A person can acquire quite a bit of skills in life. Maybe you helped your mother and/or father install some cabinets. Or you helped your neighbor lay some tile. Regardless of the source of where you learned the skill, you are now ready to use the skill in your own home. Great! The following are steps to consider in your home remodel/addition. Do Some ResearchLearning from others mistakes is better then learning from your own. Find out what problems other people ran into when doing a home remodel/addition. Develop A BudgetIn addition to the obvious, be sure to allocate an amount in the budget for contingencies. For example, a certain supplier of material does not have it in stock; you might have to pay a little extra somewhere else. It can work the other way too. Maybe you could rent a tool instead of buying one. Create A Rough DesignThis is not a formal design. It can be on a napkin if you like but it is probably better to put it on writing paper. Remember to discuss the design with all stakeholders involved! Determine If The Home Remodel Or Addition Is Exempt From A PermitGo to your local building departments website. Look for a link that is titled “Work Exempt from a Permit”. The link should be in the main web page for building permits. This portion of the web site will define a scope of work that does not require a permit. If the scope of work that you are planning meets the scope of work defined in this section, then you might not need a permit. Before you make a determination that you do not need a permit, I suggest you confirm your determination with the local building department by either giving them a call or going to the office. Prepare Construction DrawingsThis is one of the reasons that the title of this article is almost do it yourself home remodel/addition. Unless you are familiar with the local building codes and know how to prepare construction drawings, I suggest you hire an architect. There are a number of companies in the market that provide this service. For house remodels/additions, you will need “as-built” plans and “construction drawings”. Please note that in regards to the “as-built” plans, depending upon the size of the remodel/addition, only part of the house may need to be drafted. Recalculate Budget Based Upon The Construction DrawingsOnce the construction drawings are complete, the costs for the project can be calculated in detail. This is a good point to determine if you are going to be under or over budget. The completed construction drawings are submitted to the local building department for building permit approval and to banks, if a construction loan is being used to finance the project. Once the plans are approved by the local building department construction can begin. Consideration For Electrical WorkThis is another reason why the title for this article is “Almost do it yourself house remodel/addition”. Unless you are very skilled in electrical work, it is suggested that you hire an electrician. InspectionsTo verify compliance with the requirements of the various building codes, an inspection of the work authorized by a permit is required at various points during construction. Go to your local building departments website and look under inspections in order to determine at which point of construction an inspection is required for your specific project. Comments Regarding Permit CostsThe building permit fees generally increase as the total project costs increase. Inspections generally charge according to a minimum fee and hourly rate and these costs are in addition to the building permit fees. ConclusionThe above steps are not exhaustive list. I have been in real estate since 2003
and I have seen some project scopes of work that cover 20 pages or more. However, the above steps provide a good framework that will lead to successful home remodel/addition.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
August 2023
Categories
All
|