Home renovations and additions can come in many forms depending on your purpose. You can make your home more functional, add to its aesthetic appeal, or renovate your living space into something that reflects your personality. And if you think it’s time to build the space you’ve been dreaming of, we at Gallagher Construction will give you home improvement tips and ideas in Coeur d’Alene to bring your vision to life.
Years ago, homeowners would most likely sell their small homes and move to a bigger ones. But now, some are choosing to add more space and remodel their homes. Whether it’s remodeling or home addition, it still poses a major investment.
Things to Consider When Planning a Home Addition
As we’ve mentioned earlier, home improvement is quite an investment to make. Therefore, it would be best to prepare a proper plan first before starting the project. Here are some home improvement tips and ideas in Coeur d’Alene you could follow.
- Create a Plan
As part of the process, you first need to determine if the addition would fit within the line of your property. Moreover, you should also consider whether it would interfere with utility lines, pipes, and the foundation of your property’s building. You should also consider hiring an experienced contractor for the project to run smoothly.
- Prepare your Budget
When planning with your contractor, you should tell them right away the budget you have prepared. Sometimes, the excitement of early planning can make you forget about your budget, but it’s always better to set it early on rather than finding out later on that it won’t be able to cover the full project costs. This way, it would prevent any additional costs for the project.
- Hire Trusted Contractors
Rather than doing some of the home construction by yourself, it would still be best to hire a trusted and experienced contractor. As a tip, be wary of low bids that sound too good to be true. It’ll either be you’re transacting with an untrustworthy contractor or they misunderstood the things you want for the project, which can be a problem during or after the project.
- Decide Which Part You Can Do Yourself
Sometimes, you can reduce the home addition costs by doing some tasks yourself. If you are skilled in painting or drywall installation, you may talk with your contractor to let you handle those tasks to further lessen labor costs. You can also attempt finishing the work by sanding the walls, painting, and doing general cleanup. But if you’re not confident in your skills, it’s always better to let the pros do the job to avoid premature repairs in the future.
- Permit Requirements
Unfortunately, you cannot simply do what you want with your home. You need to make sure that your property is zoned appropriately for your home addition project. But depending on your project’s scope, you may or may not need to have a permit. Knowing your local codes will help you overcome hurdles during the project.
- Fund Strategically
If you are on a budget, you can buy the materials firsthand so that your contractor doesn’t have to. You can get materials from stores, and auctions, or even use salvaged materials if you want to be more eco-friendly. But do make sure your contractor is okay with using recycled materials since using recycled materials also has some risks to it.
Aside from retrofitting your home to your lifestyle and expanding its space, home addition also increases the value of your property. If you decide on something as big as a home addition, it’s important to consider all possibilities to have a smooth project. Therefore, these home improvement tips and ideas in Coeur d’Alene might help you a lot with your project.
If you are looking for a highly-skilled, experienced, and trustworthy contractor, you should contact Gallagher Construction.
