6 things to know before starting a renovation

How to plan the budget, which works need a permit, what the contract should contain. A checklist to avoid regrets in home and workplace renovation.

Renovation is the most effective way to raise your quality of life without buying a new home; but a renovation started without a plan strains both budget and patience. Clarify these six points before you begin.

1. Survey first, then budget

Do not budget from square-metre prices found online. The condition of installations, floors and walls can only be seen on site. After the survey ask for a written itemised quote and keep a 10-15 percent contingency.

2. Which works need a permit?

Painting, flooring and kitchen cabinets do not. Removing walls, enclosing balconies, changing the facade or re-routing installations may require municipal permission or the consent of the other owners. Skipping this means fines and the cost of reversal.

3. Do not touch load-bearing walls and columns

A column cut for an open kitchen compromises the seismic safety of the whole building and is a criminal offence. Which wall is load-bearing can only be told from the structural design or by a civil engineer.

4. Written contract and schedule

The contract should list the works, material brands, start and end dates, payment plan and delay clause. Most renovations that start with a handshake end in a dispute.

5. Choose materials up front

Tiles, parquet, fittings and doors should be selected and ordered before work starts. Waiting for materials mid-job is the most common cause of delay.

6. Sequence matters

The right order: demolition, installations, plaster, floors, joinery, painting, fit-out. If the order is broken, newly finished work is damaged by the next task.

At İlka Grup we survey renovation jobs free of charge and work with written quotes and dated contracts. Request a survey.