Renovation Planning Guide

Most renovations start with a picture of a kitchen. The ones that go well start with a list of what does not work. Write down the three things about the house that get in your way every day: the layout that forces traffic through the kitchen, the bathroom nobody can use in the morning, the back room that is cold all winter. Finishes are easy to choose later. The plan has to solve the problem underneath them.

Take photos of every room you are thinking about, including the ceilings and the mechanical spaces. Measure the rooms roughly. You are building the packet you will hand to every contractor you talk to, and the more specific it is, the closer their numbers will be to each other.

• List must-fix separately from want. The first list sets the budget floor.
• Note how long you plan to stay. Under five years changes what is worth doing.
• Photograph the electrical panel, the water heater and the furnace. Their age often decides the scope for you.
• Flag anything involving water: a stain on a ceiling is a scope item, not a cosmetic one.

Three numbers matter: what you would like to spend, what you can actually spend, and what you are holding back for surprises. The third is the one people skip, and it is the one that decides whether the job finishes.

Hold ten to twenty percent of the construction cost as contingency. Toward the lower end for newer homes and cosmetic work, the higher end for anything built before 1950 and for any job that opens walls. On an older Baltimore row home you should expect to find something behind the plaster. That is not a bad contractor. It is an old house.

• Budget beyond construction: design, permits, appliances, finishes you are supplying, storage, and somewhere to live if the kitchen is out for weeks.
• Decide who supplies what. An allowance for tile is not the same as a chosen tile with a real price.
• If you are financing, get the approval before the scope is fixed. It changes what is possible.
• A renovation loan such as an FHA 203(k) rolls the work into the mortgage, which suits a property that needs more than it is worth in its current state.

The age of the building sets rules that no amount of planning gets around, and they change both cost and schedule. Find out when it was built, what permits have been pulled on it before, and whether it sits in a historic district. All three are matters of record.

• Built before 1978: lead-safe rules apply to any work that disturbs painted surfaces. The crew needs a certified renovator on site and containment set up before demolition starts.
• Built before 1950: expect plaster and lath rather than drywall, and expect the electrical service to need attention.
• In a local historic district: exterior changes go through review before permits, and windows and facades get the most scrutiny. Plan for that review time.
• Row home: no side access, a party wall you share, and roof drainage that is tied to your neighbours. Dumpster placement and alley access are real scheduling items.

A conversation is not a scope. Write it room by room: what comes out, what goes in, what stays untouched. Two contractors reading the same written scope will give you numbers you can actually compare. Two contractors reading your intentions will not.

Drawings are not always necessary, but they are when you are moving or removing walls, changing the structure, adding square footage, or making layout changes that the permit office needs to see. Paying for drawings on that kind of job is cheaper than discovering the problem mid-demolition.

• State what is included and what is explicitly excluded. Exclusions prevent more arguments than inclusions do.
• Choose finishes as early as you can bear to. Allowances drift, real selections do not.
• Decide the electrical and plumbing layout before the walls close. Moving an outlet later is a wall repair.
• Keep one written document that everyone works from, and date it.

In Maryland, home improvement contractors are licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission. Check the licence number, check that it is active, and check that the name on it matches the name that will be on your contract. It takes a few minutes and it is the single most useful thing you can do before signing anything.

Then look at insurance. You want general liability and workers compensation, and you want the certificate sent to you by the insurer rather than forwarded as a photograph. If someone is hurt on your property and the contractor is not covered, the exposure can land on you.

• Compare bids on scope first and price second. The cheapest number is usually the smallest scope.
• Ask for recent addresses, not just references, and drive past one.
• Ask who is actually on site each day, and who you call when something is wrong.
• Walk away from cash-only pricing, a large deposit demanded up front, no written contract, or pressure to start immediately.

The contract is where the plan becomes enforceable. It should name the scope, the price, and a payment schedule tied to milestones rather than dates. It should give a start date and a substantial completion date. It should say who pulls the permits, how change orders are priced and approved, who cleans up, and what the warranty covers.

Permits protect you more than they protect anyone else. Unpermitted work tends to surface at the worst possible moment, which is when you sell or refinance and an appraiser asks. In most cases the contractor pulls them, and that responsibility belongs in writing.

• Tie payments to completed stages: demolition, rough-in passed, drywall, substantial completion, punch list closed.
• Never approve a change order verbally. Price and sign it before the work happens.
• Understand the sequence: demolition, rough-ins, inspections, close the walls, finishes. Inspections gate the next stage, so a failed one moves everything.
• Ask what could delay the job. A contractor who says nothing will has not run many of them.

Agree the ground rules before the first day: working hours, which door the crew uses, where materials get stacked, how dust is contained, and what happens with pets and children. Have one point of contact on each side and one weekly walkthrough. Most disputes on a job site are communication failures that were cheap to prevent.

Closing out matters as much as starting well. Walk the job with your contractor and write a punch list of everything unfinished or wrong, before the final payment rather than after it. That payment is the only leverage that gets small items finished promptly.

• Get final inspection sign-off and keep the paperwork with your house records.
• Collect lien releases from the contractor and any subcontractors paid through them.
• Keep the warranty terms, appliance manuals and paint colours in one place. You will want the paint colours within a year.
• Take photographs of the walls before drywall goes on. Knowing where the pipes and wires run is worth a great deal later.