How To Plan A DIY Home Renovation

When planning for a DIY home renovation, you will want to include plans for where your valuables are going to be stored for the duration of your project. A self-storage container from Top Box protects your contents by providing a safe haven for your valuables, for the duration of a home renovation (It can make life a lot easier for your contractors too!).

By tackling a renovation project independently, you won’t have to choose from pre-designs done by others. You get to control the shots…. from knocking down part of a wall to make your kitchen bigger, installing a kitchen island or having French doors leading out onto a timber decked patio complete with a gas barbeque, it’s your project and you can make it happen!

A DIY home renovation can improve the value of your property and increase your living space. Keeping projects within budget though, that’s a whole different matter. It takes planning, co-ordination, sometimes a bit of negotiating and definitely some on-the-fly adjusting to keep your project within budget.

 

A 5-Step Plan to Complete a DIY Home Renovation within Budget……

 

1. Start with a Schedule of Works

Any size of DIY home renovation begins with a schedule of works and it’s different from the Scope of Works. The schedule of works is an outline of everything you plan to do whether it may be in the near future or at a later date. The scope of works is used for each smaller project such as installing a bathroom floor, which is only one part of a larger project. The schedule of works list cites out your larger project and forms the base for your plans going forward.

As an example, if a property has an issue with rising damp, you won’t want to cut corners by just having the walls skimmed with a fresh coat of plaster because the problem could re-emerge. You would include in your schedule of works that an investigation would need to be carried out to identify what may be the root cause of the problem. It could be a roof repair that’s needed, or some re-pointing of the brickwork.

The schedule of works is also a great place to identify the various materials you will need, some of which may be in bulk and you may be able to save money by combining your delivery from the same supplier. Larger materials and specialist tools can be stored in a self-storage container until they are needed by you or your contractors thus helping to keep delivery costs as low as possible and keeping your supplies secure until required.

When putting your schedule of works together, list out all the areas of your property you want to renovate and list out the problems you see in each area that needs fixed and the materials you will need to complete each project.

2. Determine who will oversee your Home Renovation

There are a lot of smaller projects you can DIY, but there are also going to be specialist jobs requiring a contractor. Typical examples are electrical work and plumbing, which you shouldn’t do yourself without the required training and certification.

There may also be jobs you feel uncomfortable doing yourself, such as tiling or replacing woodwork, in which case you may want to bring in the help of a tiler, carpenter or a joiner. At the same time, you may have friends or friends of friends who could lend a hand which will help keep your costs down.

Overseeing a home renovation can be frustrating at times as there will be a lot of people involved. Even for a kitchen renovation, various contractors could be involved, such as:

• Electrical Contractors;
• Gas Engineers;
• Plasterers;
• Tilers;
• Joiners;
• And of course, a Plumber.

The above list is just an example of contractors you could have involved for a kitchen renovation. For a DIY home renovation, there would be more, which could include Roofers, Scaffolders, Window & Door Contractors and perhaps Landscapers.

A DIY home renovation can be managed entirely by yourself or you could hire a General Contractor as a Project Manager.

Hiring a project manager does have its advantages, but with almost everything else, there are downsides too.

The advantage of hiring a project manager include:

• Experience;
• Better management of time;
• Professional Contacts in the Trades Sectors;
• Potential for discounts on trade supplies;
• And they should be able to give you a realistic timeframe to have your schedule of works completed as well as the budget you can expect to pay.

The main downside is the additional cost; the Project Manager will be your main point of contact throughout the renovation, so carefully selecting and carrying out due diligence is always advised. This will hopefully prevent personalities from clashing or it could make for a long and frustrating experience. While all other contractors will be involved for part of your project, the Project Manager will be there throughout.

3. Assembling Your Team

The smart move with any size of renovation is to plan out who will do what before you go full steam ahead. Plan your team before you start and you could avoid mishaps, for instance having a plasterboard partition installed only for the electrician to arrive and demand alterations so they can get their job done. Careful planning will hopefully avoid mistakes.

Before your project starts, list out the contractors you will need to hire based on your schedule of works and get interviewing. You will want to check trade references, get competitive quotes, make sure they are insured to work on your property and of course listen to your instincts and have a good feeling about working with the person you plan to hire.

When assessing contractors, don’t just consider price because the cheapest is rarely a good option. Ideally for pricing, focus on negotiations by getting three competitive quotes to get a ballpoint figure, then negotiate with who you feel is the best tradesperson or company you want to bring aboard.

For contractors perhaps based further afield, they may have specialist tools that would benefit from safe storage, rather than the back of a works van or garden, Self-storage containers are ideal for contractors as they have drive-up access and with your own key to your unit, the self-storage container can be accessed anytime, not just within standard office hours. This can be a handy solution for rental tools & equipment as well.

4. Assign a Budget and do your utmost to stick to it!

Any size of DIY home renovation project can throw in unexpected costs and this should be budgeted for wherever possible, have a budget buffer. If you estimate £10,000 for a bathroom renovation, including; tiling work, flooring, plumbing, electric shower installation, lighting and fixtures & fittings have anywhere from 10% to a 25% buffer so there’s £1,000 to £2,500 available for extra expenses. In a bathroom, you could have the old bath removed only to find rotten joists caused by a previous water leak, which may need you to bring in a joiner.

When working out your budget, a spreadsheet can help you make realistic cost projections and show you early on when you are heading towards going over budget.

The more you list, the more control you have so make your budget very detailed. List out the contractor fees, the materials you will need, price of fixings, any inspection fees needed, the price of truck or van hire or delivery costs, specialist tool rentals, temporary storage costs and anything else you expect as an expense.

5. Prepare the Property for the Project Start Date

During a home renovation, whether DIY or professionally managed by a Project Manager, contractors do not expect to come into a spotless home. They show up in work boots with all the safety gear and heavy-duty work tools ready to get to work. Your property will become a building site and that’s not where you want anything of value to be.

Before the project start date, purge the area of everything you don’t want damaged. Electrical appliances, furnishings, light fittings, and everything of sentimental value can be put into self-storage for the duration of your renovation.

Self-storage containers are ideal for short-term projects such as a DIY home renovation. At Top Box Self Storage, our containers all have drive-up access and provide secure storage for the length of time you need it.

For more information, you can contact us at [email protected] or alternatively, call us on 01506 883912 / 07742 542790.