If you’ve become part of the increasingly growing group who have opted to invest in their home over the last couple of years, you’ll know all about the stress it entails.

Yes, all of the guides on the internet tell you about the potential costs of each and every renovation, but when it comes to your own stress levels, you’re generally left to your own devices!

As such, today’s post is all about how to increase the chances of your home renovation running as smooth as can be. While we can’t promise it to be hiccup-free, through today’s post, we’ll run through some of the ways you can make it more seamless.

Build a contingency into your budget

No matter how well you plan, things will invariably go wrong during a renovation. Walls will shift, plumbing will leak, and tiles will crack. It may even be related to the general cost of materials themselves, which we all know are increasing.

As such, it’s important to factor in a contingency fund into your budget. This will allow you to cover the cost of any unexpected repairs or replacements that may be required.

This also applies to time

We may have spoken about budget in the previous section, but the same rules apply to timescales as well.

Many home renovation projects have deadlines such as “finished by Christmas”. Instead, take a more realistic path. Attempting to rush through a build by a makeshift deadline is simply going to enhance stress levels, and potentially result in a rushed job. Instead, build your timelines, and add extra weeks in for that elusive, but important, contingency.

Is it easier if you’re off-site?

Renovating your home can be a real pain, especially if you’re living in it at the same time! Not only will you have to contend with the noise and dust, but you’ll also find that downtime is an impossibility. Your home is a building site – and you can’t get away from it.

If you can, it might be easier to move out of the home altogether while the renovation is taking place. This will allow you to focus on the job at hand, without any of the distractions.

Ask the same question about your belongings

By a similar token, it might be an idea to temporarily move your furniture as well. Dust sheets can only go so far and over time, frantically trying to protect high-value items can grow tedious. Companies like Safestore can provide temporary refuge for such furniture, which can at least eliminate some stress from the process.

Discuss with your neighbours

For those of you who are surrounded by neighbours, this next one is for you. Some renovations are dirty and noisy to say the least – and this can affect those who live near to you.

Make sure you take a respectable approach, informing them of the works that are to be completed, and allow them to prepare accordingly. The very worst thing you can do is spring this on them unexpectedly, ruin the relationship and have to deal with their requests midway through the project.