Whether you want to renovate your kitchen or just breathe new life into your living room, home remodeling can quickly turn into a complicated, confusing project. Planning before your remodel should help things go smoothly. Start by following these planning tips before you get started.
Recruit the Best Home Remodeling Apps to Get Technology on Your Side
Mobile apps can do just about anything these days, including help you plan and perfect your home remodeling project. The best apps cost money, although some decent free remodeling apps pay for themselves by showing you advertisements. Check out the following to find an app that fits your budget and needs:
- Floor Plan Creator: Android users can install Floor Plan Creator for free. It does have some in-app purchases that give you extra features, though. With Floor Plan Creator, you can create precise, 3D versions of your home’s floor plan to see what your rooms will look like after you remodel them.
- Room Scan Pro: If you don’t want to take time to enter the dimensions of your rooms, Room Scan Pro can do the hard parts for you. Only available for iOS users.
- MagicPlan: Professional contractors use MagicPlan for their projects. They pay about $10 per month, but you can get a free trial version for up to two home remodeling projects. Available for iOS and Android devices, MagicPlan will create your floor plan without forcing you to measure or draw anything.
- Room Creator: Room Creator is a free Android app that shows you what your room will look like after you remodel it. Use the app to test ideas before you make any changes to your home. It uses augmented reality so you can see what a new piece of furniture will look like sitting in any part of a room. It’s a lot easier than pushing and pulling furniture into position!
With these apps, you can see what your home will look like when you finish remodeling.
Set a Budget Before You Commit to Any Changes in Your Home
How much can you afford to spend on your remodel? Perhaps it makes more sense for you to remodel one room this year and wait until later before you tackle another area of the house?
You won’t know the answers to these questions until you set a budget that includes the cost of:
- Materials
- New furniture
- Appliances
- Storage to protect your belongings while you remodel
- New hardware and fixtures
- Help from professionals (more on that below)
Don’t waste your money buying cheap materials and products that don’t suit your needs. You will just spend more in the long run. Luckily, you can get high-quality items without spending a fortune. The best sectional sofas, for instance, have prices that start as low as $1199.
Find Days When You Can Focus on the Remodel
The time it takes to finish a remodeling project depends on what you want to accomplish. Remember that you can’t use a room while you remodel it. Maybe you need to take a few vacation days to wrap up the project as quickly as possible.
Count on your project taking longer than you expect. Latex paint needs to dry about five to six hours before you can apply a second coat. Oil-based paints need 24 hours.
Hire Help If You Need It
Do you have all of the skills that you need for your remodel? If you don’t have experience with something, you should probably leave it to a professional. That’s especially true for things like installing new electrical outlets, plumbing, gas lines, tile and custom cabinetry.
You might think that you can save money by doing everything yourself until you realize that you need to hire a professional to correct the mistakes you made.
Pack Your Belongings Before You Tackle a Room’s Remodel
Remodeling usually creates a huge mess, so you need to get everything out of the room before you start. You don’t want the paint to splatter your cabinets or drywall dust settling into your rugs.
Depending on your project and home, you might want to:
- Rent storage space for a few days—storage pods that sit outside of your home make great options.
- Box your belongings and move them into a room you don’t use very often. Make sure you list the contents on the box!
- Find a friend with storage extra storage space that won’t cost you any money.
No matter which option you choose, get everything out of harm’s way so you don’t add more expense to your project by breaking or ruining items.
Conclusion
The above planning tips should help you remodel any area of your home with as little frustration as possible. Looking for more information? Read our 2020 Top 7 Things You Need to Know When Planning Your Next Remodel. It starts with one of the most important questions you can ask: is it all worth it? Honestly, sometimes you might decide that your family room doesn’t need a fresh coat of paint right now. Maybe adding a new piece of furniture or some plants will satisfy you for a while. Thanks to Home of Cozy for consulting.
