Making home improvements is an exciting, yet terrifying, time in any homeowner’s life. While you are certainly going to look forward to enjoying the improvements that you make, you have probably heard plenty of horror stories from homeowners who ran into problems along the way. While no two horror stories are the same, here are some common problems that homeowners run into when trying to make some improvements to their home.
Running Out of Money
Whether you are a do-it-yourselfer or you are hiring someone to do the job, running out of money will certainly put a damper on things. If you care doing the job yourself, be sure to budget carefully and to over budget what you think you are going to need. This way, you will have a little padding if something doesn’t go quite as you had expected. To avoid running out of money when working with a contractor, be sure you have a solid contract in place that specifies exactly how much the project will cost. The contract should also clearly spell out what will happen if problems arise and how much extra expenses may cost.
Experiencing Problems with the Weather
Another issue that some homeowners come across when remodeling or otherwise improving upon their home is uncooperative weather. If the project takes longer than expected, you may find yourself still working on the project well into the winter, which can make it quite difficult for you to keep your home warm. Or, you may deal with rainy weather, which can postpone the completion of your project and cause damage to exposed areas of your home. No matter how much you plan ahead, Mother Nature may have different plans for you, so be prepared for some possible weather-related issues.
Finding Out it is Not What You Expected
Many home improvement horrors stories also revolve around getting started on a project and then discovering things are not quite what you expected. Oftentimes, walls aren’t square, floors aren’t level and problems are hidden in ways that aren’t discovered until you start tearing things out. In some cases, these unexpected surprises make projects far more difficult and costly to complete. For this reason, many homeowners choose to hire a professional to complete certain projects. Just remember, it is generally cheaper to hire a professional from the beginning than to hire someone to come in and clean up the mess after you have already started.
Do you have a home improvement horror story of your own? If so, we’d love to hear about it!
Speak Your Mind