This year, many people have found themselves asking some tough questions about their homes. After spending a lot of extra time there, you might be trying to determine if you should remodel or move. And if a whole house remodel is part of your thought process, so many other questions arise. Can you live inside the house while the builders gut out house components you need to live with? Or will you need to find another place to live while the whole thing happens? Home renovation stress is real and it can start even before the first hammer falls. But with an experienced Corvallis design-build firm in your corner, you can make smart decisions that make sense for your family.
So, Is it Better to Add on or Move?
This is a question only you can answer, really, but there are some basic considerations you’ll need to mull over before deciding. First of all, how much do you love your neighborhood? Would moving increase your commute time or take kids out of schools they like and away from friends? Also, if you found another house, how much work would you need to do in order to update the new house to make it really yours? If it would take considerable remodeling anyway, it may just make more sense to save the money and hassle of moving, and replace it with an all-in-one remodeling project to renovate, upgrade and boost the home you already live in. You should also ask yourself whether the upgrades you’re looking for could be accomplished with some cosmetic remodeling touches, or if you truly want to make deep changes.
Another question you might be asking is, “When should you not remodel your house?” Of course, if you love your house just the way it is, there’s no urgency to do so. Also, if you are not in the right place financially, it’s better to wait until you have a solid budget before diving into a whole house remodel. Also, you’ll have to consider how well you and your family could endure the stress and inconvenience of a remodel of that magnitude. There is a season for everything, and only you can know if this is the right one or not.
Whole House Remodel Checklist
If you do come to the decision that you are ready, willing, and able to dive into a whole-house renovation, you’ll need to consider the steps to renovating a house, which started long before the hammers pound. For instance, before committing, you’ll need to be able to answer the question of where you’re going to stay during the process. Some families rent a place to stay during the process, but others hole up in other areas of the house as the process begins. You will need to decide if you can budget for a rental, or if you have friends or family who would be OK with you staying with them for that amount of time. Furthermore, they’d need to be OK with you not having a specific move-out date.
As good as we are at sticking to budgets and schedules, sometimes unexpected circumstances can bump out the timeline. And here are some other things you’ll need to work out too:
1. Where to Put Your Belongings
If you are going to move out while this happens, it’s a good idea to just pack everything up and put it into storage as if you really were moving. This keeps your belongings safe from damage and dust. If you are staying, pack up the rooms that are being worked on first and station yourself in another part of the house where you can arrange a makeshift kitchen.
2. Know Where to Go when Water and Electricity are Turned Off
During the planning and scheduling process, work out the times when your water and electricity will need to be interrupted for safe construction purposes. This process typically lasts a few hours, and we ensure that both the water and electricity are fully functioning by the end of the workday.
3. If You Stay: Separate Living and Construction Zones
When we work on whole home renovations, we usually go through a process that seals off construction areas from living areas so that dust and mess are confined just to the areas we are working on at any given time. This keeps pets and children out of danger as well, with zip entrances and plywood to block those areas off.
4. Choose a Corvallis Contractor That Cares about Dust and Cleanliness
Dust abatement is critical during whole home remodeling projects because some of the dust that gets released, especially in older homes, can come with health hazards. We have an entire dust abatement and cleanliness protocol so that we can keep our clients and their homes as safe as possible while keeping living areas as clean as possible too.
5. Understand that Home Renovation Stress is Natural
Your entire lifestyle, schedule, and even privacy will be upended for the sake of remodeling your home. Where you eat and sleep will need to change. It will be dusty, busy, and loud. It is totally natural to feel that stress, but understanding and preparing mentally for it ahead of time will help you make the best of it. And eventually, you'll be able to enjoy a gorgeous new interior design and fantastic new functionality. We make it all worthwhile!
Lifestyle Remodeling Corvallis Style
If you’ve been doing the math (both budgeting-wise and lifestyle-wise) and you feel like now is the right time for a home remodeling project of any magnitude, make sure to schedule a consultation with the design-build team at Corvallis Custom Kitchens & Baths. And be sure to stop and take a look through our gallery for inspiration. We look forward to working with you!
