I don’t know about you but as soon as December hits, I start thinking about the following year. I can’t help skipping past Christmas in my head (although I’m still looking forward to it, of course!) and start looking ahead to 2020 and making plans for our life and home. With plenty more renovation work on the horizon, I need to think ahead to make sure everything gets done! So, if like me you’re thinking of doing some work on your home in the New Year here are some things you should consider before you get started…
PLANNING AND BUDGETING
The best thing about looking ahead is that you can budget for the work you want to do and ensure that you don’t end up in financial difficulties half way through your project. A great way to do this is to make a plan and stick to it! This is especially important if you’re getting professionals in to do the work on your home as any later adjustments to the building work will certainly add ££s to the final bill. However, if you can make a plan and finalise all the details in advance, you should aim to get a realistic quote from your builder, plumber or electrician – including completion dates etc – so that there won’t be any surprises when the work is completed or when it comes to paying the invoice.
ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION
Another important thing to consider is whether the building work you’re undertaking will impact on your ability to live in your home. If it’s going to cause quite a disruption to family life you may want to consider alternative accommodation. When we first got the keys to our home I decided not to move in before the bathroom was complete. I mean, there’s never a good time live without a bathroom, is there?!
There are a few ways to go with this – if it’s a big building job you’re undertaking, such as an extension or loft conversion, you’ll probably want to get out of the house altogether for the duration of the build. If you’ve got the space, moving into a caravan on your land could be the solution. And you’ll be surprised at how little a secondhand static caravan could cost to buy! Plus, you could continue to use it as an extra bedroom for guests in the future. If the building work is only for a week or so, why not book a holiday to coincide with the project? That way, you’ll be away while the bathroom or kitchen is ripped out, will have someone essentially taking care of your house while you’re away, and can return home to a nice new space.
ORDERING AND MACHINERY HIRE
If you’re doing a lot of the renovation work yourself in the new year, you’re going to need to start shopping around to source the things you need to complete the work. For example, knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to move into my house before the bathroom was done, I shopped around and ordered a bathroom suite before we even got the keys to the house. Now, I don’t recommend doing that – as any delays in the buying process could mean that the bathroom ends up being delivered too early! But we had already exchanged and it was just a few days before the keys could be picked up so luckily it worked out for us.
But the main point here is that I made HUGE savings on our bathroom in the January sale so now really is the time to start thinking about what you’re going to need for your renovation project. Make a list of accessories, supplies, even the type of kitchen cupboards etc so that when January hits and the discounts begin, you can snap up everything you need for a bargain price.
Don’t forget that many other people will be starting projects in the new year too so if you need to hire any equipment to get the job done, you should book it in sooner rather than later. Scaffolding, cement mixers or power tools for example, can all be hired from plant hire companies and you can book in your date in advance. But if you’re having builders to do the work, check with them before hiring anything as they’ll probably bring all their own equipment and scaffolding etc.
What else do you think you could do the help your new year renovation plans go smoothly? Let me know what you did to plan ahead for your last building project in the comments below and I’d love to hear how it went if you moved into a static caravan or took a holiday while the work was going on 🙂
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