While it must be wonderful to undertake a renovation without one, most people will have a budget when they start a project. This means that all the work they do needs to be within this budget and it can be tempting to cut corners when renovating to get the most done for your money. But there are also some strong reasons why not to do this. You may be thinking do I need damp proofing for my home?
This means that all the work they do needs to be within this budget and it can be tempting to cut corners when renovating to get the most done for your money. But there are also some strong reasons why not to do this.
Start with a plan
Whether you are modernising the living room, completely renovating the kitchen or bathroom, building an extension or any other of a hundred different home improvement projects, you should always start with a plan. It should take into account exactly what you want to do, what essential elements the room needs to have and what your projected cost versus budget is. The planning stage should always aim to be under budget because you can almost guarantee that something unexpected will come up during the work.
The other key factor to remember when doing any work is if there are any building regulations that apply to it. In the majority of cases, internal renovations aren’t affected by building regulations but if you are changing the purpose of a room, it might be. A classic example is a basement or loft conversion or a change of the use of the garage. Because the use of the room is altering, then some building regulations might apply. Your local authority can always guide you on what rules apply and how to ensure you are compliant with them.
Your local authority can always guide you on what rules apply and how to ensure you are compliant with them.
Getting the right tradesmen
Once you have some ideas about what you want to do, you can start approaching tradesmen for quotes and discuss those ideas. Don’t be upset if they make suggestions to your plans for different reasons – their experience will help make your project better and it is a big part of what you are paying them for.
There are many projects where a keen DIY fan can handle some or all of the work. But think carefully about the nature of the jobs before embarking on them. For example, any work around the gas or electrical connection to your home needs to be done by a registered Gas Safe engineer and qualified electrician and receive a certificate to show this. Without it, you may face a serious repair bill if you come to sell the house and anything isn’t to standard.
When the project is underway, and those inevitable problems occur, this is the time when people most think about cutting corners. One of the common areas is finding signs of damp and ignored it or hoping that it doesn’t mean there is a problem.
Unfortunately, there are five main types of damp, and every one of them indicates a problem in your home. We would advise what damp consultants you have in your area that can investigate any damp issues.
Rising damp often means that water is transmitting up your walls from the ground and that your damp proof course is either missing or malfunctioning. Rain penetrating damp is often due to a weak spot in the weatherproofing of the house such as a missing roof tile or damaged guttering. Lateral damp penetration effects walls that are constructed below ground. Condensation, which usually means that the house doesn’t have the right kind of ventilation and water leaks from defective plumbing.
Dealing with problems when they occur might mean you use the last of your surplus budget and don’t get those extras you were hoping for. But in the long run, dealing with issues like damp immediately will save you money in emergency repairs down the line.
Conclusion
Cutting corners during renovation can seem like an excellent idea at the time and the best way to keep on budget, but ignoring problems like damp is a false economy and can cause you massive issues at a later date, causing you to regret ever considering the short-cut option.