Home renovation is a big project, no matter if it’s a simple bathroom remodel or your entire kitchen. No one wants to be caught unprepared in the middle of pulling gutters off of the roof or demolishing a floor, so it’s always advisable to follow a set of procedures that will ensure your home improvement goes as smoothly as possible.

Alpha Home Pros wants you to get prepped and excited for your next exterior remodel, no matter what it entails! With that in mind, we would like to present a comprehensive list of what to do before you start renovating.

To DIY, Or Not To DIY

At some point in the past, you decided that you needed to do some siding replacement and renovation on your house. You collected all the necessary tools in the corner of the garage, drew up your plans on a napkin and, after months of unintentional procrastination, finally found the right time to start tearing siding off of the walls. Weeks later, you realize you may have severely overestimated the job, and now you’re stuck with a home that has no exterior protection, a garage filled with untouched construction products, and stacks of siding doubling as your work counter. How did it come to this?

It’s easier than you might think to be suddenly overwhelmed by a project, especially when things start to go wrong. Before you impulsively start a DIY remodel, consider these items:

• You may have enough experience to start the job, but do you have enough experience to actually finish it?

• If things go wrong, will you be capable of adapting your plans and schedule at the first sign of problems?

• Do you have the required tools for the job, and will you have access to additional tools if you need them at a later point in the project?

• There may be underlying issues with your house that you are not aware of, such as warped beams or mold growing behind walls. Will you be able to handle these issues by yourself?

• Are you familiar with building regulations and codes?

• Finally, is the end result going to be worth the estimated effort you put into it?

As a general rule of thumb, if you start to feel overwhelmed just planning the project, contact a professional for an estimate. Expert contractors are generally much more prepared than the average customer to handle the unknowns of remodeling and renovation work, and at the very least they can provide some useful advice if you do decide to start anything by yourself.

Budget Properly

You budget your salary, your groceries, and your vacation, so why not budget your upcoming remodel too? Budgeting a home remodeling project will help guarantee that you don’t end up going overboard with your hard-earned money. Depending on the size of the project, you’ll want to budget for overages at around 20%-30% of what you originally intend on spending for the entire enterprise. That way, you can be sure to have enough cash to cover anything from emergency repairs to additional materials.

Check The “Ceiling Value” Of Your Neighborhood

The value of your home is affected by the value of the homes surrounding it. In order to make sure you’ll see a maximum return of investment on your remodel, check websites like Zillow and Trulia to calculate the entire price ceiling of your neighborhood. Sure, you can spend $18,000 on roof repair and gutter installation, but is it worth it when potential home buyers are only looking at the overall impact your neighbors are having on the area?

Get Your Permits In Order

Nothing can shut down a remodel faster than not having the proper permits for the job. Most cities and towns require a renovator to have, at a minimum, a basic building permit that allows the owner of the property to perform the work. Permit requirements will vary depending on the size of the job and the location of the project in your house, but always check with your local government regarding permits before you do start anything else. If you don’t, your neighbors just might, and that could spell trouble for you.

If you decide to hire a contractor for your remodeling project, in most cases they will be in charge of gathering any relevant permits. This is definitely a good thing — not only do contractors have the proper experience to navigate the maze of permit bureaucracy, but it means you don’t have to waste time standing in lines and filling out paperwork.

Schedule The Remodel According To Season

If you’re planning on doing remodeling or renovation work on the outside of the house, do you really want yourself or your contractor to be working in the middle of winter? Schedule accordingly — interior work during the fall and winter, and exterior work during the spring and summer. You can save yourself a lot of unnecessary weather-related misery if you plan ahead!

Clear Out The Workspace

Before the actual remodeling work begins, make sure to move furniture, precious objects, and decorations out of the area that’s going to be worked in, including hallways where materials will be brought in. In addition to preventing potential damage to your personal belongings, clearing space in the workspace allows you or your contractor the freedom of movement needed to do the job properly. If you don’t happen to have enough room in the rest of your house to store everything you’ll be moving, you may want to consider renting a storage unit for the time it takes to finish the remodel.

In addition to clearing a space, you’ll want to protect the rest of your home from dust and debris that will be a result of any interior remodeling work. Make sure to stock up on canvas blankets to cover your floors or items that can’t be moved from the workspace, and purchase some plastic sheeting to cover exposed entrances off from the rest of the house. Any contractor worth their weight will be prepared to protect the inside of your home from the detritus resulting from remodeling work.

When In Doubt, Hire A Contractor Like Alpha Home Pros

Hiring a contractor to renovate your house can save you time, stress, and money, and can be a no-brainer in many cases. For a lot of people, even just the thought of deconstructing something on their house can cause cold sweats and nightmares — that’s where professionals come in! They can be there to handle every aspect of your renovation, from planning to permits to labor.

If you live in the northern Kentucky area and ever have doubts or questions about a potential exterior remodeling project, contact the experts at Alpha Home Pros.

Our locally-owned and operated construction company has experience in both residential and commercial roofing projects, metal roofing installation, siding repair and installation, and window installation. We aim to provide outstanding service to each and every one of our clients. Our company was founded with three simple goals in mind: to develop and maintain the trust of our clients, to deliver a final product that goes beyond the expectations of our clients, and to build positive relationships with every project we work on. If you have any questions about our remodeling and installation services, contact our friendly team today.