Whole Home Remodel - Where to Start

Remodeling your entire home is a tall task. If you’re planning to remodel your entire home and don’t know where to start, follow these steps below.

1. Determine what you can remodel yourself – and what requires a contractor.
2. Determine your budget.
3. Decide on the design and style of your home.
4. Acquire the appropriate permits.
5. Research builder’s risk insurance.
6. Create a timeline and stick to it.
7. Get started!

Take a look at the video below for more great tips.

Home remodeling is daunting to say the least. Between the time that it takes out of your daily routine, the cost, and deciding what to renovate first, there’s a lot to keep track of when renovating every room in your home – not to mention the coordination it requires with interior designers, contractors, and other professionals.

But, with proper planning and preparation, your entire project can go smoothly. These steps are meant to help you start the process. They will provide you with peace of mind and prevent you from making costly mistakes in the future.

This article also applies to partial house remodels or room remodels. The only step you’ll have to add is to decide which rooms you want to renovate.

If you’re on a quest for home improvement, this article is for you. Now let’s begin with the steps you need to take to start your renovation.

1. Determine what you can remodel yourself – and what you will need a contractor for.

Most people struggle to afford to remodel their entire house all at once. They also want to save as much money as possible. If this sounds like you, first decide which parts of the remodel you can do yourself and which you need a contractor to do.

Tasks like painting your dining room, baseboard installation, small-scale demolition (like a counter or set of cabinets) or even installing flooring can be done by amateurs. But door or window installation and large demolition projects may be more difficult.

And if you don’t know if it is something you might want to tackle, hop on YouTube and just watch a couple of videos of people doing what you are thinking of doing. You might be surprised how much courage that can give you.

Two Other Options

1. If you have enough money, you could hire contractors to conduct your home remodel. This works great if you don’t have time to do the project yourself.

2. The last option is to conduct the whole home remodel entirely by yourself. This is possible if you have the time and are willing to learn new things. YouTube is a great resource for hundreds of DIY ways to renovate bathrooms, bedrooms, demolish a wall, install countertops, and much more. You could also ask your friends and family; some of them may have completed their own remodel and could have some valuable tips for you!

What is the first thing to do when renovating a house?

There’s a little bit more to the first step that we described above. When planning a home remodel, there are too many things to keep track of – too many things to count, actually. But, you do one simple thing to effectively prepare for your home remodel.

All you need to do is create a plan.

I’m not talking about writing down a few sentences on the rooms you want to upgrade and the contractors you want to call. Instead, we’re looking at something much more comprehensive here.

Here’s our idea: you plan the project thoroughly with the primary goal of reducing your stress.

Keep following our guide and you’ll be in good hands. Let’s continue.

2. What’s your budget?

When determining budget, there’s so much to consider: contractors, paint, flooring/carpet, cabinets, countertops, and much more – along with tools and equipment to install each of these items.

You’ll also have to consider the time that each task will take. This is why choosing a professional, efficient contractor is so important. The same task could take one contractor half the time of another contractor, potentially saving you thousands of dollars.

3. Decide on the design and style of your home.

If you are renovating your whole house, you’ll probably want each room to match in style and design – at least in the main gathering spaces like the kitchen, family room, and basement. You may feel the ability to be more creative or express different individuals’ preferences in smaller rooms like bedrooms and bathrooms.

Are you aiming for a modern, sleek look?

Or perhaps you want a rustic Victorian-style home.

Maybe that’s not your style and you prefer a farmhouse look.

These are just a few examples of popular home designs. You have a lot of options here.

When deciding on the style of your house, consider hiring an interior designer and consult with them. Or, if you don’t have that luxury, at the very least talk with your friends and family about your whole home renovation or spend time collecting ideas on Pinterest. It’s always good to get a second opinion before pursuing such a large project.

4. Acquire the appropriate permits.

Some home remodeling projects require a permit. Structural changes, footprint changes, new windows, and plumbing or electrical modifications are the most common home improvements that require a permit. Smaller projects like replacing flooring and painting do not require any permit. For a complete list of improvements that do and don’t require a permit, check out this article.

An easy place to start is just call your local city offices and tell them what you are doing and ask them what permits you will need from them. They may advise you to check with the county or state for permits as well.

5. Research builder’s risk insurance

For large construction projects, you may want to consider builder’s risk insurance, primarily to cover property loss due to natural disasters, theft, and vandalism. And check your homeowner's policy first to see what they will cover and then decide if you need any additional coverage.

But if you are doing a small-scale remodel or remodeling the interior of your home, feel free to skip to step 6.

6. Create a timeline and stick to it.

The best way to reduce your stress during the remodeling project is to create a timeline. Without one, home remodeling could take years.

You may run out of time yourself and just never get the chance to finish up the project. Or you might be waiting on a contractor to follow up with you for several weeks, which keeps the remodel from moving forward.

Creating a timeline can help you move this process forward. Any plan you’ve set forth can be proposed to your contractor too – if it’s not realistic, you can work out a new one with them. If it is, they will do their best to stick to your time frame.

Following your timeline doesn’t mean that the first timeline you make will be the only one you follow. If you encounter setbacks, modify it as necessary.

But no matter what, keep a timeline updated. This way, even with several setbacks, you’ll still have a plan to finish your house remodel.

Now that you’ve planned out your home remodel in its entirety, it’s time to get started! Don’t be afraid to jump in. With the tips above, you’ll be well on your way to renovating your entire home!

Pro Tips

Consider these pro tips as you launch into your home renovation.

Give Yourself Extra Time

When planning your home remodel, give yourself additional time to reduce your stress.

There’s nothing worse than rushing to finish a project while up against a deadline just a few days away. If you want to be really safe, double the time you think that each step in the process will take; this way, you won’t feel like you’re falling behind when things take longer than expected.

Especially if you haven’t remodeled an entire home before, it’s vital to give yourself extra time. You are bound to take much longer as you learn the home remodeling process.

Research Several Contractors Before Beginning the Remodel

Chances are you won’t be conducting the whole house remodel by yourself.

In fact, you shouldn’t.

Some tasks like architecture, interior design, flooring, and large demolition projects are best left to professionals.

But, even professionals can provide low-quality services or charge you way too much!

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is hiring the first contractor you come across. The issue here is, you won’t know how they compare to others.

Depending on what service you need, you may find a good selection of contractors that provide high-quality services, or unreliable contractors that offer poor services. This is why it’s important to give yourself a few options. Then you can compare the rates and learn what a good price for your service is.

Sure, you could get lucky and stumble upon an expert who advertises great deals. But that doesn’t outweigh the risk of being charged an outrageous amount by a low-quality contractor.

Overestimate Your Budget

Ideally, you won’t have to overestimate the budget for your house renovation. You’ll get it exactly right or within a few hundred dollars. But this isn’t always possible and is not very realistic. No matter how much you plan, you’re bound to encounter some bumps in the road that cost a few hundred dollars here and there.

You don’t want a couple of financial setbacks to derail your project, so what you need to do is overestimate your budget. What would you rather do: run out of money in the middle of your home remodel or finish the renovation and have money left over?

This doesn’t have to be a huge overestimation. Depending on the size of your remodel, you could just factor a few thousand extra into your total budget, dedicated to any additional expenses you come across throughout the process.

Invest in a range hood for your kitchen.

To complete your kitchen remodel, invest in a beautiful stainless steel range hood. You have several options for your kitchen.

An under cabinet range hood fits under your cabinets, while a wall range hood mounts on your wall.

If your range is on an island, consider an island range hood.

Also, you can buy a range hood insert for your custom hood.

Finally, if you're building an outdoor kitchen, consider an outdoor range hood. Find the best range hood for your kitchen below.

Cost of Remodeling Your Entire Home

The cost of the remodel will depend on where you live and what specific renovation your home needs. You may also have to consider the cost to demolish your house if you're starting from scratch.

We’ve broken down the cost of remodeling into three categories: low, medium, and high We’ve broken down the cost into three categories: low, medium, and high.

Low: $20,000 - $50,000

A low-cost renovation may include the following:

• Interior Painting
• Exterior Painting
• Basic Flooring
• Baseboards
• Landscaping

Medium - $50,000-$100,000

Medium cost remodels feature everything included in a low-cost remodel, a full renovation of main rooms, and higher-end flooring.

• Full bathroom remodel
• Full kitchen remodel
• Quality flooring, countertops, and cabinets

High $100,000-$250,000

A high-cost renovation will include everything from the other remodels, but at professional quality. You also may pursue some custom projects here and redo your plumbing, sewer, or electrical.

• Professional-quality flooring
• Full bathroom remodel
• Full kitchen remodel
• Full bedroom renovations
• Electrical, plumbing or sewer lines installed or reconfigured
• Custom cabinets, countertops, range hoods, or similar projects
• Roof
• Windows

For more information on the cost of home remodeling, click here.

Can I renovate my whole house myself?

Yes, this is merely a matter of time and dedication.

Before beginning your renovation, chances are high you won’t know exactly how to do everything. So you’ll need to do some research and check out videos to start the process.

But if you have enough time and commitment to pursue a large project like a home remodel by yourself, it will save you the most money over time.

And you might be surprised how much really helpful content there is on YouTube. You can learn every part of the process there.

Is it cheaper to renovate or build a new home?

This depends on the scale of your renovation and what and where your new house would be. If you just want to upgrade a room or two, replace some flooring, or maybe paint a few walls, definitely consider renovating your current home.

But, if your house has some problems with its foundation, sewer, electrical, or plumbing, those costs can add up quickly. Add them to a full kitchen and bathroom renovation, paint, siding, roof, windows, and flooring, and a new house doesn’t sound like a bad option now, does it?

But this will heavily depend on where you live. Housing prices vary across cities; buying a house in rural Utah will be much less expensive than purchasing a house in Miami, Florida.

If you’re in a state with an expensive housing market, you may want to consider hanging onto your home and doing a renovation. Also check out this list for 50 housing markets that have declined throughout 2019. If you live in one of these cities, consider remodeling your home rather than selling it.

How long does an entire house renovation take?

Remodeling your entire house is a huge project. It can take anywhere from four months to a year. To keep the process moving, always update your timeline and stay in touch with contractors, designers, and other professionals to ensure everything is moving forward.

Or, if you’re conducting more of the renovation yourself, make a plan and stick to it! Maybe devote a few hours a day on the weekends, an hour a day on the weekdays, or whatever your schedule allows.

Can you live in a house during renovation?

Yes, you can, if you don’t mind the added mess. This is a very cost-effective solution. But be aware of any health hazards, such as paint fumes or excess dust. Who knows? Living in your house during renovation may motivate you to finish it faster.

Thanks for reading this article on where to start when renovating your entire home. Check out more of our articles below to inspire your next renovation project!

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