This snippet has been taken from “Love the House you’re in Paige Riew”. Timing house improvements is based on various factors which are discussed below and are easily available at Painters Washington DC.
What’s your timing?
Manage your expectations for home improvement. Understanding the following unofficial timelines will give you some advance warning and perspective.
- Did you just move in? It takes six months to move in to a new house. You might be sleeping in your own bed the first night you arrive, but to actually move in and find a space for everything getting your bearings in a new space- not to mention making any improvements- takes six months. It takes five years of diligent work to really make it yours- not finish it- but feel like yours.
- Did you just get a bid from someone to do some work? Double any timetable the contractor or design professional provided. This does not mean design pros or contractors lie or are incapable of forecasting their own deadlines. But they are often giving you a time frame for your project, independent of all the other things that could possibly slow it down. That means if your bathroom had been remolded in a vacuum, it could have taken two weeks. But because the tile guy got sick, the toilet is on back order, the company’s previous job called the team back for two days, and the whole thing happened over the Fourth of July holiday, it actually took a month.
- Are you plotting a large- scale addition? Live in your house for a full set of seasonal changes before making any big renovations or additions. It takes time to see what a house is like throughout the year. I suppose if you live in a temperature climate, which I have never done, and the weather is fairly consistent, you don’t need to wait a whole year. But you don’t lose anything from waiting and taking your time. Most homes are sold in spring and summer and moved into in late summer and early fall. This means that winter is an unknown experience, with leaves off the trees and less daylight that may affect how you make changes to your house or how you address certain rooms.
- Are you trying to prioritize everything you want done now? Do one thing at a time. In a house with lots of problems and challenges, it’s tempting to have multiple projects going at once. If you are gutting the entire house and have experience with this process, it is not really possible to do things piecemeal. But if you can, take your time and focus on one space at a time. Each project needs your full attention.
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