As DIY networks like HGTV grow in popularity, you might watch countless episodes of shows based upon home renovations such as The Property Brothers, Flip or Flop, or This Old House. These shows seem to have one thing in common: home renovations.
Outdoor Space Renovation
Of course, what isn’t entertaining about these shows? You’ve got exciting elements like incredibly tight timelines, DIY projects that look like some of the best designers on earth created them and, of course, those grand reveals.
The real selling point is when they take the audience around the property. The camera follows the crew through the decrepit house. When the home is being viewed, the crew members begin to talk about how they plan to transform it. It’s likely that whenever you watch those shows, you find yourself inspired, researching the costs of taking that old kitchen and making it new again. Unfortunately, viewing the process on television and the reality of home renovations are two entirely different things.
Budget
Expectation: As long as you are smart about how the money is dispursed, you will only need to spend what your budget calls for.
Reality: Whenever it comes to any crucial project, money will always be a big talking point. Most times, it will be a source of stress as you try to make everything fit into your budget. For example, let’s look at the price of an outdoor kitchen. You may estimate your minimum budget to be around $10,000. However, as the project moves forward, you may find that you have to go with much more expensive items or that installing the water pipes for the wet bar might be more costly than you expected. Whenever you plan for a renovation project, always plan to spend more money than you think you will need.
Careful planning for both the amount and the options that you want is key. Spend a little more time researching costs and options before you start any renovation project to avoid budget surprises. Finding Unbeatable Project Financing and Discounts will help you turn your outdoor area into the one you have always wanted. Make sure to remain realistic, however, as the reality of home renovation is that things may end up being a lot more expensive than you initially planned for.
Timeline
Expectation: If they can rebuild a house in less than two weeks, you can build a patio in about three days.
Reality: Despite its name, reality television is not reality. Most of the events you see on screen are heavily staged and only made to look like they completed the project in such a short time. Of course, occasionally, some shows do complete the project quickly. However, remember that these shows also have teams made up of hundreds of people to help them with this relatively small project. You only have yourself and, possibly, a couple of friends to help you out. Various factors can delay your outdoor renovation, such as weather and unexpected schedule changes. During this occasion, a project might seem like something you can complete quickly. Always expect delays.
The Completed Project
Expectation: When we have finished this project, we’ll be the talk of the town.
Reality: It’s possible that, once you have the job finished, what will remain is a lot of cleanup work to do. After all, indoors or out, home renovations projects are messy. Bare spots on your lawn from where the tools sat for a long time, ripped up patches of soil from the digging, and installing new pipes are all things that can leave your outdoor space looking rough.
Don’t expect your newest project to look beautiful as soon as the job is completed. There’s a process in jobs in construction that is known as punch out. This is when you can expect to clean up and complete any other needed repairs.