Home renovations are notoriously finicky. You know you’ve got everything you want to keep pristine with you on hand, but then your contractors call you to ask if you’re going to leave that antique vase on display while they paint, and everything goes top-side.
Even the slightest deviation from your plan can leave you biting your nails.
What can you do? How can you stop worrying about everything that’s happening and focus on the future? Great questions. Let’s find out.
5 Stress Factors During Home Renovation and How to Avoid Them
Not a planning maestro? Or an organizer at heart? No worries. We’ve got just the tips for you to chillax while your home renovation does it all by itself:
1. Nail Down Every Unknown Factor You Can Think Of
Got an antique cabinet you think will be fine when painters are slathering paint over your walls? Move it. Paint travels further than you think. You don’t want to be cleaning paint splatters using paint thinner when you can avoid the pain beforehand.
Don’t know how much you want to renovate? Think about what’s inconveniencing you at this time, and change it. Once you’ve got a new kitchen or home office, you can think of other things you want to change.
Never start too many renovations at once. You don’t want to be sitting under a tarp in your garden while painting ninjas or tile masters occupy your home.
2. Think About the Costs — All of Them
Don’t have a budget? List everything you need. Need a new spigot? Consult with your contractor about the cost of a new kitchen sink, and note it down. Need a couch reupholstered? Ask a reupholstering company.
Plus, if you need to live at a hotel or a friend’s house for a bit, plan that before you’re forced to do it. You need to factor the cost of a hotel in your budget or the cost of bunking at a friend’s house if your house is uninhabitable for a bit.
Remember: to have peace of mind, search or ask about the price of everything, from the cost of paint to the cost of moving your Frigidaire from your kitchen. It’s never too bad to be nosy when your house is on the line.
3. Set Your Renovation Schedule
Speaking about getting a hotel room, find out your project’s timeline. A renovation project can up-end your day-to-day life if you’re making significant changes. This is especially true if you’re handling the project on your own.
If you’re being crushed under the weight of all your responsibilities, get a contractor. They’ll know how long everything will take because they’ll have the necessary experience. Plus, you can discuss everything with them, such as any potential delays or fees you should know about.
4. Anticipate Delays or Unexpected Issues
Didn’t you think about Thanksgiving or Labor Day when you contracted someone for your kitchen renovation? Or about Easter when you got a slot for a painting job?
Delays are the most common hindrance to successful renovations. So, if you want black quartz for your kitchen countertops and can only get it from a specific stoner seller in NYC, register an appointment with them at least two months before you need the countertops.
Similarly, if the tiles you like to get in your kitchen keep going out of stock, purchase them in bulk when they’re on sale and sell the rest on eBay when the renovations are done. Also, factor in the issue of broken tiles or excess tile shaving when you’re getting tiles. The solution: get more tiles than you think.
5. Choose Your Hill to Die On
Nitpicking every detail of your home renovation is not the best strategy for getting everything you want in your kitchen or home office. You’ll only frustrate your contractor if you nitpick everything, which may derail your communication and renovation timeline.
Plus, your frustration will know no bounds. So, instead of raining down like a meteor on everything you don’t like, choose your hills to die on.
Decide what you will not budge on at the beginning of your renovation. For instance, if countertops are your jam, inform your contractors about your make-no-changes-even-if-the-sky-falls-down policy about them.
Thinking about getting a bathroom renovation in NYC? Tell your contractor everything is fair game aside from the ceramic bathtub. That way, if they tell you they can’t get the backsplash you want, selecting your second-choice backsplash won’t be a problem.
The Bottom Line
Home renovations can drive you crazy, especially if you’re doing a massive change-everything kitchen renovation in NYC. Many things could go wrong, from order processing delays to incorrect tile deliveries. Fortunately, there are several ways you can calm down your inner demon and become Zen.
The first is realizing that there’s no such thing as a perfect renovation. Delays and material issues are part-and-parcel of renovations. So, accepting their inevitability is the best way of losing some stress.
Next, remember that change is inevitable if you’re dabbling in home renovations. So, if you plan on keeping your renovation in tip-top shape, keeping a pleasant attitude in the face of unexpected disasters is well worth it.