Tag Archive for Renovating a house

Finding The Best House Renovation Contractors For The Job

Are you planning on a new renovation project in your home? Do you plan on breaking down that separating wall to create more space? Or create a completely new sun room or patio? Well, the husband being the handyman that he is, might decide to do all the renovation on his own.

However, wouldn’t it be more reassuring if you hired qualified house renovations contractors for the job? Yes, that might be the best move in such a situation. If you have never gone through the hiring process before, below are some tips you should look into when hiring house renovation contractors.

House renovation AucklandReferrals

In the service industry, most contractors can attest to the fact that word of mouth is one of the best marketing tools. Therefore, when looking for the best house renovating contractors, you should start by asking for referrals from people you trust. Ask your neighbours, friends or family for contacts for the best renovating contractors in your locality. While doing so, you should ask whether their experience with the particular contractor was positive or whether the maintenance issues were handled perfectly. If you land an exceptional contractor at this stage, well and good!

Credentials

You might have the best referrals from people close to you but you must also check the credentials. Start by visiting the contractor’s website or contacting them to ask for specific certificates or licenses that indicate their qualifications to handle your home renovation project. Expert house renovation contractors should have the required licenses to offer their services in a particular locality with continued memberships in different associations in their service industry.

There are a few contractors who take the extra mile to engage in course work and tests that award extra certifications. However, all the certifications awarded to specific contractors might not be similar. Therefore, it’s imperative to do some research to identify the requirements for each certification before making your hire.

Auckland house renovationInterviewing Prospective Candidates

From your prior research or referrals awarded to you, it’s possible your list of prospective contractors might be longer than usual. However, try doing an elimination procedure to narrow it down as much as possible. If you don’t require a large renovation project that might take some time, you definitely don’t need too many prospective contractors. With a list of 3 exceptional contractors, you can arrange for interviews and determine the best person for the job. However if you have a big renovation such as a new extensions, altering the indoor floor plan or combining the kitchen and lounge into a big open plan space, then you definitely need to hire expert Auckland house renovations building contractors.

References

Once you have narrowed down the list, you should ask each contractor to provide references for previous jobs. Most contractors will always have a list of 3 references ready upfront. These might be the 3 best contractors who have had the best experience with the contractor. It’s a guarantee that contractors might try to hide their worst clients. Therefore, to prevent any bias, ask for the 3 recent clients and 3 earlier ones. The recent clients will help you determine how the house renovations contractor handles himself during a job. The 3 earlier clients will help you assess whether the contractor handles follow up issues that regard to maintenance.

Service Management and Experience

An exceptional contractor usually has the following:

  • A permanent physical address and contact address (email, fax, phone number etc.)
  • Insurance to protect the client against any liability issues that might arise during the job. There are many accidents that might happen during a normal renovation job. As such, the contractor should have insurance policy in place to guarantee that the client is protected from such incidents.
  • Good reputation and presence in the community. Naturally, this comes from experience and quality service. Therefore, ask the contractor how long he/she has been in business to determine the level of experience.

Prices And Renovation Costs

Renovating a house can be very expensive for many homeowners. If you are working on a budget, ask the contractor to reveal the estimates and complete breakdown of all the figures. This site gives you some ball-park ideas of renovating houses. This way, it will be easy to determine what to avoid or include in the whole renovation. It’s common for contractors to incur extra costs when handling the project. Be prepared for these by stretching your budget a little.

If you want your home renovation project to be handled as easily as possible, use these tips to hire the best Auckland house renovation contractors.

This article was brought to you by Repair and Restore Ltd, a top Auckland house renovating contractor. See the video testimonial on this page. Click for more details.

Auckland builder for House Renovations

Key Points to Consider During House Renovation

 

House renovation projects can be quite challenging especially if you want to do it all yourself. However, home improvement entails a number of projects which should be done professionally if the desired results are to be achieved. These projects may range from the flooring, fixtures in the kitchen or bathroom, lighting and roofing among others and it is paramount to ensure that quality is enhanced in all stages of the renovation. The basic steps below will go a long way in making your project a success and pocket friendly experience.

 

Create some room:

It is always advisable to begin your house renovation projects by removing unnecessary items or old stuff that may be lingering around. By doing this, you will be able to have an enhanced vision of what exactly needs to be restored and where as well. Either way, you still will have to create room before the inception of the project, so why not start immediately? There are numerous ways of achieving this such as garage sales for instance which will also come in handy financially speaking.

 

Create a budget and task list:

One of the best ways of creating a budget and comprehensive plan is through making a list of what will need to be renovated in your home. The list should also include the most basic of items both interior and exterior so as to determine the returns your investment (ROI) will yield over a while. ROI is always of paramount importance especially to the home owners planning to sell in the near future.

 

Too often people undertake major renovations with a view to on-selling when the project is completed but do not do the maths to see if they will be able to recover their costs. In fact, people frequently over-capitalise their property. In their min a new kitchen and the extra bedroom will make the home much more desirable and go all out to make the house extension as good as possible only to discover that the extra rooms do not match the market price in their area. Not all suburbs are priced for four bedroom houses.

Consider the pain points:

Every home owner’s desire is to create a stress free environment which is conducive for every member of the family. This can be achieved by identifying the pain points around your home and working on them immediately. Pain points are to bluntly put, those areas or aspects in your home that you just can’t stand. The pain points may range from the colour of paint in your kid’s bedroom or the lack of enough space in your bathroom or kitchen. Regardless of the ROI, doing this will significantly enhance the comfort of each member of your family besides reducing stress around the home which is paramount.

 

Consider the time and tasks:

It is always essential to consider the amount of time and effort each project will take. This will help you determine which projects you can DIY and those that will require professional aid. Considering the amount of time each project will consume will also help you plan ahead especially if you will need to relocate your family for a while for those major home renovation projects.

 

All that being said, home renovation need not be a daunting and expensive affair. By following the above steps, you are guaranteed to get the most out of your projects as well as creating a conducive environment which is delightful for every family member.

 

The above are relatively easy renovation projects that most DIY handy-men can do for themselves. However, for those who have major home renovation projects, it would be advisable to get professional help.

 

House renovation builder

House renovation builder – image marin

Replacing a few cupboards is one thing. Knocking down and building walls, especially load-bearing and external walls, is a completely different kettle of fish. This is even more of an issue if you are currently living n the house. The disruption can take weeks and often extend into months if it is done part-time. Then you have to consider plumbing and electrical wiring. These days, insurance companies can be very difficult if new wiring does not have professional sign-off.

 

A final thought is the quality of the finish of the various jobs. A professional house renovations company will have experts with years of experience in electrical work, plumbing, building, kitchen installation, and decorating. If you are thinking of doing the job yourself, you are effectively trying to be all of these experts with very little experience. To be fair to yourself, your family and to make your house easier to sell, hire a house renovations company.

 

If you are in Auckland, these guys www.repairandrestore.co.nz/ are some of the best renovations specialists.