Remodeling projects can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more-maybe the biggest amount you will ever spend at once, aside from your house itself. When you buy a house you can see it. When you remodel, you are buying a piece of paper. How can you be sure to get the most for your money?

Here are a few rules to lives by when you are remodeling your home:

Know what you want. I’m not talking about which faucet you want or what color the paint will be; I mean what the scope of the project will be, in broad terms. Make a “wish list” and prioritize it. For example, if you’re adding a master bathroom, think about what you consider that to be. Will it include a tub or a shower or both? You need to decide what you definitely want and what you can live without, so that you don’t start out over your head financially.

Don’t compromise on the people.

You need smart, honest, ethical people working on your job to get the most out of your investment. Remember when you are picking a contractor that price isn’t the whole story- the most expensive one isn’t necessarily the best. The best advice I can give you is this: get references and check them! Keep in mind that someone who is difficult to work with when they are trying to get your business–hard to reach, shows up late or doesn’t listen to you– isn’t going to get better as the project moves along. To sum it up, here’s one of my dad’s favorite sayings: “There is nothing more expensive than cheap work”.

Educate yourself about materials. There are many choices for countertops, cabinets and fixtures, and you should know a little bit about them before you decide. It’s not just about appearance; you need to think about whether the characteristics of the material will suit your lifestyle. Most contractors can give you the pros and cons of each material. For example, highly polished stone, like granite, looks great but can show every fingerprint or smudge-a poor choice if you have little kids and are fussy about having your kitchen countertops looking shiny clean. Tile is less expensive and offers many choices for color and finish, but some people hate the idea of having grout to clean. Knowing more about each material will help you make smart choices for your home.

Watch out for “creep”. This is what we call it when the customer expands the scope of work during the course of the project. It usually begins when you, the customer, decide to add something small to the project-let’s say a skylight in your new bathroom. That’s a few hundred dollars, seems like nothing much when the total project is in the tens of thousands. Then you decide to upgrade the tile, another couple hundred dollars. pretty soon you’ve added a few thousand to your project. I’m not saying you shouldn’t add those things; many times it’s well worth spending the money. Just be aware that a bunch of little things can add up. Like my grandpa used to say, “It might be small potatoes but get enough of them and they will fill a truck”.

Spend the money where it counts. Given the choice between a fabulous bathroom countertop or a fabulous garage door, I’d spend the money on the garage door. I’d do that because it’s not only the first thing I will see every night when I come home, it’s also the “face” of my house to the neighborhood. I can make up for not having the high end countertop by doing something interesting with paint or linens in that room. In a kitchen, I would be more likely to sacrifice high end appliances for high end countertops because for me, the brand of refrigerator isn’t as important as the look of the countertops. Of course, if I was a gourmet cook, I might choose a fancy stove instead of the countertop.

Don’t be stingy. Okay, this may sound like a contradiction with what I just said but think about this: Do you really think you’ll remember 5 years from now what you did with the $200 you saved by not upgrading your tile? Probably not, but as long as you live in that house I bet you will remember that you compromised on the tile and didn’t get exactly what you wanted. That’s one of those times to bite the bullet and spend the extra to get what you really want. You aren’t buying a t shirt that’s going to wear out in a year or less; you will likely be living with your decision for years. Over 5 years that extra $200 translates to $3.33 per month…less than a cup of fancy coffee.

Take your time. You are dealing with two big things in your life, your money and your home. There is no need to rush and many reasons to think things over carefully.

Tags: Construction Costs, Pricing remodels, Remodeling at an inexpensive price, Remodeling San Diego, San Diego Contractors, San Diego Remodeler