Monthly Archives: May 2017

Don’t Go Over Budget on a Home Renovation Project

Accourding to Houzz, almost 3 to 4 out 10 homeowners always go over budget when doing a renovation or remodel. Another surveys stat that’ll make you think: Only 1 in 5 comes within or under the decided budget.

Try these tips to stay within the budget :

Hire the Right Residential Remodeling Experts

If you decide to hire individual workers yourself, then get at least 3 quotes for each service performed. Communicating to experts is not just about winning the most competitive price. But it’s also an opportunity to find out what services each individual remodeling contractor includes within his fee.

The more detail included in the bid, the more likely you will come in on budget for your home remodeling project.

Know where you can cut cost and where you should invest

Firstly, consider what features are most important before setting up a project budget. When it comes to allotting funds to different tasks, your ancillary desires should take second place to the overall project goals.

Let your home remodeling goals drive your budget decisions.

Reconsider the DIYs

Reconsider the thought of DIYs for your project. Because DIYs are not necessarily cheap. It totally depends on the project. If you don’t have expertise you should not try this. You may end up by paying more than your decided budget.

So, hire a home remodeling and renovation expert for most medium- to large-scale project. Because a contractor is more likely to get all the tasks right the first time.

Don’t try DIY unless you really know what you are doing. Mistakes can cost more than hiring an expert residential remodeling pro the first time.

Mapout the project – so you don’t miss anything

Either your project is small or a big one, preparing a detailed plan for your project is always a good idea. Because the more detailed your project plan, the better prepared you’ll be for the expected and unexpected expenses that can arise. When estimating the cost of your project, consider both large and little items. The more you can plan to expect, the better it is.

Don’t forget the small costs. Pennies might not seem like much at first glance, but they sure do add up.

Also Read : Are you planning a full gut renovation ? 

Why Considering The Design And Build Option is Right ?

 home remodeling and renovation

Most of the construction projects undertaken still follow the design-bid-build model. Although there is a major shift over to the “design and build” model. Interestingly, design-bid-build is the traditional construction model, when the truth is truly the opposite. The origins of design and build construction can be sketched to the old-fashioned construction model, wherein an individual artisan is responsible for every phase of building the structure. And that is exactly what design and build construction comprises: a single construction firm perform tasks with the responsibility for designing, construction, and then delivering the finished structure or your home/building.

In the design-bid-build model, the home/building owner first hires a design team to draw up a set of plans for the proposed structure. When the home/building owner approves the design, the plans are then presented to a few construction teams and then bid is made for those designs for a contract. The company that is finally chosen will be tasked with the original construction of the home/building.

In contrast, the design and build construction require assigning an individual home remodeling and renovation firm to both, the design and the construction and every other aspect of the construction home improvement project. The construction firm may be selected from a number of several bidders or may be selected by way of a referral. Design and build firms may hire an architect in-house and they normally have a team of sub-contractors they usually work with on construction projects.

The main advantage of going with design and build construction instead of design-bid-build is the simplicity of managing the construction project. Because you only have a single representative of the design and build firm to deal with, no more complexity of dealing with different teams. It is a lot easier for you to communicate your requirements and to stay updated. This generally results in a more smoother and efficient construction process, which will surely pay off in terms of assuring quality, and possibly reducing costs even.

Also Read : Full gut renovation for your home

Are You Planning For A Full Gut Renovation ?

Full Gut Renovation

The full gut renovation is a project you want to enter into with a great deal of preparation. You will be surprised to know that, how common people take on such a huge task without considering some of the more important issues. The full gut renovation is challenging enough even if you are totally prepared for it. So make it a bit easier for yourself by keeping essential factors in mind!

Budget

When you plan to renovate your home, the first and most important step is to figure out your budget, how much money you can spend for the entire home improvement project.

When you define the limit of your budget, it will help you to determine the scope of your home renovation work and more detailed analysis about how much you can spend on the particular tasks. And this will also help you to ensure that you don’t spend any more capital than you have to.

Timeline

Always remember the phrase “time is money”. This phrase more often plays right in the construction industry and is particularly appropriate to full gut renovation. Longer the time a construction project takes, more the money you have to spent. That’s why you should better make time schedules for every assignment with the same thoroughness as you would do for your cash.Home Remodeling On A Budget

You have to plan the schedule of the complete construction/renovation work thoroughly and break down the tasks into definite chunks. Making a timeline schedule will help assure an efficient workflow and ensure that the work is accomplished on time and more importantly within the budget.

Identify the issues and hidden problems

Any home, office, building or any structure that needs full gut renovation will likely have a number of issues and hidden problems that may not be clear until after all the home renovation project work is done. Structural issues and problems with the electrical systems and plumbing can be costly and difficult to rectify. So, you should check on these regularly and similarly the hidden issues before the renovation work begins.

Also Read: Full Gut Renovation For Your Home

Apartment Renovation – Things You May Have Neglected

An apartment renovation project can be a very complicated job. Usually, this kind of renovation jobs includes numerous challenges to deal with and barriers to cross at every step. While analyzing the apartment for renovation, you can feel bogged down quickly with the details and may neglect certain important tasks and problems that are equally important as the fundamental construction work. A full gut renovation process for your apartment can be challenging especially during the later stages when there are various complicated tasks going on at the same time.

So if you want to stay on top of things during every stage of the renovation process, you have to plan out the whole renovation work in detail. Make a proper plan what exactly needs to be done and especially in what order. For example, you may probably want, to begin with, the kitchen or the bathroom where the plumbing and the electrical systems pose particular challenges. If you are living in Boston, you can hire the best construction contractor in Boston for your renovation needs.

Always remember to upgrade your electrical systems and plumbing. Since you moved in your needs have likely grown, and whoever could always use some extra sockets or light fixtures. If you’re planning to renovate the kitchen in a modern way you will probably need more a robust electrical system and more outlets to accommodate them.

If you’re planning to renovate a total apartment, you can also hire any experienced and expert residential remodeling contractor for your job. Because renovate full apartment will be a perfect opportunity to make your home more efficient, even more comfortable, and utterly better suited to your necessities and habits.

If you are living in a rental apartment, do not forget to go over your plans with your landlord. Any of the modifications you’ve planned may be in violation of your rental agreement. Checked out plans with your landlord beforehand will help you avoid any potential disputes later on.

Is Construction Management Essential For A Successful Project

In the recent years if you’ve been paying any attention at all to the improvements in the construction industry If you’ve been paying any attention at all to improvements in the construction industry in recent years, then you may aware of the rise of a seemingly new field of specialization called construction management. Seemingly a universal perspective of large scale construction jobs. Construction management is also increasingly employed in smaller scale projects as well.

But do you have any knowledge about construction management? what is construction management? what benefits does it provide? And how would you know if the planned construction project will benefit from the services of a construction manager or not?

The construction management primarily involves dealing with every aspect of the construction project from the beginning to the end. The majority of the construction contractor in Boston offer construction management as a standard service. In this either themselves performing the role of the construction manager or hiring a construction manager. Building/home owners who assign a general construction contractor to the project, may also appoint a third party construction manager or may assume the role themselves.

The role of the construction manager is full of responsibilities. The manager is expected to manage every single aspect of the construction project. The construction manager ensuring that everything is going smoothly and according to the time schedule and daily tasks are being done on time and fully accomplished. It is also the job of the construction manager to assure that all the teams associated are aware of their specific tasks and roles in the project and also that they have everything they need for the job.

The most important aspect of construction management is ensuring that the project assigned needs to be finished within the budget and on time. This assignment requires working closely with the design and the construction team and exploring the various options available in materials and methods. The end goal of a construction manager is to give a structure that meets the home owner’s expectations and conforms to building/home codes and standards while remaining within budget constraints.

So what is your decision, whether you need a construction manager or not. You might be able to do away with the construction manager and assume the role yourself if you have the time and capability to perform all the above-mentioned tasks. Otherwise, you just might find a construction manager an important addition to your team.

Full Gut Renovation For Your Home

When we talk about full gut renovation, it is more complex than your any typical renovation projects. And you will be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work and effort involved. It might be a good idea to know what you are getting into before you knock down your walls and pull up floorboards.

The full gut renovation is an extensive reconstruction or project that involves removing and replacing the framework, finishing, plumbing, and electrical systems. In most of the full gut renovation projects, most of the work involves making revisions to the internal layout and architecture of your home, with the exterior of the home remaining largely unchanged. However, there are also some full gut projects in which even the home/building’s structure is changed completely. In more extensive full gut renovation projects, even the roofs and walls of the structure may be rebuilt.

Keeps your expenses manageable

The full gut renovation projects are often more expensive than other construction projects. But there are some ways available to reduce the expenses by a significant margin. You just need to employ a more efficient design by which cost can be reduced by as much as 5%. Homeowners stand to realize tangible cost savings as well by working with a construction contractor , who gives homeowners the opportunity to specify materials and even to customize some aspects of the design of their homes.

Today some of the more effective companies in the home renovation business use a system called value engineering. In this system, the cost of the labor and materials needed in the full gut renovation project are estimated. Some minor revisions are then made to the material choice and architectural plans, while still focusing on the quality of the end result. With value engineering, you can perform full gut renovations that cost considerably less than similar projects.

Full Gut Renovations

Full Gut Renovations

Full Gut Renovations

Living Rooms Designs Emulating The Hottest Trends

 

Your living room is the most important area of your beautiful home. It is the central space of your home around which the rest of the areas are configured accordingly. So you can say that living room is the basic mood board for the rest of the home remodeling scheme. It requires being the cynosure of the home remodeling style you are going to emulate in the rest parts of your home. Therefore, this new home design needs to be fashionable and trendy, yet relaxing and comfortable as well. Below, we are sharing living rooms designs that are emulating the hottest trends in the market today:

 

1. A Sincere Charm
Country-rustic with a touch of industrial is maybe the most coziest design style on the figurative list, but it can also emulate a fashionable vibe. This living room shown in the image, has been designed in a way, in which all the inherent design elements offer a comfortable yet snazzy setting without compromising the aesthetic. You can also remodel your living room like this with us. After all, living room is a space which is noticed by your guests at the first place.

Full Gut Renovations

 

2. Playful Retro Area
This living room shown in the image given below has been remodeled in a playful way. This living space is designed using shining colors and unique design elements. The playful impact has been carefully balanced out with the comfortable furniture and simple wooden floors. In addition, profusion of the natural light also invokes a relaxing aura within your living room space. Why not to remodel your own living room like this, a space in your home where everyone loves to spent time, even kids.

Custom Cabinetry

 

3. Café style Space
This is one of the popular modern styles. The living room shown below has been designed especially to emulate its rustic style. The wooden surface of the room offer a unique perspective on small area design, where even a great amount of design invasions do not take away from the space, but only add more to its aesthetic.

Fine Finished Carpentry

 

4. Simple But Unique Space
This living room in the image has been designed using the wooden textures and grey hues only. The combination is absolutely industrial, but its simplicity resonates a refined aura. This sort of living room design is a timeless masterwork. You can also create one for you with Refine Construction, Inc.

Load Bearing Walls

 

5. A Contemporary Theme

This living room shown below is a combination of bold, plenteous colors that provide a great contrast against the white foreground of rest of the space/room. The overall impact of the room is very dynamic and playful without contradicting the litheness of the underlying modern in the designs.

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