Our Guide On Choosing The Right Building or Refurbishment Company
If you are like a lot of people and you live in an old house that was designed and laid out to suit the era it was built in, you may be dreaming of some modernisation, refurbishment or extending. Times have changed dramatically since these houses were built and the way we use our homes has changed a lot too. Every house has potential to be improved in many ways and if you are serious about these improvements it's a big decision and one that should not be taken lightly. There are far too many horror stories out there of cowboy builders and innocent people losing a lot of money to these rouge traders. This article was written in an attempt to help you make the right decision when choosing a company to fulfil your home improvements, modernisation and refurbishment.
How much will it cost?
Making your home more modern can be an expensive outlay and with so much on offer in terms of products and services it's hard to know who to turn to. The total cost will be dependant on what you would like to do, but with the right advice you can save yourself a lot money. If you have lots of different things that need attention in your home, getting these done by a number of different companies separately will be more expensive, it is sometimes a cheaper and better option to go with one company that does everything. This will also take a huge amount of stress away from you as you will have one person from the company coordinating the work. There will be no need for you to be "project manager".
We believe that the client needs to have a clear understanding of what they would like to do in their house, any uncertainty and indecisiveness can lead to additional costs later on down the line. We advise going from room to room with a pen and some notepaper and make a note of everything you feel is needed. Then get in touch with a company that can talk you through your options and make some suggestions to your list. In the beginning money should not be a restriction as some jobs you may have thought would be expensive may not be and visa versa. Once you and the company have agreed on what will be done in your home you must ask them to write out all the processes in detail for you both to sign. Then if there are any unexpected surprises down the line in terms of work done, money outlay or extra work that needs doing you both know where you stand.
What ways are there to modernise my home?
There are many ways to modernise your home but our main ways of recent years are to extend the house such as a rear or side extension and loft conversions, we also rearrange the internal layout with the possibility of making it open plan for more space and a more flowing home. A very popular change to a home is to enlarge the kitchen and fully refurbish it, as it's a very important part of any home there is so much scope and possibilities for a kitchen. When extending or refurbishing a home we can increase the amount of sockets around the house to make your devices easier, change the lighting arrangements for atmosphere and effect and decorate.
During the refurbishing stage you will have many options to make your house more modern, some jobs will be messy and involve some form of destruction but the decoration that will follow will cover them up in a professional way so that it doesn't look like anything was done in the first place. Lots of jobs can also be done at the same time and a project manager from a company will coordinate all the works to be done in an efficient, time saving and cost effective way.
Who do I get to do this?
The building industry has seen a major boom recently and there are so many firms out there that are at both ends of the scale: you have the real quality on one end and the real cowboys on the other, you also have the in between but choosing the right company is a very hard decision. When choosing a company to modernise your home we advise you do some research on each company first. Check out their website, read their reviews and if possible see some work they've done in the past, this is a good starting point. The next step is to arrange a visit for them to come to you. From this you will get a feeling about the person and their company. A lot of people go with their instinct and choose someone they like the look of or they like what they say, but looks and talk can be misleading, so be careful. Don't feel pressured into going with a company because they're pushy and ballsy, these are very underhanded tactics and these kind of companies target the vulnerable. If you notice any of this kind of behaviour you must run a mile. Also we advice getting a number of quotes and advice, this will help you compare prices and advice you are given, although we advise you don't get too many as this will just confuse you. We would recommend between 3-5 quotes.
