Do Your Homework Before Remodeling
By Owen Whetzel
Remodeling or adding onto an existing house requires exceptional planning. This means you should consider your first hired consultant to be a residential architect or designer, who has previous experience working on homes similar to yours.
However, before you make an appointment with an architect or designer, you have some homework to do:
Visit a public library and browse through their home remodeling section, as well as do a thorough periodical search. Most public libraries have research librarians, who could assist you. Check out books and magazines to read, and make photocopies of houses that resemble how you would like your house to appear, when completed. Keep the copies in a 3-ring binder. (See my column, Make Your Own Home Information Binder on this website.) Although the Internet is a valuable research tool, some of the information is not so valuable. Print out what interests you and verify the information later with professionals.
Use 3-by-5-inch cards to write down everything you want in your house. Don't exclude anything at this point. This is your "I'm the wealthiest person in the world and can have anything I want" list. As the process evolves, you will use the 3-by-5 cards to prioritize your wishes.
Decide how much money you have to spend on the project. Talk with area realtors about what will add to your home's resale value and what will not. If you will be financing the project, start shopping around for the best loans.
Get references from friends, relatives, business associates, etc. of architects or designers, then make an appointment to interview each person you are considering to design your dream house. Don't forget to take your binder and 3-by-5 cards to each interview. This is also the point where you want to start keeping a detailed daily journal, listing times, places and what transpires relative to the project. You can end your journal writing career, when the final touchups are made on your house.
Since you will eventually be coming into contact with one or more contractors, if you are a California resident, now is a good time to request a free copy of "What You Should Know Before You Hire A Contractor," from the State of California, Department of Consumer Affairs, Contractors State License Board (CSLB). For the booklet to be mailed to you, phone (800) 321-2752 (24-hours a day) and record your request, along with your full name and address. You may also read the booklet's text, by downloading it from the Board's web site: www.cslb.ca.gov. Select "Guides & Pamphlets" and then "What You Should Know Before You Hire A Contractor." It is available in English and Spanish. You can also download other Board publications or have your request filled by mail.
I have found it less stressful to assume a remodel will take twice as long and cost twice as much as expected. If the job is finished on time, which it should be, look at all the free time you'll have. If the house is finished on budget, which it should be, the Owen Whetzel Theory of Remodeling Economics (OWTRE) states that the extra budgeted money can be spent on something else. My wife agrees with the first. Rolls her eyes at the second.
Owen Whetzel has earned an outstanding reputation as an expert among both professionals and do-it-yourselfers, in his writing and lecturing about building, remodeling, home improvement, woodworking and do-it-yourself projects.
Owen has collaborated on books and magazine articles, was a regular guest on The Discovery Channel's highly successful home repair show, "Fix-It Line," and from 1991- 2000 he hosted "Wednesday How-To Night" on San Jose's PBS-TV affiliate, KTEH.
He has written columns on home repair for the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News. In 1990, he was honored to have contributed to the newspaper winning the Pulitzer Prize (General News Reporting), for its detailed coverage of the October 17, 1989 Bay Area earthquake and its aftermath.