The Best Way To Save Thousands On Your Remodel
If remodeling your kitchen, bathroom, basement, or even your whole home has been on your mind, what has been holding you back? For many people the sticking point is the cost. This is to be expected because honestly, remodeling can be expensive!
Remodeling your space is an investment in your home which is why you want to make sure your money is spent wisely to make the most of that investment. In addition, you want to get the largest return on your investment if, and when, you do decide to move.
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Believe it or not, there is a way to save thousands on your home remodel, and it doesn’t have anything to do using cheaper materials or compromising on what you want!
After talking with hundreds of homeowners about their remodel projects over the years, we have noticed one big difference between people who stay within budget (or even under budget!) and those that can end up as much as doubling their final cost by the end of their project.
The people who don’t overspend at the end of the project are the same ones that have put in the work and made a plan.
Make a Plan
Sounds simple right? And it can be.
Here’s the trick: Before you call a contractor, you need to put in some work.
This might take some people 5 hours, for others 50 hours, but if it could save you $5,000, $10,000, or more on your project, would it be worth your time? It would be for us!
Making a plan is about more than saying “I want to remove a wall and put in new cabinets and countertops”. It really means figuring out what you want the end result to be and then working backwards. This is how you will create a concrete plan for what you want the outcome of your remodel to be.
This is what we have seen over and over - most people approach contractors without a plan, give a vague idea of what they *might* want, and hire the contractor that gives them the lowest price. This creates two types of problems, both of which can add thousands of extra dollars onto the final price of the remodel.
Problem #1 -
The first problem is the faulty assumption from the homeowners is that the lowest price contractor estimate must get the best deals and will ultimately end up being the lowest price.
In reality, any contractor who is willing to price something out and start on a project without a concrete plan in place is really working another angle, and I am sorry to say this but - it isn’t to your benefit!
Consider that your contractor is a salesperson and look at it from a sales perspective. The contractor knows a lower price is more likely to entice a customer to hire them.
If a customer bites, they are now in control of the situation and your budget instead of you.
This can mean that once they are in your house with all the walls torn down, you find out that they didn’t include the cost of new drywall or flooring. That is not a situation we want anyone to get into if we can help it!
Problem #2 -
The second problem we have found can happen is that people who do not think through their plan on the front end often want to change their mind along the way. Like, in the middle of the remodel! Doing that can add a huge amount of additional cost to the project, at no fault to the contractor.
Not only can changing your mind during a project cost a pretty penny in additional labor and materials, it can also cause a ripple effect that could throw off your schedule and add weeks or months onto the total time your remodel. Keeping in mind that your contractor is running a business, time is money and they will need to add extra charges to compensate for the extra time added onto the timeline due to your indecisiveness.
Luckily, these problems can be avoided with proper planning!
Below we break down our recommended steps to take that will help you create a plan that can create your dream kitchen AND save you thousands.
How To Create A Remodel Plan To Save You Thousands:
1. Find Your WHY
As we discussed in The Most Important Question You Need To Ask Yourself Before Remodeling, exploring the reasons why you are motivated to remodel is the best place to start. Your WHY will help to clarify the ultimate goal of the remodel, using the definition of the goal can then help to make sure multiple people are on the same page, and ultimately get your mind in the right place to stay motivated when things might get tough along the way.
2. Identify Your Priorities
As we discussed in How To Identify Your Priorities To Have A Successful Home Remodel, your priorities are built on your WHY. Your priorities will help to create a concrete starting point for the project, from that starting point you’re able to begin focusing in on your design, and will have clarity for how you will spend your budget to reach your stated goals.
3. Create A Written Plan and Drawing
When dreaming of a future space, all most people can do is dream. Conceptualizing what the space will look like, how it will function and flow, and possibilities available to you can be a game changer. That is the very reason why we offer online remodeling layout and floor plan consultations! We take ideas and make them into a conceptual drawing and 3D renderings to give our clients a solid plan of action.
Be prepared that this part will take a little more work than the first two steps, but is vitally important that you not skip it. Remember, drawings and floor plans are the maps that contractors use in their work. Having a drawn plan is something all contractors can use to provide pricing, but the benefits go beyond just that.
Having prepared plans to hand out to each person you meet can help to ensure you’re asking for the same thing from each person. Having a plan that is a visual representation of the outcome you want helps ensure your goals and desires are clearly communicated.
Of course, the most important benefit of having a written plan and drawings to give to each contractor is that when you receive their estimates back you should be comparing apples to apples in the pricing from each.
Making sure each estimate includes the same items is useful for more than just choosing a contractor at the beginning of a project.
It can also help reduce the likelihood that additional costs will be added on later. If something does come up, you will have something written to refer back to showing that you had clearly shown or expressed that it was to be included in the original price.
Being confident in your well-thought-out plan can simplify the process for you, reduce surprise costs that can come up along the way, and ideally it will reduce any feelings of overwhelm that sometimes arise during a remodel.
Conclusion
Remodeling is costly and no one wants to waste time or money on things that could have been easily avoided with a little extra preparation! Thinking through why you want to remodel, your priorities for the remodel, and making a written plan with drawings can make all the difference. Meeting with contractors being fully prepared with plan in hand will help you clearly communicate your desired outcome and avoid costly change orders later in the process.
We want to hear from you! Are you in the process of planning a remodel? What steps have you taken to be prepared? Let us know in the comments below!
