Ten Things to Check Before You Sign a Renovation Contract  

You are ready to renovate your home, but is your home ready for renovations?  Here are the primary pitfalls and how you can avoid them by getting answers and planning accordingly. So let’s see some essential things that you need to consider before you sign a renovation contract.

Outmoded Electrical System

Your contractor wants to do business. If they recognize your electrical system is outmoded, they may not tell you. Before attempting any repairs, you should hire an electrician from Hilton to inspect your home and determine what needs to be repaired.

Damaged Plumbing

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Is your plumbing okay?  Many people have problems that are unearthed during the renovation process. Worse, the plumbing problem shows up after the renovations are made. If you don’t want leaking water or sewage to ruin your renovations, it’s worth it to get a thorough review of your plumbing system and any hidden pitfalls.

Slipped Foundation

Your foundation was meant to last for a century. Unfortunately, it could be slipping. If it is sinking, then it needs to be shored up. Renovations may bring trucks and heavy equipment onto the lawn that could make it worse.  A bad foundation is not the way to start a renovation!

Dangerous Asbestos

We’d all like to think that asbestos is out of our homes for good. However, it was used in so many products that it could be lurking in your house.  Removing asbestos can add thousands to a renovation, and a general contractor isn’t equipped to do it safely. That means you’ll have to stop and bring in a separate crew. 

To avoid this, do an inventory of everything in your house that could possibly have asbestos.  Anything put in place before the asbestos ban is fair game This includes flooring, carpeting, and much more. 

Flooded Basement

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If you have had trouble with flooding in your basement or first floor, you don’t want to start a renovation.  This flooding is a sign of a drainage problem that will probably be made worse by renovations.  You’ll need an expert opinion on how to stop the water and divert it away from the house.

Bad Roof

Unless you have an extra $6,000 or more, you want to make sure your roof is in good condition before you start renovations.  If you add onto the house and then are met with leaks, you’ll wish you had spent your money on a better roof instead of new rooms.  

Delicate Belongings

Before you bring in a contractor, you should determine what you own that could be forever damaged during renovations. You may want to plan for a storage unit to safeguard anything that could be ruined by thick dust and possible temperature fluctuations.  

Hidden Mold

You should check your home for hidden mold. The most common areas are related to water, such as your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room.  However, mold can be anywhere that conditions are too wet.  This may be a moldy wall from a previous roof leak or a moldy basement due to too much humidity.  You want to identify and stop the problem of mold before anyone picks up a hammer to start work on stylistic improvements.

Rotted Floors

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Often part of a mold problem, a floor may be rotting out from under you.  This happens most often in the kitchen or bathroom.  This is due to ongoing leaks that went under detected.  As the area between the floor covering and the subfloor got wet, it began to rot until one day it will just collapse.  If this is where you are planning to renovate, then you are fine. If not, you need to consider that a rotted floor is unsafe and make immediate plans to repair it.

Large Trees

If you are planning to extend your home, you need to find out if your existing trees will be in the way.  The cost of removing a tree is $1,000 or more, and you probably don’t want to take down your natural canopy anyway.  However, you need to know what trees and other plants will be in the way when the contractors start work. 

Renovating your home is an exciting adventure, but you don’t want it to become more expensive than you can handle. If you pay attention to all of these elements before you sign a renovation contract, you’ll know you’ve done everything you can to prevent costly problems.  At worst, discovering one of these problems will delay your renovations.  At best,  you will be able to incorporate repairs as part of your renovation efforts.