Home remodeling is one of the fastest-growing industries in the US right now. And as expected, with a burgeoning industry comes rapid innovation.
There was a time when people could go their entire lifetimes without needing a major overhaul of their living quarters. That’s hardly the case anymore. Whether it is making your house more energy-efficient, or installing solar panels, or ‘smartening’ up the poor old thing — there’s almost an overwhelming number of reasons out there to get you interested in a remodel.
And once you finally decide on going down the remodeling path, there are multiple factors you need to take into account too. The initial excitement is great, but the planning part is hard and very crucial too. That’s to say, if you want your project to be successful. You need to consider the budget, the scope of the work, contractor, etc, etc. However, amidst all this, one factor that often gets ignored is the time of the year.
Personal preferences matter and a lot of work can be urgent enough to not consider the timing, and that’s fine. But if you have some time on your hand, we would strongly recommend factoring in the best time of the year to undertake remodeling projects.
To make things easy for you, here are some major factors you should consider while picking a time of the year for remodeling your house:
1. Season
We don’t exactly mean the season as in weather, but the peak/offseason for a particular job.
Homeowners tend to undertake a lot of remodeling work during late spring and summer, which sounds obvious considering the comfort it affords with respect to longer working hours and easier working conditions.
Though, as a result of the ‘conventional’ wisdom, summer is also the season when both the contractors and the materials are in high demand. Which brings us to our second point…
2. Supply and Demand
Even if you’re a barely functioning adult, you’ve surely heard about the concept of supply and demand. Basically, if the supply doesn’t match the demand, the prices go up.
And since everyone is waiting to get their project started during the summers, naturally the prices of the material and the labor are both jacked up. So you know what you’ve to do to save some bucks, right?
But then again, you can’t just undertake every kind of project during every month of the year…which brings us to our next point on the list.
3. Nature of Remodel
Most of the people get their roof fixed during the summers or spring. However, a lot of industry insiders claim that it’s not always such a good idea.
Exposing the wood to high temperatures can damage it right from the start. It is always a more pragmatic approach to get any woodwork done during fall. There are other examples like this where a certain remodel should only be done during a certain time (electric fix-up during rainy weather? Please don’t do that!)
But what if you live in a place that has extreme weather? That’s what our next entry deals with.
4. Local Weather
Building a backyard pool during the winters in Buffalo, just so you can beat the supply/demand game? Good luck with that!
Fighting against Mother Nature is futile, and we should all know that by now. So make sure that you are well aware of the weather patterns in your area.
If your place gets a lot of rain, just pick a different time. It’s going to create unnecessary delays anyway.
5. Contractor Availability
Try and figure out the pattern of employability of contractors in your area, and pick a time when they have fewer projects on hand.
Be mindful that this is not done for the purpose of shortchanging them out of their deserved compensation. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. You should get the best out of your investment and a contractor focusing on too many different projects is hardly that. The chances for him to mess up among many projects are much more. We’re all humans after all!
6. Personal Reasons
In the end, don’t ignore your own personal patterns and habits just to adhere to some strict guidelines.
Even if summer is the peak time in your area, it might also be convenient for you personally because you can devote more time to the project. Or maybe your kids can be sent away for a fun little vacation to the grandparents, and you can have one less thing to worry about.
Whatever may be the reason, make sure the final time and duration suits your life as much as it possibly can.
Final Word
At the end of the day, you need to have a coherent plan of action before undertaking any remodeling project.
If you rely solely on choosing a time of the year to make your project successful, but ignore everything else — you’re gonna have a tough time.
Pay attention to the weather, figure out the on and off seasons for your particular type of remodel, develop a game plan to accommodate it into your own busy life — and voila! You have all your bases covered and the next thing you know you have perfectly executed a remodeling project!
Now wouldn’t that be nice?
