If you are planning for a housing extension then there are many things which you are going to have to take into consideration that your perhaps have not yet planned for. Aside from doing obvious activities such as hiring a great architect and making sure that you have a solid construction team in place, there are many smaller details which require your consideration.
I went through this process a couple of years ago and sometimes I got things right, sometimes I got things wrong which I have learned from. With this in mind then I wanted to speak with you a little today about some of the things which you need to be prepared for.
Helping Neighbors
It is important to remember that whilst this may be a stressful time for you, it could also be a difficult time for your neighbors. There are many different types of upheaval which your neighbors will face, dirt and dust in the air, heavy construction equipment in the street, noise pollution amongst many others. For this reason you must ensure that you have a great relationship with your neighbors and that they all understand what is going to take place, when it will take place and how it could affect them. Neighbors could play a part in blocking your planning permission so it is vital that you keep them on board.
Budgeting
When it comes to sitting down and working out your budget, you must remember that these kinds of projects almost always run at a higher cost that you first thought. This means that you need to ensure that you do not dedicate every single cent that you have to the project, you should also keep some funds as surplus in case something goes wrong, or costs more. Equally you must ensure that once the job is complete, you will need to decorate and furnish your new area of the house, something which will also cost a great deal of money. Be cautious with your budget and always account for something costing more than you thought.
Staying or Leaving
One of the most important decision which you will have to make is as to whether you will stay in the house whilst the work is being completed, or you will move out of the home until it is completed. There are benefits to both options but as someone who stayed in the home during this process, I would recommend that you leave. Saying in the home whilst construction work is carried out can cause all kinds of problems, it is noisy, dirty, there are areas of your home which you cannot use, the power may go off, the water too and generally there are many potential risks. I stayed in order to save money on a hotel but if I were to do it all over again, I would most certainly move out. This is a decision that depends entirely on your situation but make sure that you give it plenty of thought before deciding.