You’re finally at the construction stage after months, probably years of designing layouts and saving money. It’s an exciting time because your project is about to be realised. However, to make sure your renovation is as successful and fast as possible, you need a strict plan that has a few key considerations.
Image: Apartment Therapy
Trades – their order and how much time they require
In order to ensure your renovation begins and ends on time, you need to determine the order in which each tradesman comes in. It’s necessary to create a timeline outlining the length of time each trade will take, what days they come in, and what should be completed in the given time. Make sure that you leave yourself a little room between trades – a buffer of a day between each stage of the renovation will allow you to adapt and tweak the schedule when there are unforeseen delays.
Before a renovation starts, it’s important to schedule all trades at estimated dates, confirm with them and continue to keep them in the loop once the project begins. For instance, once you become aware that a task is moved forward or is held back, it’s necessary to contact all trades and ensure they’re able to work on the new dates.
It could certainly be seen as a lot of communication, emails, calls and texts, but it will make the process significantly smoother for both you and your trades.
Never wait on deliveries
Numerous aspects can slow down the renovation process but waiting for deliveries is one that can completely cease construction – an example is waiting on tiles to arrive.
It’s important to make sure all materials are on site ready for the trade to start work. Alternatively, you can store deliveries on another property or at a storage shed for quick retrieval when they are required.
Being on top of your suppliers and the coordination of their ordering and delivery to site will save time and money.
Image: Eco Outdoor
Identify custom orders early
One aspect that can be significantly derailing for a renovation is waiting for custom orders to be made and delivered. For example, in some cases, where you are keeping the existing window sizes, windows may need to be custom made. This can take from five to eight weeks depending on your location, the supplier and the time of year the order is made.
Or in the instance where a door or window needs to be measured to an opening, you must prioritise creating the aperture early on in the renovation, which will allow you to get a measure and order submitted ASAP. Planning is key here!
Be hands on and on your game
It’s simple – a clean site is a productive site. Tradesmen will work faster when they’re not working through mess.
Keeping an eye on progress and asking questions will allow you to make sure things are running smoothly and to plan. You are then able to arrange times with your trades more effectively and get the job done quicker.
Image: One Kin Design
Support your trades
Organisation is the key to success! The more your tradesmen know, the more they’ll be able to discuss with you and work faster to complete the tasks.
Any plans, notes, to-do lists, final construction plans and almost anything else one will ever need to know about the renovation should be at their disposal. You could laminate these documents and stick them to a wall of the renovation space for easy access. You could also use plastic sleeves to store documents at the site for quick referral. These processes mean that tradesmen don’t have to wait on you to get additional information.
Another useful tip to hasten the process is meeting tradesmen on site on the first day to go through instructions. Make sure your tradesmen have adequate facilities too. That means having a portable toilet if necessary, so they don’t have to leave the site on bathroom breaks.
It’s also essential that rubbish is removed regularly and appropriately. For example, if a demolition was halted due to a skip being full then it needs to be replaced or emptied ASAP.
Naomi Findlay is one of our resident experts, principal of Silk Home and founder of the International Institute of Home Staging. Want to be a home stager? Attend the 2016 Home Staging Symposium in Sydney this June!
Ask Naomi a question | Read all her articles for Reno Addict.
