Contemplating a home renovation can be an exciting time, but often, the budget can become an issue as estimates come back. Instead of undertaking the entire project at one time, it is possible to phase the work instead.
There are benefits and drawbacks to phasing a job as extensive as a home remodel. The biggest benefit is financial, since less work translates to less money. The second benefit is the pause in the disruption that remodeling can cause. The last benefit may be the best: you’ll have a chance to test your renovation in real life by living in a portion of it first.
The drawbacks for phasing a home renovation includes the inflation factor for materials and labor, along with the added costs for engineering, financing and approvals. You’ll be living in the disorganization caused by construction, which may take a toll on everyone’s emotional health.
How to Phase a Home Renovation
If you decide to phase the project, you can smooth out the workflow and inconveniences by: developing a masterplan. Sit down with the design team to lay out all the changes you want from the home renovation. This approach articulates the entirety of the project, which is something you need to define the phases into logical steps.
If you’re going to originate a home loan for the project, consult with your banker about phasing it. Banks consider your home collateral and it won’t have as great value if you phase the project instead of executing everything simultaneously.
Work Closely with your Builder
Alair Homes has systems in place that help you see the project from start to completion. Working with their experts, you can find natural pausing points to phase the home renovation like when a kitchen remodel is your top priority and you want to tackle a nearby bathroom later. You may want to fold the plumbing upgrades for both into the first phase. In the end, it may cost less than if you had the plumbers out twice to work in the same general area with the same materials.
The same goes for any heavy equipment you need for the whole project. It’s costly to bring in backhoes and dozers repeatedly. It might make more sense to complete all the dirt work first to save money (and disruption) down the road, especially if water supply or sewer lines are involved.
Bottom Line
It is possible to break a home renovation into phases and there are advantages to doing so. The best course of action is to work with the lending, design and construction teams to identify the logical steps and move forward from there.