Spring is a beautiful time of year. It marks the start of a new growing season and gives you the chance to invite a warmer, fresher breeze into your home. Spring is also one of the best times to remodel your home. Summer is typically the most popular time for renovations, so builder schedules are packed and summer projects all compete for contractors’ time and attention. The earlier you get your plans ready and permits in order, the better chance you have of securing that coveted first-project-of-the-year spot on a builder’s calendar.
With summer just behind us (or still lingering, depending where you live!) and the fall weather just settling in, spring seems very far away. Planning next year’s remodel is probably one of the last things on your mind, with back-to-school craziness and the holiday season looming. But we’re here to tell you that NOW is the perfect time to start getting things in order for your remodel project!
Keep reading to discover how to start planning a remodel, plus our top 5 reasons why fall is the best time to plan a spring remodel.
Getting started
Planning a remodel can seem overwhelming. Everything can feel “chicken and egg” when you first sit down. Do you figure out the budget first and design around it, or design what you want then figure out the budget after? But when you take it step-by-step and break things down into small tasks, it’s simpler than it seems! Losing yourself in perfectionism and the small details is tempting, but detrimental so early on. It’s best to just start planning and tweak things later, as you bring your team of experts on board.
Steps to plan your remodel:
- Start with the big picture – what are the pinch points in your current home?
- Make a priority list – decide what you want, and what you actually need
- Figure out a rough budget – decide where the money will come from and how much is available
- Decide on a timeline – do you have a target start or end date for construction? You can plan the rest of the process around that.
- Research services, prepare for your consultations, and select your team
That’s it! Once you’ve chosen your team, they can help you figure everything else out. Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to plan a remodel. The important thing is to start, and tweak as you go.
Read our tips on the 5 easy first steps to planning a remodel.
5 Reasons to Start Planning Your Spring Remodel NOW
Fall may seem early to start planning a spring remodel, but there are so many good reasons to begin sooner rather than later! Time has a habit of slipping away from us, especially when the kids return to school and you start thinking about holiday plans. The start of the new year will be here before we know it, and that might be too late.
If you’re not convinced that you should start planning your spring remodel today, here are our top 5 motivating reasons to start.
#1. There’s a lot of in-depth research involved.
How long planning takes: A weekend, or up to two months
The research phase of a remodel can take the longest. Is remodeling a viable solution, or is moving the only answer? Is there an affordable remodel solution for the real underlying problems? How will you pay for the remodel? Do you need to start budgeting and saving now to make a spring remodel possible?
You can plan a remodel quickly if you know exactly what you need and have the resources to make it happen. It’s still best, though, to take your time, research everything properly, and analyze what you want versus what you need to dial in your project scope. By starting to plan your remodel in early fall, you won’t need to rush, which can make the process less stressful and more enjoyable.
#2. It takes time to find your dream team.
How long team selection takes: Between 1-8 weeks
Choosing your dream team is one of the most important stages. Your designer plays a critical part in helping you communicate your vision into a set of plans your builder can actually use; and your builder needs to be capable, experienced, trustworthy, and in your price range. Together they ensure everything goes to plan, stays within budget, and doesn’t feel stressful. Finding the right team isn’t something you want to rush into. By starting early, you can ask friends for recommendations, get to know a few companies, compare interview notes, and take your time deciding who the best people are for you. You should also factor in enough time to get schedules aligned, get on their calendars for consultations, and receive fee proposals or preliminary estimates. The closer we get to spring, the more fully booked up designer and builder calendars become.
#3. Design can take a while.
How long the design process takes: From 6 weeks to a year
There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’ve run out of time to achieve your perfect remodel design. Many things can come up during design that shorten the time available to review and make changes:
- Lender deadlines for loan applications
- Builder pressure to get permits submitted
- Rising prices or interest rates
- Long material ordering lead times
- Impending zoning and building code changes
Each of these and many others can add pressure to a process that should be the most fun part of your remodel. Design is also when your dream starts coming to life. It’s normal to want tweaks as everything comes together – you want to make sure that what you’re about to spend a small fortune on is exactly what you want, that it solves the deeper problem, and that it fits in with your future goals. Planning your remodel early gives you more wiggle room to tweak the design, without feeling like your spring remodel is becoming a late summer project.
#4. Budgeting can take forever.
How long budgeting takes: Between 1-8 weeks
How long budgeting takes: From 1 week to 3 months
Planning how to pay for your remodel is arguably the most critical part of your remodel planning process. Ideally you should start figuring out your budget as early as possible. Early planning will help you create a realistic savings plan, get any external funding agreed upon, and ensure you don’t feel pressured into choosing a contractor you’re not 100% happy with, just because they have the lowest price.
There are a few key stages when you’ll review or revisit the budget:
- Before you start, during the planning stage. You’ll decide how much of your savings you want to invest (and create or implement a savings plan!)
- Before you start, or after the design gets underway. You’ll apply for funding if needed (via credit, loans, grants, etc.)
- Partway through the design stage. You might get preliminary ballpark pricing from your designer, if they offer it. You’ll also start talking to contractors once you get rough plans on paper.
- After design and engineering is complete. Your contractor will be able to finalize their estimate once all of the design puzzle pieces are in place.
You can finish some parts of this process quickly if you have time to commit to it. For other parts of the process though, like obtaining contractor estimates, you might spend weeks or months waiting helplessly for a callback. The time can also vary depending on the application or appraisal times for your loan, and how busy contractors are. Again, the closer it gets to the busy summer build season, the longer it could take for them to get back to you.
Late fall is normally when builder schedules start to lighten up, as they’re finishing up their big summer projects; so it can be the best time to get their undivided attention and have quotes returned quickly.
#5. Permitting is unpredictable.
How long permit approvals take: From 1 day to 12 weeks
Permit preparation sounds scary, but when you have a good designer on your team, it’s easier than it sounds. Small-project permits may get approved on the same day. For larger/more complex projects, it can take as long as 12 weeks, depending on your jurisdiction. It’s impossible to know going in how long the plan review process will take, and how long your designer might need to make any necessary revisions to get the permits approved. Delays are always possible with permits, especially if your local planning department is exceptionally busy (which they usually are in spring and summer). Preparing for your remodel early can help you beat the crowds, leading to faster approvals and quicker start dates.
Conclusion
Overall, preparing for a spring remodel can take between 2-12 months. The timeline varies depending on how complex your remodel is, but everything takes time. Starting early can make the process less stressful for everyone involved.
Being designers, we, naturally, think every time of year is a good time to design a remodel! But, if you really want to get your project on a builder’s calendar for next year, fall is the best time to start. It can help you make sure that your plans are in place and permits ready for when the weather clears. If you wait until February or March to start thinking about getting your project done, you’ll be hard pressed to get everything ready, builders selected, budgets and permits approved, and construction underway before the weather turns again next fall or winter.
Still don’t know where to start? Get in touch with our team at Candid Home Design today! We can help plan your remodel every step of the way, no matter where you are in the US.
