Truth In Renovation Part 1: Renovations Are Not for the Faint of Heart

Today we kick off Truth In Renovations, a series of posts discussing the good, the bad, the ugly, and the amazing aspects of home renovation projects. This series isn’t intended to scare you away from creating your dream space. The purpose is to arm you with the information you need to approach your project with an open mind, an open heart, and help you be better prepared to make the best decisions for you and your budget.

First, let’s talk about the great unknown. The lack of photos in this post is deliberate to drive home the point to you—dear readers—that every renovation project starts with the simple truth: we don’t know what will come up.

At DBK we tell our full renovation clients that we can guarantee something will come up. We always hope “something” will be a treasure. And, sometimes it is. However, more frequently, “something” is more daunting—it’s a problem to be solved (and we are great problem solvers) and “something” almost always has financial implications. In future posts, we will be sharing our experience tackling the “somethings” that have popped up in our projects.

At the start of every project we promise our clients we will create a team with whoever they want to hire to do the work. And, when “something” is revealed, we will work quickly to create a plan to keep moving forward.

Here are a few things you need to know about renovations that we will be talking about in greater detail in future posts.

Renovations are messy. Before starting a project, you need to weigh the pros and cons of staying at home while a portion of your house is under construction or living elsewhere.

Renovations are loud. Although timing varies from crew to crew, contractors often get to work early in the morning and will be making lots of noise. If you work from home, you will need to consider whether or not you need to find an alternative work space during construction.

Renovations are Disruptive. Doing major renovations means living with—and properly planning for—inconveniences if you are living in your home during construction. It’s all about planning, timing, and knowing yourself and your family’s needs. You can create a plan for making dinner without a sink. It’s all about thinking it through and deciding what can live with and what you can’t live without?

Timing Is Everything. Construction always takes longer than estimated. Add about a month to whatever timeline the team gives you. We always give our projects a two week cushion, especially in places like Jersey City where the permitting process can add to delays. There are contractors who won’t give you a timeline for this very reason.

You Might Be Getting in Your Own Way. During the construction process, you might start to doubt what is happening, or second guess some decisions you've made. In these circumstances, you may decide to press pause or make a change. If so, you are getting in your own way and causing delays. Working with a great team that you trust will help you keep things rolling along as smoothly as possible.

Stay tuned for the rest of this series, which will be spread out over the next few months.In future Truth In Renovation posts, I promise photos, stories about our projects and tips you can use for planning your project.