The actual home remodeling begins with developing a schedule & action plan to discuss with the owner. These discussion are centered around accessing the project.

1. Home Remodeling / Home Renovation Process
The home remodeling process can be stressful and frustrating for many
homeowners just wanting their home to have a new look. This is principally
due to even home owners with renovation experience not understanding how
to effectively approach a major remodel project. Even simple DIY home
improvement projects can cause more problems than they solve if not planned
properly. The devil is in the details when it comes to planning and executing
any size home remodeling project.
We exist in a period of living virtually through televised home improvement
programs that demonstrate the home renovation process as a 60 minute
program. These programs are developed for entertainment not educational
support. As a result most homeowners do not understand how much work
planning and preparing home remodeling is on the owner. It takes far more
than a contractor showing the owner a revised floor plan at a price they are
willing to pay to develop a rewarding home renovation.

2. In a day with increasing home values, rising material and labor shortages
home remodeling becomes an attractive alternative to moving or buying a new
home. This assessment can be quantified by developing a financial feasibility
to determine what is the best alternative in the buy / build / renovate scenario.
The anxiety caused by home remodeling does not have to result in a self
fulfilling prophecy of a miserable experience. The keys to a very rewarding
home remodeling project is surrounding yourself with trustworthy and
experienced professionals and do the preparation up front.
Remodeling Preparation
The remodeling preparation starts much before the actual design process
begins. It begins with the owners imagining how a space might look like if they
made some proposed changes. Identifying the products they want to replace,
the space they want to create and the features they want to include is an
essential step in discovering what they want.
There are three primary goals an owner should achieve in preparing for design.
They are collecting images and remodeling ideas, developing a want and
needs list and developing an investment range for the renovation.
Collecting Images & Ideas - Communicating design details can be a
challenge for professionals let alone owners attempting to explain an
idea. The best method for the owner to assist themselves in this process
is through the collection of photo images of products, features and
spaces. These ideas can be captured from sources such as Pinterest.com
and Houzz.com. There are other sources such as magazines that ideas
can also be captured from. These images and ideas can be used to tell a
story by pieces for your project.
 Develop Want & Need List - With the assistance of your idea &
image collection the owners can develop a want & needs list for their
renovation. This list identifies products, materials and architectural
features that are important to the owners. Once the list is assembled,
the owner can place a priority to the items with the relative importance
each item has to the projects viability. The priorities will assist the
owners if sacrifices need to be made for the sake of the investment
budget later.
 Develop Investment Range- Unless you are one of the fortunate
ones and have an endless supply of money, a project investment range
should be developed to guide your design and construction team during
the developmental stage. The investment should not be used as the
construction budget, but rather as a method to guide the owner to set
realistic expectations during design phase.
Renovation Planning
Armed with the owners preparation research the actual renovation planning
stage can begin. This step starts with the hiring of trusted professional
advisors for the design team. These professionals include a home remodeling
contractor, an architect or home designer and maybe a structural engineer.

3. Depending upon the project, some owners will use an interior designer to drive
the renovation design.
 Select a Design Team - As mentioned the remodeling design team
consist of trusted professionals that guide the owner through the
remodeling process. While the architectural designer develops the CAD
house plans, the remodeling contractor facilitates constructability and
construction cost guidance.
How this collaborating efforts works between the professionals depends on
what design process the owners selects. There are two design approaches that
owners can select in creating their house plans. The traditional approach is the
design to bid method. The second approach is the design to build approach.
Design to Bid - This approach is when the owner hires an architectural
designer to prepare drawings. These drawings are normally created to
completion and then submitted to three remodeling contractors soliciting
formal proposals. The owner then would interview and hire the best
contractor for their needs.
 Design to Build - The design build approach is a collaborative
approach between remodeling contractor and designer. In most cases
the owner will hire the remodeling contractor to be fully responsible for
both the design and construction of the project. The benefit for the
owner is that if there are any design errors or omissions the remodeling
contractor is responsible, not the owner.
Development of House Plans
Creating house plans typically is a 3 step process for a major home remodeling
project. For smaller project that require plans like a bathroom or kitchen
remodel, the design process may only need 2 steps instead of 3. We will
discuss the design process that includes a concept stage, drawing
development stage and a the final construction document stage.
 Concept Drawing - This is the design stage that formulates the
images & ideas the owner has brought to the team. The drawings
typically are block like spaces capturing critical architectural features
and high priority design elements. Once the rough shapes have been
defined and accepted the plan can move to the next stage for
development.
 Development Drawing - The development drawing stage is where
the plan designer scales and places dimensions on the drawings. Door,
window and room dimensions are detailed as well as wall profiles and
cabinetry.
 Construction Documents - Constructions drawings are ready to
develop construction cost. With a completed set of construction plans
and specifications, the remodeling contractor can create a defined
detailed proposal. In addition, these documents are required for building
permits.
Remodeling & Renovation Execution

4. The actual home remodeling begins with developing a schedule & action plan
to discuss with the owner. These discussions are centered around accessing
the project, the families living arrangements during construction and finalizing
critical material orders. These factors have a decisive influence and impact on
the projects progress.
Creating an action plan for items like dust control, working hours, dedicated
construction parking & home entryways goes a long ways in avoiding conflict
during the project. Regular communication is also an important factor in
reducing the stress and inconveniences associated with longer projects. Open
discussions about scheduled power outages and interrupted water service can
help keep everyone composure.
Remodeling and renovations of a home that owners are currently living in is far
more emotional than a ground up construction project. The home remodeling
process requires greater care for house hold members interacting with a
construction environment.
A case can be made that home remodeling and renovation is more challenging
the new construction due not only the higher emotional level of the clients but
the craft requires the remodeler to go backwards before they can progress with
moving forward with a project.
Contact
5850 San Felipe St Houston, TX 77057
713-818-1720
info@marwoodconstruction.com
https://www.marwoodconstruction.com/home-remodeling-o
r-home-renovation-process/
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