After months of planning, it’s time to start your home remodel. This is an exciting time when your kitchen, bathroom, basement or whole house will change into something new and beautiful. It’s also a time when many homeowners feel apprehensive about the changes to their home and contractors coming and going. Don’t worry about your remodel. These tips will ease your worries and prepare you for what to expect during your remodel. Be sure to reach out to the Kowalske team with any questions along the way!
- 1. Prepare Before the Remodel
- 2. Designate a Space for Construction Materials
- 3. Get Excited for Demo Day
- 4. What to Expect: Remodeling is Dusty
- 5. Be Aware of Construction Safety Hazards
- 6. Expect Lots of Workers & Noise
- 7. Expect the Unexpected
- 8. View Your Remodeling Schedule & Updates
- 9. Communicate with the Team
- 10. Be Ready to Make Decisions
- 11. Practice Patience
Get Ready for Your Remodel:
1. Prepare Before the Remodel
Give yourself plenty of time to pack and move items to a new location. Talk to your family members and plan how you will adjust to the loss of access to this area. Also, consider packing up items in adjacent rooms that may be in the way of our crew entering or exiting your home.
Kowalske will need a space in your driveway or lawn for a dumpster. Our Customer Experience Manager and your Project Manager will call you before your start date to answer any questions and give you an overview of what to expect during construction.
2. Designate a Space for Construction Materials
Some items for your project (hardware, light fixtures, etc.) might be delivered directly to your home before construction and a majority of the items will be delivered the day we start. We ask for one space in your garage to store materials for your project.
3. Get Excited for Demo Day
Demo Day is an exciting day because it’s the start of your project! On “Day 1” of construction, you should expect your project to start between 7:30am – 8:30am. The Kowalske team arrives at your home: the Production Manager, your Project Manager, Designer, and our crew. We discuss the plan for the day and answer any of your questions. Be sure to let our team know if you want to save any items such as light fixtures, drapery or appliances.
The dumpster arrives and we start to prep your home for construction. Our crew protects your floors with plastic and cardboard and hangs sheeting to control remodeling dust.
4. What to Expect: Remodeling is Dusty
We do everything we can to protect your home from dust by hanging plastic sheeting, covering carpeting, and protecting floors with cardboard. However, we can’t control all the dust. Expect your home to be very dirty, especially in the beginning. We do our best to clean up and vacuum at the end of each day. Consider covering or packing up items in adjacent rooms that you don’t want to get dusty and dirty.
5. Be Aware of Construction Safety Hazards
The day we start your remodeling project, there will be safety hazards all over the place. The rooms we are working in will have nails, electrical wires, and maybe even pieces of glass that broke during the demo. If you enter the construction area, or go near the dumpster, wear shoes, and be very careful. There will be hazards all around that you don’t see. Please keep children and pets away from the construction area.
6. Expect Lots of Workers & Noise
One of the things to expect during your remodel is that there will be a lot of people in and out of your house. Skilled tradesmen, carpenters, project managers, and inspectors are just a few of the people you can expect to see. Expect that there will be lots of noise and commotion during your project, including saws, hammering and drills. The majority of our clients are not home during the construction phase, so we ask you to give us a house key to secure in a lockbox. Our team will use the key to enter and lock up when they leave. Work will be completed generally between 7am and 6pm.
7. Expect the Unexpected
At some point during your remodel, there will be unexpected changes. It could be faulty wiring, an unexpected water line, or a million other things. We can’t see what’s behind your walls. Changes and “known unknowns” are part of remodeling. We will address them and move forward as quickly as possible. Expect the unexpected and you won’t be as surprised when it happens.
8. View Your Remodeling Schedule & Updates
We spend a lot of time putting your project schedule together. We put the schedule together assuming the world is a perfect place. People get sick, snowstorms happen, or the door we ordered arrived in the wrong size. Your schedule is probably going to change. We know it’s not ideal, and we don’t like it either, but it happens. Looking at your schedule on Buildertrend in terms of “goals for the week”, instead of “day by day,” will allow you to enjoy this process much more. Being flexible is important.
Our team keeps you informed about your project through Daily Log updates in the Buildertrend app. See photos and a message from the Kowalske staff. This feature is especially useful if you are at work during the day or out of town during construction and want to know what’s happening.
9. Communicate with the Team
The Kowalske team will be in communication with you during construction to answer any questions and prepare you for each stage of the project. We set up a group text for you to message us with any questions or concerns. This will keep everyone (you, designer, project manager, etc.) in the loop. Your designer will make periodic site visits to check on your project.
10. Be Ready to Make Decisions
Although we will be there with you every step of the way, you will need to make lots of decisions during your project. For example, how high do you want the decorative tile, the showerhead and the towel bar? These are just a few of things we will need your input on. If you want to leave those decisions entirely up to us, that’s fine, just let us know.
11. Practice Patience
Please be patient when it comes to the last few items that need to be finished. We will get them done as soon as we possibly can. The last 5% of the job is the most difficult part. Our goal is to finish your project on-time. You can view your completion date in the Buildertrend app at any time during the project.
We will work with you to create a “punch list” of final tasks that we need to complete. For example: the painter needs to do some touch ups, one of the drawer pulls needs to be tightened. What about the pendant light that came broken? We know this phase can be frustrating because you want your project done. We want to complete the project too.
Treat each moment of your remodel as an exciting adventure. Each step of the process will get you closer to your dream space. Whether you decide to stay home during the remodel or take the opportunity to vacation with your family, these few weeks of inconvenience are well worth the end result!
Learn More
If you are in the early planning stage of your project, here are some great resources:
- How do I find a contractor?
- Is Kowalske the “Right Fit”?
- How do I start planning a remodel?
- What does it cost?
Disclosure: Our blog posts are for informational purposes only.
