Wondering if hiring a Dallas handyman to remodel your home is the right choice?
Did you know that, according to GlobeNewsWire, the US home remodeling market is expected to hit $500 billion by 2026? There are many Americans choosing to remodel their homes instead of buying new ones, and the amount of them doing so is only going to get bigger.
If you’re an American who’s considering getting home renovations done in Dallas, Texas, then you probably have many questions about how to get started. You might be asking yourself:
“How do I choose the right design for my renovation?”
“How much is my renovation going to cost?”
“Are there any tips I should be aware of when doing my renovation?”
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to your home renovation, and it can be stressful and frustrating to not know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together this home renovation guide.
By helping you know what you need to know before you get started, you can enjoy the process. Read on to learn more.
Reflect On Your Renovation
The first of the home renovation tips we’ll give you is to reflect on your renovation. Before you start, you should step back and look at your home, asking yourself the question: “What’s my ultimate goal with this renovation? What do I want to change, and why?”
This will help you understand what your priorities should be during your home renovation in Dallas. For example, if you want to have more space in your home, then your focus should be on making your kitchen and living room more spacious, instead of re-tiling your bathroom.
Once you know what the priorities of your renovation will be, you want to think about every single stage you’ll go through during the renovation. This will keep you from overlooking any details that might derail your project completely later.
For example, if you want to take down a wall, but there are pipes going through it that are important for your house’s plumbing, you won’t waste money getting started before getting to this problem.
Think About Design
Once you’ve thought about the different stages of your Dallas home renovation, you’ll want to think about what you want the renovation to look like in terms of design. In addition to potentially tearing down a few walls or replacing the kitchen sink, you need to know what your home will look like by the end of the renovation.
Especially if your renovation is design-based—where you’re changing the feel and look of your space without making changes to its actual construction—you need to think about design.
To figure out what you want your home to look like after the renovation, do some browsing of design shows, interior decorating websites, Pinterest, Instagram, and home decorating magazines. By doing this, you’ll have a better idea of your design preferences.
If you’re meeting with a designer to discuss the changes to your home, you’ll want to come prepared with your ideas about design. Otherwise, your new design might end up looking more like what they prefer than what you do.
Additionally, be clear about your budget restrictions.
Budget Accordingly
Speaking of budget restrictions, you need to have a clear idea of what your budget is when it comes to your home renovation. Once you have an idea of what changes have to be made to your home and what its final design might look like, it’s time to think about your budget.
There are many costs to consider. In addition to the costs of the renovations themselves, you might need to pay additional money for construction labor hours completed, new materials, and additional services at the end such as cleaning up the space.
When budgeting, add up all these costs and make sure that you aim for the higher amounts. Otherwise, if you plan your budget lower than how much it will actually cost, then you’ll have to stop renovations in the middle of the work being completed.
Additionally, make some financial room for potential additional costs, since you might end up adding another project within your renovation or end up spending more on new materials than planned.
Usual Renovation Costs in Dallas, TX
Knowing what the usual renovation costs in Dallas, Texas are will help you when budgeting. Generally, in terms of per square foot costs, a renovation in Dallas, Texas will cost you $80 to $100 per square foot, if your home has low range finishes.
In terms of costs for specific costs, this is how much they usually cost in your area:
Wood deck: $40 per square foot, usually totaling up to $13,000
Deck composite: $60 per square foot, usually totaling up to $19,000
High-end remodeling or expansion of a bathroom: $30,000 or more
Mid-range remodeling of a bathroom: between $15,000 and $25,000
Low-range remodeling of a bathroom: between $8,000 and $15,000
Kitchen remodel: high end usually costs $40,000, with mid-range costing between $25,000 and $30,000, and low-range costing between $10,000 and $15,000
By knowing what these prices are, you can find out what works within your budget. If you’re low on money, we recommend focusing on your most important home renovation project first. Later on, when you have more money, you can complete your other projects.
Speak with Different Contractors
To save money with your home renovation, you’ll want to speak with different contractors about what their costs are for the changes you’re having made to your home. Put together a spreadsheet with their answers, so that you can compare answers later on.
If you don’t ask questions to multiple contractors, then you might end up paying way more than necessary for your renovation. Also, if there’s a contractor you really want to work with but they’re a bit pricey, you can negotiate with them for a lower price if someone else has a lower price.
When interviewing contractors, remember to ask if they expect payment per job, or if they charge hourly for their work. If they charge hourly, have them come in to take a look at your home, so they can give you an estimate of how long the project might take, so you’ll know how much you’ll be paying.
Additionally, remember that extremely low prices can be a red flag. Even though you think you’ll be saving money, an extremely cheap contractor is likely to have lower-quality materials, and might even scam you, leaving the job half-finished.
When interviewing different contractors, ask them if they have a guarantee for customers or a warranty available. Also ask if they’re insured, and if their contracted workers are insured as well. By asking these questions, you’ll verify that you’re working with a legitimate contractor.
Think About Your Timeline
Once you’ve chosen the right contractor for the job, know what the renovation will involve, and what your budget is, it’s time to sit down and think about your timeline. Renovations often take much longer than originally planned, so if you think it’s all going to get completed in a short amount of time, you should think again.
In addition to the estimates given to you by your contractor on how long the work itself will take, you need to think about additional aspects that might impact your timeline, such as how long it might take for a part or piece of material to be shipped to you.
Also, there are unexpected issues that often come up during renovations, such as an unexpected piece of wiring or plumbing that means an additional construction job has to be done. For this reason, we recommend adding several weeks to a month to your schedule.
Start With Your Kitchen
If your kitchen is one of the areas you’re going to be renovating in your home, then we suggest starting with it first. This is for several reasons. First of all, renovating your kitchen will give your house a huge amount of value if you choose to resell it.
So if you start with your kitchen, and find that you don’t have money left over to do the rest of your planned renovations, then you can at least know that you’ve spent money on a renovation that you’ll make money with in the future, should you choose to sell your home.
Additionally, renovating your kitchen will change your life for the best, far better than any other renovation. After all, we spend most evenings in our kitchens, making dinner. Especially now when so many people are indoors because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it will be nice to have some extra room while cooking.
Finally, kitchen construction creates a huge amount of debris and dust, so it’s best to do this messy renovation first so that you can enjoy being in your home once it’s been finished. If you do other renovations first, then they’ll get dusty from the kitchen renovation.
Use a Lockbox
Once you start getting construction done on your home, we recommend using a lockbox. That way, your contractor can come in at any time of day, even if you’re out running errands or at the office. Unless you want to have to rush home in the middle of the day to let them in, invest in a lockbox so that your contractor can come in to work whenever necessary.
Use the Right Savings Strategies
When getting your house remodeled, there are so many costs, both expected and unexpected. Given that you’re going to be spending so much money on your home renovation in Dallas, Texas, we thought we’d give you some saving strategies so you can save where possible.
Focus on Efficiency Instead of Size
One of the biggest costs of doing a home renovation is when you pull down walls or move large items (such as your dishwasher) to make more room for yourself in your home. If you want to save money, we recommend focusing on efficiency instead of size.
For example, instead of pulling down your walls to make your kitchen bigger, invest in new cabinets that will give you more storage room or install a kitchen island so you have more counter space.
Go to a Recycling Center
Many recycling centers will sell you the materials you need for your home renovation at a cheaper price than what you’d pay at a retailer like Home Depot. The added plus? You’re reusing materials, which is better for the environment.
Ask Your Contractor for Materials
Often, contractors have material left over from other construction jobs they’ve been working on. Since they’re there to help, ask them if they have any they think could be useful for your home renovation. This will be far cheaper than buying the materials at a store.
Don’t Mess with the Kitchen Sink or Toilet
Some renovation projects are much pricier than others. This is especially the case if you’re thinking of moving the kitchen sink, toilet, or any other part of your home that’s connected to the plumbing system. If possible, find alternatives to messing with this complex system.
Need More Help with Home Renovations?
Do you need more help with successfully renovating your home? Do you need additional home renovation tricks? Here at Mr. Handyman, we’re happy to help. We’re experts when it comes to home renovations, as well as commercial renovations.
Whatever questions you have, we’re happy to answer them. To get in touch with us to ask your questions or learn about additional home renovation tricks, visit our contact us page.