Common Mistakes to Avoid While Renovating

All of us like to renovate our houses at some point in time. Many of us do it one room at a time mainly due to the costs involved or out of a need for maintenance. No matter what you are doing, like simple bathrooms renovations in St Kilda or cheap en-suite renovations in Melbourne, the job should be done in the most efficient way.

It is important to get it right since mistakes made while renovating can have a large number of issues. Depending on the type of mistake, it can damage your property, decrease its value in the long term or you may end up with something other than the original design.

Common Renovation Mistakes

Replacing Wooden Frames

It is likely that there may be a need to replace a wooden frame either for a door or a window. It is necessary to carefully inspect any new wood you purchase since the older frames are likely to have built with good old solid wood. Any new wood available today is not necessarily of good quality. It may be refurbished or reprocessed with higher greater chance of breaking.

Squeaking floorboards

There are many solutions for squeaking floorboards however; simply replacing them during the renovation process might be a mistake. It is possible to add puffing powdered graphite or talcum powder between the boards or fix any missing nails.

Replacing jammed window

Simply replacing windows that refuse to budge is not always the best solution; since doing so can damage your property. A better solution would be to spend some time and effort and be gentle instead of trying to force it open.

Misusing Dam Proof Membrane (DRM)

The use of DRM is popular in the construction of new buildings. However, one cannot use it in the same method while renovating a house especially if it is an old one. For example, if a room has a floor made from old stones it is not advisable to use DRM. With this type of old architecture, it is necessary to allow the floor to breathe and placing a DRM layer will only cause more damage.

Replacing Bricks

One of the major renovation issues is when only 1 or 2 bricks are showing signs of deterioration while the rest of the wall sections are just fine. The common mistake often made is to replace the bad bricks with any cheap alternative just for the sake of making it look uniform. Using lower quality bricks may lead to bigger issues in the future. The best option in this case is to opt to replace it with a similar quality brick and wait for it to blend in over a period of time.

Overlooking the Building Codes

There are several building codes that are applied to construction work. These codes also come into play during renovations. Thus, even though simple renovations may not require you to apply for permits, major structural changes while renovating asks for obtaining special permission.

Bad Estimate or Budget

It is necessary to estimate the cost for any renovation prior to going ahead with it to ensure it fits in the fixed budget. Underestimating issues with an old house or realizing that it is a bigger job later can turn into a major financial issue. Finding a termite infestation halfway through the construction can destroy the initial estimate as well.

Wrong Contractor

This is one of the worst mistakes one can make. Consider reviews or previous jobs and verify their license. Making a wrong decision on the selection of a contractor can spell disaster.

Thus, even when undergoing cheap ensuite renovations in Melbourne, any construction or repair requires utmost care.