Expert Advice to Create Your Dream Home

Home renovation is not something to take likely. In addition to being costly, achieving your dream home can be stressful and challenging, which is why you want to make sure you’ve consulted with an expert or two prior. Designer Sarah-Marie Lackey chats with Stephen Tomes of Kingsmere Construction to get a behind-the-scenes look at the process of renovating to achieve your dream home. Keep reading for Stephen’s expert tips.

Consult With Professionals
Before you even think about doing any manual labor, your first step should be to engage with a general contractor, architect, and a home designer. Having these initial meetings in the planning stages could mean the difference between a successful home renovation and a disaster.

Obtain Building Permits
Earlier is better when it comes to obtaining those germane building permits. According to Stephen, a good time to negotiate permits is as soon as you have professional drawings drawn up. How long it’ll take to obtain a permit varies from city to city, so ensure you do your research beforehand, so you can adjust your timeline accordingly. As a rule of thumb: the sooner you submit your drawings to the city, the better.

Questions To Consider
According to Stephen, the first questions homeowners should ask themselves, pre-reno, are: what’s your dream list and what’s your budget. He cites these questions to be the basic ones, as well as a jumping off point for more, project-specific questions.