What order should you carry out your renovation works?

Order, order! What order?!

Most people we speak to have got a vision for their home and the way they want it to function for them. However, getting it to that point can often involve many stages of building works and renovations.

One of the main things we’ve learnt from all our renovations over the years is that what you want to do first is not usually what you should do first. For most, the kitchen/dining/living area is the hub of the home and where peoples’ focus goes to first when renovating older homes that often have small kitchens and separate living and dining rooms. However, if you have visions of converting your loft or building a dormer conversion at some point in the future we would always recommend that you do that before building a rear extension for example.

Here are our 3 key tips for ordering your renovation work:

Convert your loft before you build a rear extension or redesign your garden

Work on your loft will always involve scaffolding surrounding your property and risk of debris falling from the top. If you’ve already built a rear extension or re-worked your garden then it makes scaffolding access more difficult and risks damaging all that work you’ve already paid for.

Get the structural jobs done before embarking on finishing smaller jobs

Building a rear extension or reconfiguring your ground floor and knocking walls down can often involve installing large steel beams that need to be held up and secured appropriately. This usually involves knocking into existing walls, which can create holes in areas you weren’t expecting. This happened to us on our most recent renovation where installing the steel for the rear extension ended up with the builders coming into the bathroom and knocking some of the tiles off! Thankfully that room is still to be done, but we wouldn’t have been too impressed if we’d already installed a new bathroom.

Always leave the hall, stairs and landing until the very end

If you convert your loft there will always be some damage and patching up to do where the builders cut in through from the first floor.

Any other significant work that you do on the ground or first floor will involve builders and tradespeople coming through with materials and tools. And as much as they say they will cover things up like floors, they will inevitably get some damage.

If you are thinking about renovating your home or have any questions related to your project, do get in touch, we'd love to help. And don't forget to follow us via Instagram, Facebook and our upcoming blogs.