Planning on renovating your home, bach or office? Smith and Sons is the place to go for advice. We ask their renovation experts how to get the best result, first time. We chat with Smith and Sons Pukekohe franchise-holders Lane and Melissa and their experienced and friendly team of local contractors, to find out how to renovate your home or office in preparation for generations to come.
BUDGET & INVESTMENT
One of the first things to think about in renovations is whether the house is your forever home or an investment to sell and move on. When you think about this you can then start to get an idea of budget, and whether you need to find out how much you can afford or what do you want to invest into the property. It is really important to have a chat to your banks and builder early on, especially if you just don’t know how much building can cost. “When clients come to us with architectural plans it is often that these don’t match their budget, So it’s a really important discussion to have with everyone involved in the project,” says Melissa.
PLANNING
Going into a renovation with a plan is like driving a car without a steering wheel, you don’t know where you are going to end up! Especially if your budget is tight, you will need everything carefully mapped out with
clear costings. Rather than jumping into the renovation with great gusto, it is important to plan out what you want the overall project to achieve, write your wish list and your must haves. If you have this when you meet with someone from Smith and Sons we can see if the wish list as well the must haves can be done with your budget. You also need think about timelines, if the project needs to be completed by a certain timeline starting the discussions with plenty of time to get the project done can avoid a lot of extra costs and stress.
AVOIDING MISTAKES
Some of biggest mistakes made with a renovation project can be avoided. Have a realistic budget, by having your wish list and must haves you can see if your budget is realistic to get everything done. Get advice early on, it might be that your budget will cover the most important areas and you may have to plan for further renovations at later stages. Another mistake often made is cutting costs. “We often
see clients trying to cut costs by doing some of the labour and trades work themselves. It quite often ends up costing more as the finish isn’t what the envisaged, or they struggle to obtain a Code Compliance on completion. Clients will often then need more help to put the work right. At Smith and Sons, we can organise it all for you with experienced and qualified tradespeople who will ensure the project is a success.” Thinking of renovating?