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The cottage is your home away from home and your retreat from the whirlwind rush of everyday life.
Knowing your cottage is your sanctuary, it is understandable you want every room to reflect that. For some, this may require some renovation work.
Renovations can help you fall in love with your space again, increase the functionality and increase the resale value. This is especially true when working with reputable realtors like the agents at Muskoka Real Estate.
A lot goes into a renovation beyond the hammers and nails. To help give you an idea, here are four things to consider during the planning process before beginning your project.
Find Your Contractors
While winter can be a slower season for contractors, many reputable builders and contractors can book up early in the year, especially with those looking to have work done in the spring or summer.
Booking a consultation with a contractor as early as possible could help to secure your spot and allow for more scheduling options. It’s a good idea to meet with more than one contractor, if possible, to ensure you’re getting the best quality and price for the job.
Expect Delays
Contractors aren’t the only ones that have been experiencing delays. Two years into the pandemic, global supply chain issues are still very much present in many aspects of the home renovation world.
Items such as plumbing components, flooring, specific countertops, light fixtures, or other appliances can, and often are, on backorder, and can take extra weeks, or even months to arrive.
This makes the planning stage even more important as the sooner you make your design decisions and place orders, the sooner they will arrive for you.
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Prepare for Paperwork
While permits are not usually required for small cosmetic fixes in a room, such as a floor replacement or painting, anything further is likely to require you to discuss building permits.
When submitting a permit application, there are a variety of documents that often need to be submitted along with it, including the following:
- Nature of the renovation
- Property survey
- Blueprints and floorplans
- Engineering reports
- Diagrams of plumbing
- Chart of the HVAC system (if applicable)
When applying for a permit, once again expect delays, and being confined to our homes during the pandemic has caused a large influx of people looking to perform home renovations of their own, and thus many municipal departments are backlogged with these permits applications.
Know What You Want
While it is likely that you’ve been considering your cottage renovation for a long time before officially committing to it, it’s a good idea to reaffirm what you want to achieve with the renovation.
Some contractors are all-In-one, meaning they’ll help you to choose everything from architecture to interior design.
Otherwise, you’ll need to work alone or with independent specialists to help you decide everything from flooring options to faucet materials.
If you are considering a renovation, or remodel at your Muskoka home or cottage, and are looking for recommendations for local contractors, you can trust in our extensive knowledge of the area and local relationships to provide you with the best suggestions for your project. Reach out to our team to discuss.
