If you are confused or unsure of what to do when renovating or extending your home then this blog post is for you.
As with most things, when getting building work done to your home there is a starting point, a series of steps and the finishing line.
And it’s this journey that I’ll outline in this article & I’ll give you a framework with which to approach your building work.
But to give you an analogy of how a construction project works I’m going to compare it to a rock band.
And this picture suggests, I used to be in a rock band.
I was the drummer and the photo on the right is one of me & my band mates playing a gig.
And the one in the middle is a photo of us being interviewed for a documentary about us.
And just looking at this photo I also used to be a lot thinner!
Now our band was made up of a singer, a guitarist, a bass player and a drummer…
Each of us played a very different musical instrument to each other that took years to learn and master.
And we came together to play as a band and as a single unit made up of 4 very different roles.
So the total was the sum of the parts.
If one of us made a mistake during a concert we would all suffer collectively as a band and if it was our first song it would sometimes take us a few songs to recover if indeed we did at all.
So to prevent this from happening, we would rehearse a lot.
In other words our performances were planned down to the minutest detail so we always knew what we were going to do in our next performance both individually and collectively as a band.
This is how we minimised errors and our gigs went a lot smoother & better for us.
The point is this: like a well-rehearsed gig, your project needs to be well planned too.
Your Architect, Engineer & Builder and anyone else involved with your project are YOUR band.
And your project is YOUR concert.
So you must make sure that your team are good enough and have been practising their craft for years…
You must also make sure they have planned out what they are going to do with your home.
And it’s this that will determine how good or how badly the whole thing pans out.
Look: just like the first song at a concert, getting it right from the start sets the tone for the rest of your building work.
If you let it slip at the start, it becomes really, really difficult to turn it around later.
Edwards Deming the famous business management expert once said:
Essentially the Home Renovation Journey we’ll look at is a systematic approach to how your project should be conducted from start to finish.
Ok, let’s get started.
The 2 Phases Of A Building Project
So your project essentially happens in 2 phases and each phase has 3 stages to it.
The first phase is called the Creative Phase.
This phase is all about coming up with a scheme & design that is perfect for how you & your family intend on using the improved house and any particular needs & wants you may have.
It’s the creative part of the process and mostly about design, in other words putting our ideas on paper.
The second phase is called the Organised Phase and is a lot more hands on, tangible, real world and concrete.
We begin this phase by getting the design nailed down into a complete & co-ordinated set of drawings which eventually leads us to dealing with builders and finally building your new home.
This is the organised, planned out part of the project.
So let’s get started and look a bit closer at the Creative Phase of your job and we’ll break down what each section means.
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Phase 1 – The Creative Phase
The first stage is the Action Stage is where you take action and appraise your home as it stands and where you want to make it bigger & better.
Maybe you only need to give it a more modern look, whatever it is you need to take stock and decide on what it is you want & need from the building work.
The Approve Stage is where you get your home designed either professionally or otherwise.
Of course this all depends on what you want to get done.
If it’s a simple paint job then you won’t need this.
But if you’re planning a loft conversion or extension then you will definitely go through this stage.
Basically this is the design phase where you put all your ideas on paper and settle on a design that works for you.
And finally in this phase we have the Apply Stage.
Depending on what you are getting done you may or may not need Planning Permission before you can get going.
You’ll also require Building Regulations approval too especially if you are doing any structural work.
Once you get this sorted you can go on to the next step.
Many home owners proceed without getting final sign off at this stage and if what you are proposing to do isn’t too controversial then you certainly can plough on in quiet confidence that everything will be signed off eventually.
So that concludes Phase 1, the Creative Phase.
Phase 2 – The Organised Phase
Next we go into phase 2 the Organised Phase which again is the more hands on phase of your project.
And first up here is the Assemble Stage.
Your designers need to co-ordinate their individual efforts into a coherent overall design and this is the stage where that happens.
Once that is done this design pack gets sent to the builder for them to send you a price.
We advise go to at least 5 builders and aim for 3 good prices back.
Next is the Appoint Stage and this is simply interviewing prospective builders and choosing one based on who interviews the best.
And finally is the Actualise Stage which is when the building work finally gets done and this is the busiest stage of them all and has a lot of moving parts you need to be aware of.
Summary
So that’s your renovation work in summary.
In Part 2 of this blog post we’ll dive deeper into the Creative Phase of your project.
I’ll explain what you need to do at each stage and why, plus I’ll share what to look out for as each Stage has what I call a Rip Off Secret which you need to be aware of so you can avoid them.
Need Financing To Get That Much Needed Extra Space In Your Home?
Pretty much most of our clients require financing to get the badly needed work done to their homes and start enjoying that extra space sooner rather than later.
So we’ve reached out and partnered with Norton Finance to help you get the best deals & loan rates when raising the cash to get the work done to your home.
Let’s face it, it ain’t cheap especially in London.
So if you would like to see what our friends at Norton can do for you then simply click on the link below.
You’ll get brought to our affiliate page where you simply fill out your details, what kind of loan you want and for how much and they’ll let you know what funds you can.
It’s a completely free quote with no strings attached.
Now to be completely transparent we do get a commission if you raise financing through Norton.
That said we’ve been doing this for nearly 20 years now and we only promote what we see as quality products & services to our readers and subscribers.
We’re very careful who we partner with as we have a reputation to live up to and that means serving you at our very best all of the time.
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