportunity to increase the energy efficiency of the house by sealing windows and increasing a better insulation for reducing air infiltration.

The greatest benefit may be that the owner can incorporate past due home maintenance into the home renovation plan. This allows the owner to avoid the future home maintance cost as well as the inconvenience caused by workman in your home.

Preparing and Planning for a Complete House Remodel

Preparing and planning a complete house renovation is an important step in the house renovation process.

This process begins with understanding your needs based upon your lifestyle. Do you entertain or do the kids have an area that fits their school and social needs?

In addition, why you are motivated to conduct a whole home remodeling project should also be weighed in your assessment of the future usage of the house.

This is often more than counting how many bathrooms and bedrooms your family will need. It often involves looking into the future and understanding how the family can grow into the home.

It also requires some research of collecting photo images of spaces and products that you are interested in to communicate your wants and needs to the remodeling designer.

With your wants and needs list and inspiration photos in hand its time to begin the home renovation design.

Most owners don’t realize that the actual design process can take many months without the need to do any redesign work. The architectural process involves 3 phases including the concept phase, working drawing stage and final plans and engineering.

Once the construction documents are complete the owner can solicit bids. If the owner has hired a remodeler during the design phase as an adviser, the owner can have them priced much sooner.

Selecting and Hiring a Remodeler

Finding remodeling companies near you starts with a search for a few accredited remodelers that work stands out to you and speaks to you. In some case’s this requires getting a recommendation from family and friends or searching the internet and examining their websites.

Once the owner has created a short list of remodel companies its time to interview them to determine if they might be a good fit to work with.

There are many different types of home remodel companies to choose from with a variety of skills and services.

This usually comes down to the design and construction delivery method that the owners are interested in pursuing.

There are 2 generally accepted approaches for project delivery. The first is the traditional method often referred to as the design to bid method. This is when the owner hires an architect to develop the architectural plans.

The second approach is called the design to build method. This approach is when the owner hires a remodeling design build contractor that offers both design and construction services.

The recognized value of the design to build approach is that the remodeler is responsible for both design and construction and this process is typically shorter overall than the traditional method.

Cost of a Full House Remodel

To most owners the most important aspect of recreating a new gutted home space is the cost of a full house renovation. They may love the new design plans but if the cost of whole home remodel is not within their financial resources the exercise becomes frustrated.

The home renovation cost is primarily driven by the selection of finished chosen by the owner. Items like cabinetry, hard wood floors and windows and doors can collectively amount to as much as 40% of the total hard cost.

The more plumbing and electrical lines that are replaced will also have a great effect on the total renovation cost.

Kitchens are the most expensive rooms of the house to remodel with the bathroom a close second. Bedrooms are the least expensive of rooms to remodel.

Although a whole home remodel is a demanding financial requirement, it is normally a lesser total financial commitment than building ground up.

The most accurate method to determine the cost of a whole house renovation is to complete the construction documents and have a remodeling contractor prepare a detailed bid proposal.