Whole Home Remodel: Where to Start?

“I want to renovate my house. Where do I start?” We receive this question frequently, especially when homes require updates or a customer purchases a fixer upper. The answer varies depending on customers and their goals—a home needing new electrical and plumbing systems has different priorities than a customer who wants their dream chef’s kitchen. If you are considering a whole home remodel in Midland, MI and are wondering where to start, here are five potential approaches to this effort:

• Big-picture approach: Make a decision based on how everything works together and how it affects other areas of your home. For example, if you want new floors throughout your entire home and want to add a bay window and fresh paint in your living room, work on the living room first. If you replace floors first, you risk damaging them as materials move in and paint drips on the floor. Keep your old floors until the larger projects finish, and then start looking at floor samples!
• Budget approach: If you have a second mortgage approval or a profitable windfall, you likely want to tackle all projects at once. However, if you do not have enough equity in your home or face job uncertainty, focus on the have-to-do work rather than the want-to-do. If you have failing fixtures and loose floor tiles in your bathroom, address those issues. Sometimes, small projects make significant impact. If a better shower setup or new tile can tide you over until you can spend more money, go for it—you will likely enjoy the results.
• Return-on-investment approach: Find the project that has the most considerable return on investment. Kitchens are a good choice here—their return on investment is 70 percent, and amazing kitchens sell homes quickly! The only downside to this approach is that these projects cost more money and may delay other items you want to change in your home. However, if you seek to raise your equity more quickly and can wait on the lesser returns, plan that kitchen, master bath or additional half bath first.
• Convenience approach: Sometimes, old conditions make things inaccessible or at least inconvenient. An outdated kitchen may be ugly and unpleasant, and difficult to manage if appliances die and drawers take up space that might be better served by a new dishwasher. It doesn’t make cooking fun, and if you have mobility issues, simple tasks quickly become impossible due to poor layout. The same is true if you wish for an age-in-place home and need walk-in bathtubs, handrails, wider doorways and other accessibility and safety features. Start with the most inconvenient space and then move on to the others.
• Emergency approach: We do not recommend this strategy because you have less room to plan and create something you like. But some people wait until there is something horribly wrong. Warped and cracked floors require replacement as soon as possible, and the same is true if your bathtub leaks or your kitchen sink quits functioning. You take on projects as they break down and deal with the stress. If you believe there is a better way, yes—there is! Consider any of the other approaches above instead.

“I want to renovate my house. Where do I start?” Wherever you want! Tri City Remodeling in Midland, MI, has helped many customers plan whole home remodels and figure out where to start. See our gallery and call us for an estimate.

Categorised in: Home Remodeling

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