By Jana
Ward
With the start of the New Year, many
of us make lists. We plan our New Year’s resolutions. We set
financial goals and budget for those extras. Accordingly, this is
the perfect time to assess our surroundings and think about home
improvement or maintenance projects that we may want to incorporate.
It’s helpful to list your ideas or
projects and evaluate them in terms of cost, time, and timing. Cost
can be materials only if you can do the work yourself. If it’s a
major remodeling job, you’ll probably need a professional estimate.
Time can be either your time – how many weekends or vacation days
will it take, or how long will it take a professional to get the job
done. And timing involves determining if there is a best time of
year to do a project, and if so when.
For example, you might just be
thinking about redecorating. Maybe one room; maybe the whole house.
Painting may do the trick or provide the backdrop for more
significant changes. The cost of painting is fairly easy to
calculate if it’s a do-it-yourself project. You’ll need the paint,
of course, brushes and rollers, paint pans, drop cloths, and other
various tools and supplies for wall preparation, if necessary.
Interior painting can be done year round so if you have other
outdoor projects in mind, winter or summer would be an ideal time to
paint saving the more temperate times of the year for outdoor
projects like exterior painting.
Landscaping projects can be extremely
weather sensitive. Planting new grass, trees, and shrubs should be
done in early spring or late fall to allow time for plants to
develop a root system without the stress of excessive heat and
drought conditions. It will save on your water bill too. On the
other hand, if a new patio, paths, or fencing is what you have in
mind, you have more flexibility depending on your personal heat
tolerance. Here again, if you plan to do the work yourself, you can
estimate the costs easily by visiting a home improvement center and
talking to the professionals there.
If you are comfortable with doing
almost any remodeling project yourself, congratulations. You can
cost out any project based on materials alone. But if you’re like
most of us, when you start talking room new windows, room additions,
or major overhauls, you’ll want a professional.
Since the cost of hiring a
professional is always going to be greater than a do-it-yourself
project (unless of course, you figure in your own time), you’ll need
to prioritize your projects. Perhaps you can pay someone do one
major project this year and still do a couple of do-it-yourself
projects. The others can stay on a list for next year’s
review.
Once you have the cost prioritized,
map out the time and timing. Keep in mind the family schedule. If
you have kids, you’ll need to look at school, sports, and
extracurricular activity schedules. You don’t want to be in the
middle of tearing apart your bathroom when you have to chaperone
your son’s cub scout camping trip. And your spouse may not be
thrilled if he or she had visions of taking a family vacation when
you were planning on laying new patio stones. You can, however, use
home improvement projects as an opportunity to teach your children
some basic values by involving them in the processes and the work.
Some folks use the “work hard, play hard” philosophy that if we all
work together to get a job done, we will have the time to go do
something fun together.
If you’re childless or an empty
nester, you have much more flexibility – and probably more financial
freedom as well. Still, time and timing are important. Your free
time may be more valuable to you than saving money. In that case,
you may want to hire everything out. But keep in mind, contractors
have busy seasons as well so scheduling work on the off-season could
save you time, headaches, and maybe even money.
Regardless of your approach or
perspective, now is the time to look at your home environment goals
and objectives for the coming year. By planning your maintenance or
home improvement projects, you can help reduce your stress and enjoy
the results more.
Jana Ward, of Clear Choice Flooring
and Design, is president of the Greater San Antonio Builders
Association Remodelors
Council.
