Your best tip for surviving a renovation

[Jason]

Our goal for Workshop is to help everyone do it themselves.  We want everyone to have the support they need to complete their projects as we know it's not always easy. 

Today I'm keen for everyone to share their top tips for surviving a reno. 

What advice can you share to help ensure a smooth experience and a great result that's on time and on budget?

Jason

[RenoQueen]

Planning and preparation are crucial. There will always be things that go wrong and little surprises along the way (so you also need contingency money!) but there's a lot you can do before you start to ensure you stick to budget. The most important is having detailled plans and costed specifications/fittings/finishes. You don't want to get into a job only to realise that its going to cost you double what you had anticipated/guessed.  

[Nikkie_P]

Hi all,

after spending two two years taking a knock down terrace in Newtown to a recently sold at record price for the street/type of property I can say we have been through it all.

the highs and lows can disrupt your 'zen' and below are a few things I learnt along the way.

1. Your relationship with your partner and tradies needs to nurtured at all times. I found communicating with different personalities requires (besides a degree in psychology) a little bit of compassion and a lot of honesty. 

2. Talk, talk and talk again to everyone involved about your ideas and what you want done. People  tend to fill in the blanks with their own interpretation if you aren't completely clear on what you want leaving the end result far removed from your own vision.

3. At the end of the day, don't stress if something isn't working as you planned, chat with others who have done something the same or similar and remember everything can be undone and reworked to achieve what you truely wanted - Don't settle for anything less as you will be looking at the project everyday and you want to love what you are looking at. 

I hope this helps

Nikkie P.

[Isobel]

Move out if you possibly can unless you can segregate different areas of your house off really, really well. Expect lots of dust, disruption, noise, and the water and power to be often off.  

[Wayne]

If you are undertaking the work yourself, don't tackle multiple renovations at one time, otherwise you will end up overwhelmed and more than likely none will ever get finished!
Have (or hire) the right tools for the job, "do it once, do it right"
Utilise the services that may be available to you! I own a table saw and a track saw but I will still get the guys at Bunnings to cut an 8' x 4' sheet down to the required or manageable size.
If you are contracting out the renovation, let the tradesman go about his business - not much work gets done when they are responding to questions every 5 minutes. When I am working I get into a focused zone, I know what I am doing at present and I am aware of the next 5 things I need to do. I am sure you have heard a million times someone say "Now what was I doing"

[JP_Finlay]

@RenoQueen hit the nail right on the head(pardon the pun). Planning and preparation is key. Renovations always present unknown hurdles but thinking things through and being thorough in your planning helps reduce a lot of problems.

The 7 Ps always come to mind. There are different versions but this was one I was told many moons ago.

Prior

Planning and

Preparation

Prevents

P###

Poor 

Performance

[Jason]

A big welcome to all our new Workshop members. It would be great to read some of your tips. Just hit the reply button below.

Jason

[tinkerbell]

Hello, do bunnings hire out equipment? In my hometown they used to hire out carpet cleaners, gernies, power tools all sorts of things. Do they still do that? I remember it being a really handy way to get jobs done without the expense of buying and storing things you woukd rarely use. 

[Jason]

Thanks for joining in the discussion @tinkerbell. We're pleased to have you as a Workshop member and look forward to reading about your projects and plans. Feel free to post whenever you need a hand or have something to share. 

As you mentioned, Bunnings does hire out equipment. Information can be found here - https://www.bunnings.com.au/our-services/in-store/hire-shop. The page includes a link to help contact your nearest store for options and availability.

Jason