Successful renovation of a house or an apartment
29 Οκτωβρίου 2015
Are you considering buying a house or an apartment to renovate? Here are some tips for a successful renovation.
Before starting the renovation of a room, an apartment or an entire house must ask the right questions in order to make good decisions and carry out your project.
Is a major renovation really necessary?
Before getting started on a substantial renovation project, ask yourself, if it isn’t only necessary to do some simple changes in your home. Starting, for example, by changing the colors of the walls and ceilings also you will be able to give your home a new look. The current trend is to opt for neutral tones (beige, gray and white) that are soft and degraded whereas the touch of color is rather reserved for accessories and decorative elements. Feel free to change the furniture around to create a new space; add panelling or bricks that are true or fake, and give a warm note to every room. If the purpose of your home improvement project is to save energy, have you considered adding a burning stove or a fireplace insert? However, if your home is old and worn, it is possible that you may have to consider major and costly renovations than just doing a simple "makeover".
Are they small renovations or major work?
Uncomplicated renovation work such as repairing cracks, changing a carpet, painting interior walls or installing tiles and sandblasting /polishing a floor can be completed by you or a worker. Even if it is not a major renovation, you should consider the extent of your budget, the surface area of the space that needs to be renovated and the inventory. Remember to foresee the cost of materials, tools that need to be bought and if any, certain expenses related to building permits in your calculation (to be requested from your municipality).
Usually, the most important renovations concern a house or a dwelling that has suffered ravages of time, or else changing (or adding) living areas. These changes require the opinion of an expert in order to assess the scope, duration and cost of the work that needs to be carried out. It will be able to also determine the cause (poor insulation, too much moisture or other) and recommend a solution.
Here are examples of major renovations: new plumbing or electrical installation, demolishing partitions or walls, adding or moving a room, extending or changing windows, renovating floor coverings, changing wood floors, renovating the roof, repairing the foundations of a house and restoring a facade. Some of these works require preparing plans (architectural, engineering or other), which constitutes other expenses that need to be considered.
Renovating by yourself or hiring an expert?
If you are a do-it-yourself and if you plan to do your own renovations, you will be able to make significant savings. However, you will need to make sure that your work will correspond to the most recent installation, insulation and safety standards. When we don’t have enough time or when we do not have the knowledge and experience that are essential to meet this challenge, it is better to use specialized personnel. Do not forget that a bad renovation that was done by yourself will have to be corrected by a qualified company, which is far from being economical.
Request for a quotation
Make sure that you always get a quotation in advance to find out the total amount you have to pay (usually it is free). And why don’t you request for a quotation from two other specialized companies to make a more informed choice? Not to mention that by calling the services of a company for your renovation project, you get guarantees. It is also important to check if the chosen specialized company has purchased insurance for workplace accidents. For your information, by renovating your main residence, you become eligible for a reduced VAT rate of 3%.
Whether you are renovating for an eventual sale of your home, to save energy or to make your house more pleasant to live, the approach requires some thought, preparation and organization.
If you have decided to buy an old property, please feel free to do some research on our portal. Best options are waiting for you on IMMOTOP.LU!
Before starting the renovation of a room, an apartment or an entire house must ask the right questions in order to make good decisions and carry out your project.
Is a major renovation really necessary?
Before getting started on a substantial renovation project, ask yourself, if it isn’t only necessary to do some simple changes in your home. Starting, for example, by changing the colors of the walls and ceilings also you will be able to give your home a new look. The current trend is to opt for neutral tones (beige, gray and white) that are soft and degraded whereas the touch of color is rather reserved for accessories and decorative elements. Feel free to change the furniture around to create a new space; add panelling or bricks that are true or fake, and give a warm note to every room. If the purpose of your home improvement project is to save energy, have you considered adding a burning stove or a fireplace insert? However, if your home is old and worn, it is possible that you may have to consider major and costly renovations than just doing a simple "makeover".
Are they small renovations or major work?
Uncomplicated renovation work such as repairing cracks, changing a carpet, painting interior walls or installing tiles and sandblasting /polishing a floor can be completed by you or a worker. Even if it is not a major renovation, you should consider the extent of your budget, the surface area of the space that needs to be renovated and the inventory. Remember to foresee the cost of materials, tools that need to be bought and if any, certain expenses related to building permits in your calculation (to be requested from your municipality).
Usually, the most important renovations concern a house or a dwelling that has suffered ravages of time, or else changing (or adding) living areas. These changes require the opinion of an expert in order to assess the scope, duration and cost of the work that needs to be carried out. It will be able to also determine the cause (poor insulation, too much moisture or other) and recommend a solution.
Here are examples of major renovations: new plumbing or electrical installation, demolishing partitions or walls, adding or moving a room, extending or changing windows, renovating floor coverings, changing wood floors, renovating the roof, repairing the foundations of a house and restoring a facade. Some of these works require preparing plans (architectural, engineering or other), which constitutes other expenses that need to be considered.
Renovating by yourself or hiring an expert?
If you are a do-it-yourself and if you plan to do your own renovations, you will be able to make significant savings. However, you will need to make sure that your work will correspond to the most recent installation, insulation and safety standards. When we don’t have enough time or when we do not have the knowledge and experience that are essential to meet this challenge, it is better to use specialized personnel. Do not forget that a bad renovation that was done by yourself will have to be corrected by a qualified company, which is far from being economical.
Request for a quotation
Make sure that you always get a quotation in advance to find out the total amount you have to pay (usually it is free). And why don’t you request for a quotation from two other specialized companies to make a more informed choice? Not to mention that by calling the services of a company for your renovation project, you get guarantees. It is also important to check if the chosen specialized company has purchased insurance for workplace accidents. For your information, by renovating your main residence, you become eligible for a reduced VAT rate of 3%.
Whether you are renovating for an eventual sale of your home, to save energy or to make your house more pleasant to live, the approach requires some thought, preparation and organization.
If you have decided to buy an old property, please feel free to do some research on our portal. Best options are waiting for you on IMMOTOP.LU!