Everything You Need to Know About Planning and Completing Your Pittsburgh Home Renovation
Home remodeling and renovations can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and costly. If not planned properly or built accurately, mistakes can consume the lion’s share of your budget, risking your biggest asset. Poor planning can risk the structural soundness of a home and delayed progress can challenge the safety of the residing family and the value of their home.
Homeowners need a trusted design-build contractor to plan and make their remodeling dreams come true. This isn’t going to be like what you see on reality TV where they say what colors they like and get exactly what they want. The process is going to take time and meticulous attention to detail — but a good contractor should make the process easy.
A successful interior remodel — especially for multi-room and multi-story renovations — starts with thorough planning, which includes the selection of quality materials and ends with accurate renovation and reconstruction. Some of the common interior remodeling projects include:
- Kitchen and Great Room remodeling
- Bathroom remodeling
- Master Bedroom remodeling
- Indoor and Outdoor Living space remodeling
In this short guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the remodeling process. By the end, you should be able to make more informed decisions about your Pittsburgh home, making your home interior dreams come true.
Contents
Why Should I Remodel my Home in Pittsburgh?
There are many reasons homeowners decide to update their homes.
- You may have recently purchased a home, but it needs updates to suit your family’s needs and lifestyle.
- Your family is growing and you need more living space.
- Your children are now grown and out of the house and you want to enjoy your home as empty nesters.
- You’re looking ahead to retirement and want to have more space to enjoy with friends and family.
- Your parents are aging and you want to care for them in your own home as they age in place.
In other words, there are a lot of reasons why you might be dissatisfied with your current home interior. But the number one reason to remodel is that you’re excited about the possibilities for your home!
So take the time to identify why you’re not in love with Pittsburgh home’s interior or layout: tight spaces, small bedrooms, bland bathrooms. Whatever reason that comes to mind, you’re not alone. Other homeowners across the country have run into the same problems as you.
How do you know you’re ready to renovate? The number one sign is that you can see what the remodel is going to look like. You keep thinking about it, visualizing it, or taking action steps to achieve it such as looking at colors.
The next step is to educate yourself — about remodeling solution options, what they cost, how long they’ll take, and the design-build process. Understanding what common problems homeowners run into during the renovation process will help you keep your cool and roll with the punches.
There are plenty of benefits that come with remodeling your home, including increased square footage, a higher resale value, and more happiness with your environment.
Should I Hire a Contractor or Remodel Myself?
We understand having the itch to handle everything yourself. Completing your remodel on your own can give you a burst of confidence and make you feel like you really did it all yourself, not to mention you save money and have your own timeline.
However, there are some cons that come along with doing it yourself. Your inexperience, busy schedule, and misinformation can lead to structural problems that can be detrimental to your home and wallet. However, if you hire a design-build contractor, you get the benefits of:
- Skilled professionals in remodeling
- Remodels that adhere to code and guidelines
- Provides all design and construction
A design-build contractor is always the best choice for every homeowner, as they complete the entire remodel process for you, whereas architects only design and contractors only build.
However, not all contractors are reputable, and you need to be on the lookout for red flags. Some questions you can ask your contractor before hiring them include:
- How many years of experience do you have?
- Do you have any testimonials or reviews I can take a look at?
- Will you be able to complete the entire remodel process for me?
- Do you carry workers’ compensation and liability insurances?
You want a contractor that has excellent communication, transparency, a successful process, and the ability to handle any issues. Even with external challenges that could delay your project, a good contractor knows how to keep your project moving forward.
How Much Does it Cost to Remodel my Home?
One of the first things you need to do before meeting with your contractor is to determine your budget. This is important; it gives your design-build contractor and yourself a set limit on what can be done and will eliminate any stress associated with overspending money.
This allows you as the homeowner to sort out what your needs and wants are in regard to your remodel. The method you use to pay for your renovation will depend on your contractor, but some common ones include construction loans and other financing options.
There are a variety of tactics to help you save on your renovation, including remodeling one room at a time, not choosing the fanciest products on the market, and making remodel choices that make it easier to stick to your budget. Using a design builder helps in this process; they can give you realistic money expectations and showcase the best options for you, whether you’re renovating your kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, or all of the above.
Some common factors that will influence the cost of your renovation include:
- Materials
- Design
- Labor
- Equipment
Although when reading this list you might be tempted to revert back to DIY, the costs of doing it yourself could be negative for years or require you to fork out extra time and money you don’t have. At the end of the day, hiring a contractor will save you time, money, and stress in the long run and be a worthwhile investment.
What is the Design-Build Process and How Long Does it Take?
If you want an easy and stress-free design-build process, you need to understand what you want and how everything works.
The first step is the design process. This includes consultation, pricing, design ideas, design agreements, and material selections. This is the part where you decide what you want in your Pittsburgh home and what style you’re trying to convey. You should sit down with your contractor and have multiple discussions about budget, style, goals, and timelines.
Then we move on to the build process, which includes steps such as foundations, framing, painting, and flooring. Your certified contractor does the dirty work required to make your interior dreams come true. You should already have a ballpark of how long things should take.
Some tips to make this process smoother for both you and your contractor include:
- Laying out your work schedule for your contractor
- Living elsewhere during the build
- Setting up a mock kitchen elsewhere
- Packing up rooms and covering furniture
- Thinking ahead and identifying what needs to be done long-term
Some of the best times to remodel include when your family isn’t that busy and can take time away from the home more often. To get a better idea of typical renovation timelines, consider the cost of materials and your contractor’s availability before starting to build.
Need more information about home additions and interior remodeling before pursuing a project?
See our Addition and Remodeling Guides to learn:
- Why hiring a design-builder is in your best interest
- Top projects that solve the biggest problems for Pittsburgh homes (Check out options for Cape Cod homes too!)
- Budget and planning tips to get the best outcome for whole-home renovations or additions
What Home Spaces are Best to Remodel?
When it comes to choosing what areas in your home you want to remodel, the last thing you want to do is put all of your money into one place. You also don’t want to undertake projects that won’t pay off in the long run, whether in function or home value. It’s a good idea to compare the pros and cons of costly upgrades and swimming pool renovations to decide if they’re really best for your homeownership goals.
Try to make the most out of your money and put in place a cohesive remodel that adds value to your home. Think of the spaces that won’t just make your life better, but might appeal to future homeowners as well. Some questions to ask yourself include:
- What do I dislike about my kitchen?
- Could we add more bedrooms upstairs or downstairs?
- How functional is our home in its current state and will that affect us in the future?
- Do we regularly entertain or have guests over?
- How can we make our master bedroom more welcoming?
Asking these questions will allow you to have a higher resale value down the road when you are ready to move. Some of the best spaces in your home to remodel that we recommend include:
Whole-Home Renovations
A perfect way to make your home flow together from one space to another.
Kitchens and Great Rooms
As the heart of the house, a kitchen remodel can allow a better flow of people and more space to create.
Master Bedroom Suites
A master suite remodel can allow you to stay on trends and boost your resale value.
Secondary Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Secondary remodels are great for additional guest space or dormer additions that provide more study space.
Basement and Entertainment Spaces
You always need spaces to entertain! A basement remodel is the perfect way to start.
For more ideas for your home remodel projects, take a look at our Interior Remodeling Gallery.
Remodeling Solutions for Older Cape Cod-Style Homes
Although it may not seem like it, your Cape Cod style home poses a great opportunity for some modern-day interior renovations. Some of the most common problems you probably have include:
- An odd layout
- A tight kitchen
- Little to no space
- A small second floor
All of these problems combined can showcase how unfunctional your home is. But there’s good news! With a contractor who knows what types of renovations are best for Cape Cod homes, you can rework your home’s layout to create a better flow, making your space more liveable for your family and more welcoming for friends and guests.
Some remodeling options can include a kitchen remodel, a bathroom remodel, or adding a porch in the backyard. Take a look at one of the Cape Cod remodels Action Builders has done for a better idea of what your options are.
Why Choose Action Builders to Remodel Your Home
There’s a reason why Action Builders is one of the top interior remodeling contractors in Pittsburgh. We genuinely care about our clients. Our design consultants consistently create home addition solutions to solve specific home space and structural problems commonly faced by Pittsburgh homeowners. And, our crews have the experience and skill to complete your remodeling projects within budget and on time.
Some of the benefits of working with us include:
- Being a one-stop-shop for all renovation needs, including architectural and engineering
- Job completions 60 days faster than competitors
- A process designed to include you every step of the way
- High-quality materials for every job, big or small
- Background-checked and experienced team members that help make your dream come to life
Backed by our long history of building home additions and remodeling/renovating older homes in the Pittsburgh area, we help you fall in love with the home you’re in again. Whether you’re updating a Cape Cod style home or adding a rear addition or second story, we’ll help you make your current home your dream home!
Start Your Interior Home Remodel Today!
We understand how intimidating and overwhelming home additions and remodeling can be for you and your family. With over 20 years in the industry, our team at Action Builders has helped hundreds of homeowners expand their home space with beautiful, functional, and structurally-sound home additions.
Schedule a consultation with us today to start your interior home remodel and love the home that you’re in.