Structuring Your Remodel: Last Little Things
/Remodeling your home can be a big overwhelming process with a lot of moving pieces at any given time. Here’s a list of a few things I think are important while you’re in the midst of the big projects. Taking on some of these things while you’re already torn apart could serve to save you time, money, and headache down the road.
Give your home some time to speak
If you haven’t started remodeling yet, live in your home for a bit to learn how you function in it. Where are the drop spots, where do you need more storage, what spaces work how they are, what spaces need improvement? Where do you need more outlets, where could you really use a new light switch, which area of the house always feels too cold/warm?
Take a Photo Survey
Take a photo survey of your walls, ceilings, and floors before you cover them up. Get a visual representation of everything – plumbing, electrical wire locations, structural hardware, stamp information on structural members, foundation anchor bolts, insulation information, and more. Anything and everything that could help you piece together what’s behind your drywall when you’re trying to hang your new 72 inch TV without drilling into the bathroom plumbing.
Add wiring while your walls are open
Consider additional wiring you may want down the road – Ethernet, speaker wire, telephone, etc. You don’t necessarily need to do anything with it, but running the wiring before you drywall, and knowing where it is (because of your photo survey), if you want it later, you can access it without tearing apart your walls to run it.
Fix the little things
Squeaky floors, water damage, pests, damaged structure, foundation cracks, etc. It’s all much easier to deal with now than down the road, when they can potentially become bigger problems. I still wish we had more thoroughly dealt with the squeaky floors above our bedroom when we had our house all torn apart.
Insulate
Insulate the walls, ceilings, attics, and crawlspaces. Today’s energy code requires houses to be insulated, but back in the day (my house was built in the 60’s), there weren’t such requirements (yeah our upstairs is completely uninsulated…) The easiest time you will have insulating is when your walls are torn open – after the fact, it’s just not the same kind of fun.
Ask a professional
When in doubt, call your local professionals. Your home is too important to cut corners when it comes to safety and security. Whether it’s structural, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, or anything else, a quick (sometimes free) consultation can give you peace of mind for the future. Jurisdictions require permits and inspections for a lot of residential work to protect you as the owner, as well as future owners. If you’ve chosen to forgo the permitting and inspection processes, it’s important to recognize what you don’t know, and to know when to call a professional.
Be Present
Be present in your remodel, and/or DIY portions your comfortable with. When we bought our house, the scariest “what if” for me was “what if we have a water leak…?” For some reason that was the thing that scared me the most – how big of a mess we could have if the pipes were leaking. After we had taken care of a water leak during our basement remodel, it became a lot less scary. Sure it’s a lot of work to tear apart for a bad leak, and replace drywall, flooring, framing, and fixtures in some cases, but if you can get in there and do some of it yourself, fewer things will really intimidate you in the realm of homeownership.
I would love to keep adding to this list!! Share with me your must-have things to consider when your house is torn apart! Or those you wish you would have done now that you’re all wrapped up. What other things do you like to plan ahead for?
Check out the entire Structuring Your Remodel series!
1 - Structuring Your Remodel - Interior, Kitchen & Bath
2 - Structuring Your Remodel - Exterior, Roof & Decks
3 - Structuring Your Remodel - Basements
Disclaimer: Although I am an engineer by profession, I am not YOUR engineer. All content and information in this post (and on this website) is for informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship by your use of this website. Refer to my full disclaimer for more information.
