Last April I started working on one of the most thrilling projects of my career to date: the renovation and extension of my own home. Putting myself in my own clients’ shoes was an eye-opening experience. Although I’ve been designing and renovating homes for over 15 years, acting as the ‘client’ gave me an entirely fresh perspective. I learnt some valuable insights that have transformed what I tell anyone looking for expert architectural advice
Get|Make Sure You Get} Impartial Advice
The whole project started with me wanting to extend my tiny utility room so I could easily fit into a larger fridge. The boys were eating me out of home and house, and it was impossible to put everything in our mixed fridge-freezer.
After a quick look through the space, the shook his head and said: ‘why don’t you extend house then?’ He was right. We'd reached a point where we were able to do with the extra space and a bigger fridge wasn’t going to improve things in the long term.
Small projects are alright but not if they are only a stop-gap solution. I often meet people who want to add a additional room or convert part of their house, however the underlying issue with the home is a lot more significant.
Investing in an attic conversion when the design of the rest of the house is no longer working for you is not the most convenient way to spend your budget. We’ll all favour going for the quick fix so getting some impartial advice is essential to ensure you make the right decision. I’m usually the one who dishes out the advice, but when it I had to make the right decision about to my very own home, even I needed a second opinion.
Wait|Hold it} Until You Have the all the Money to Do ALL YOU Want.|Wait Until You Have Enough Money to Do Want.}
When we first bought the house we could have done work immediately,but our circumstances were very different (a three-year-old son and another on the way and our budget was much too small to attain everything that we wanted to do, so we waited. It was the best decision we could have made.
Earlier in my career, I used to try to help clients phase the work so their budget can be spread out however now, where possible, I recommend my clients to wait. This can indicate I talk myself out of a job but if they can move in and make the house liveable until they have enough money to do everything at once, then this is by far the best decision. Not only will they get better value for money and only build process once but they will also have the added advantage of time, which might mean that their programs change leading to a much better job in the future.
Build Up Contingency Into the Timescale
Build some breathing space into your timescale. architects dublin The build process can be an unpredictable one and even the most organised among us can come up against issues that push deadline out.
Our build process took 7.5 months, which is quite good. We had hoped to done in 7, however, some of the changes took longer than planned and so we had to push our move time out to accommodate this.
Waiting the extra couple of weeks while for the builder to be finished entirely was worth it. Had we moved in two weeks earlier, everyone would have been trying to finish around us and what would have had taken two weeks would have dragged out to four, or even six weeks.
It’s never a good idea to move in before the work is all done. Giving the contractor a deadline to work to is essential but make sure it’s practical and, if things cause the project to overrun you should make allowances and change your plans accordingly.
Really do your homework
The build can be an unstoppable process and the feeling that once you start there is absolutely no turning back can be quite unsettling. So I recommend you be as organised as you can, while the contractor will need offer a program which can guide you when critical decisions have to be made.
My advice, however, is to have all of your decisions made before the work starts on site. This is something I’ve always told my clients. However, my experience of going through the whole thing myself has confirmed it’s most likely the best single piece of advice I could give anyone who is planning a home improvement project.
After the build begins you’ll feel under pressure, you will see distractions and emotions to deal with, which means you won’t be at your very best when it comes to making decisions. Getting the decisions made before anyone asked you to make them will significantly lessen the stress and make the whole process a lot more bearable. You might love it even.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
A home renovation is quite a complex process. There are so many moving parts and people involved that there are bound to be hiccups during the whole project. Try to predict where issues might arise and be flexible. Things will go wrong, but try to keep an open focus and mind on the solution rather than the problem. Be as organised as you can be and respect your decisions.
Home renovations and extensions are exhausting emotionally, so my final little bit of advice is to stay focused on the outcome because I can promise you it'll be worth it.