Are you considering remodeling your home, or even building an entirely new home for yourself?Ask yourself these 10 construction questions to keep the process moving and avoid problems.
Then there’s a lot of things you’ll have to consider before you get started.
From determining your scope of work, your budget, and your vision – there are a lot of remodeling aspects to think of.
Construction Questions for Your Contractor
These questions are essential to ask your remodeling contractor these questions.
Once you find the company who can help bring your ideal vision to life, it’s time to narrow down the projects you are looking to do.
You’ll want to ask these 10 construction questions before you even start planning, to avoid any problems later down the line.
1. Where Will The Storage Be?
It’s amazing how often people forget about the storage in their homes. When you’re working on a large remodel, you’ll be ripping everything out of a room and starting again.
While you’re busy thinking about wall colors or appliance placement, it’s easy to totally forget about where the storage will go.
When you’re planning a room, make storage a priority. You need somewhere to put all your things, after all.
This is especially important if you’re planning bathroom or kitchen remodeling. Those rooms need a lot of storage for you to put things away.
Where will the shampoo bottles or the broom and vacuum cleaner go when you’re not using them?
2. Where Should Light Switches Be Placed?
This sounds like a small concern, but these types of construction questions are more important than you’d think.
When you come into or exit a room, you want to be able to hit a light switch easily.
In most cases, you’ll just want a light switch next to the door. If the room has more than one entrance or exit though, then you’ll need to consider where those light switches will go.
3. Where Will The Large Furniture Go?
You wouldn’t think the furniture is an important concern right now, but you’ve got to think about it. Take your bedroom, for example.
—Â Is there going to be enough room for your bed and a couple of nightstands?
—Â If you place the bed in a certain position, will you be able to open the closet doors?
If you want the bed in a certain position, you’ll need to have electrical outlets placed at the sides of the bed, too.
4. What’s The Budget?
This is one of the most important construction questions to ask yourself before plunging into a big renovation project.
Any good contractor will ask you what your budget is before they start working with you, so you need to know what you can afford.
Take a look at your finances and what you need from your renovation. In some cases, you may need to cut back on what you were planning to do to make the budget work.
For example, you may decide to repaint your kitchen cabinets, rather than taking them out and replacing them entirely.
Have a budget in mind, and don’t go over it if you can help it.
5. Where Are The HVAC Outlets Going To Go?
You’ll have to also consider radiators, HVAC outlets, and more when you’re designing a room.
This is because they will affect the layout and furniture placement further down the line.
You won’t want to put a bookcase over a heating grate, but if there’s nowhere else for it to go, then now’s the time to change the placement so you can get the home you want.
6. How Will You Use The Room?
This is one of the most important construction questions to ask when designing a room. When you’re making major changes, you’ll need to think about how that room will be used, day to day.
For example, take the kitchen.
—Â Will it normally be used for entertaining lots of guests or hanging out with family?
—Â Will it be where the cook gets to work without interruption?
In this case, you’ll either have a large kitchen with a big table for everyone to gather at, or more counter space where the cook can work in peace.
7. How Will You Install Tech?
In this day and age, you’ve got to think about where all the tech in your home will go, and plan accordingly.
How many TVs do you have?
You’ll have to find a home for them all, complete with a nearby electrical outlet.
You’ll also need to think about your internet needs.
Where will your router be in your home?
Placement is important, as it needs to be able to get a signal around the whole house. If you can’t do that, where will you put booster boxes and other aids?
8. Will You Need To Move Plumbing Around?
In most cases you can’t move plumbing around a lot, but you do still have some wiggle room on this subject.
You’ll have to ask yourself these construction questions before you begin your project.
If you’re renovating your bathroom, will you need to change around the appliances?
If you’re planning on building a separate shower and tub, when you had a shower over the tub before, then you’ll need to make some changes.
Where the toilet goes is a big one too.
Is it ok where it is now, or will you need to move it?
Some homeowners like to move it next to the bathtub, as it provides a seat when they’re bathing their children. Others may want to move it into its own room.
What do you want to do?
9. Where Will The Lighting Go?
It’s so important that you decide where your lighting will go in your home.
The lighting needs to be in the right place, so you can get the most from your room.
In your dining room, the lighting needs to be over the table, for example.
You’ll also need to ensure there’s lighting in all the right spots, such as the foyers and hallways.
10. Who Are The Contractors?
Finally, you need to ensure you’ve got the best contractors possible. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions when you’re hiring them, and look them up online.
Ask for recommendations from your friends and family, too. They’ll be able to point you in the direction of some trustworthy contractors.
Conclusion
Ask these 10 construction questions when you’re thinking about renovating your home, and you should have all the bases covered.
It’s all part of careful planning, so you should be able to renovate your home without any major issues.