Step 13. Preparing for DemolitionYou closed on the house, you have the keys. Work should start the next day, right? Wrong. Typically it is best to wait at least a week to let the paperwork get filed with the state and all parties get their things in order before you start knocking down walls. The banks and title companies want to make sure that everything is clear and that payments have all been processed before letting you knock down walls.
It's at this point when the builder will start to get permits pulled and start to work through the various parts of the remodel process to make sure the work site is ready. Power and gas lines will be marked on the property and any external items that will be in the way can start to be removed. This is a great time to go through the property and see if there are any parts of the property you want to keep before it gets remodeled. For example, our house had these great old glass door knows with heavy brass hinges that we'll use in some other projects or put on our cabinets for drawer pulls. We also saved some great glass doors from a buffet that was in another home that we'll probably incorporate into a dining room shelf project we are considering. Anything you want to save or keep before the project, pull out of the house. It's yours, you own it! Step 14. The work begins!This is one of the best times of the process but can be a little scary too if you aren't prepared for what is about to happen to your home. The home will start to be taken apart and you'll see what once was a nice home all cleaned up for a sale will now start to look like a complete mess! There might be drywall on the floor, dust gathering on window ledges and holes where once there was a perfectly good wall.
It's going to be o.k. Trust me. We've had the entire ceiling to our house missing while it was snowing out. You'll survive! Your builder should be updating you on the schedule of when things are going to be happening and letting you know about any potential issues they've uncovered while doing the demolition. This is the part of the process where the unexpected should be expected. It's not uncommon for builders to find poor insulation, bad wiring, water leaks, wood rot, leaky pipes, or even dead rodents! These things happen to everybody so be prepared to hear a little bad news. This is also where things like asbestos or lead paint will come up in an older home. These things are inevitable in certain situations and your builder should be well aware of the issues and how to resolve them properly. |
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