There are countless blog posts and articles giving renovation advice but there are some things that contractors would rather not bring up!

Keep reading to see 3 things your contractor is reluctant to tell you the truth about.

CHANGES CHANGE EVERYTHING

All renovation contractors would like to accommodate changes in construction without an impact to project costs or schedule.

But, that generally isn’t possible.

The main goal of any renovator is happy clients (or it should be) and sometimes changes are necessary to achieve that goal. However, changes shouldn’t be considered lightly. Almost all changes, once construction starts, will results in a cost or schedule impact (or both). The magnitude of that impact varies with what the change is.

Here is a quick example:

You are one week away from your tile installation and you decide, after careful deliberation, that you made a mistake selecting that fuchsia-pink glass tile for your kitchen backsplash.

Instead you want to go with a classic white subway tile. Some of things that could impact whether this change will cause a cost and/or schedule impact to you are:

1. Can the tile supplier get your contractor the white subway tile within the week? {potential schedule impact}
2. Will the quick delivery of the new tile choice result in a rush delivery fee? {potential cost impact}
3. Was the fuchsia pink tile a custom order i.e. non refundable or do you have to pay a re-stocking fee? {potential cost impact}

A GOOD DESIGN MEANS A GOOD RENOVATION

The best way to prevent changes in construction is to have a great design (see item 1). Rushing through the design phase to get to construction is never a good idea. You may be eager to get construction underway but if you spend time in design then you are less likely to make mistakes or want to make changes later.

It may seem tedious but an extra week reviewing plans and selections could save you a month during construction.

For example:

Changing the size of your kitchen island in design will cost you nothing, but that same change in construction, after cabinets have been ordered and even potentially installed, could cost you thousands and delay your project.

EVEN WITH A GOOD DESIGN MISTAKES HAPPEN

No one is perfect, and no one should pretend to be perfect. Every renovation contractor should do their due diligence to ensure your project runs as smoothly as possible. At the same time, issues will arise. What is important is how your contractor handles those issues.

They should NEVER try to hide issues and they should always be willing to have upfront professional conversations about them. As the client, you should be prepared for something small to go wrong at least once during your renovation. If you want to see a list of “mistakes” take a look at this article from HGTV.

You can read more about our process here, or shoot us an email at info@miterrenovations.com