Before Renovating

    Before you even start demo, you should have a clear roadmap on what the finished product will look like. As well as be able to actual execute your vision, whether that be just financially or if you are a DIY person within your ability.

Here are are few things I always consider when I design my space.

1. What is the primary function of the room?
2. Who will use this space?
3. What is the budget?
4. Will the design allow for flow and functionality?
5. Does it feel like home?
6. Will it fit the rest of the house?
7. How will this affect the house equity?
8. Is it going to be to trendy and become dated quickly?
9. What the quality of the buildings materials and will they hold up for years to come?
10. Will it be beautiful?

    Now I may be odd in still believing in that "forever home," but for me I have no intention of ever moving. Because of this I also consider my future and think about where life may take me. I have designed my master suite for the idea of maybe a partner, I bought a home with extra bedrooms so there would be room to welcome new life, I ran empty electrical conduit to empty junktion boxs near entertainment areas throughout the house so things can change behind the walls as technology progresses with time, and for when I am older or if my physical abilities would fail I have placed behind the walls additional framing so that handicap bars can be easily added.

Yours truly,
Nicklas

    P.S. the photo from when I was demoing my master bathroom. At that moment I was replacing the 2x4 floor joist that were never meant to support a floor let alone a bathroom with a 900lb cast iron tub. The for starter had cracked over time due to weight, and when the tub was added in the 1990s renovation the ones beneath the actual tub had been sawn threw making the tub rest on the 100 year old 3/4" tongue and grove old flooring with a narrow board that was resting on a old tongue and grove wooden ceiling.  But I am still not done yet with the problems of this room. I had two electrical fires behind the wall, a main structural beams that supported the roof had been removed with no reinforcements added fort a sink, all the copper water lines were bused, and all the PVC drains were going up hill not to mention about half of them was never even glued to begin with. The roof had been leaking for years which had collapsed the ceiling that only added to the moisture problem from the badly waterproofed fixtures  that then cased all the insolation to mold behind the drywall. lastly two story corner of the house were this bathroom is located was on the verge of collapse to the missing exterior foundation.

    So moral of the story be prepared for anything, and renovations can bring many surprises. If your like me and have a old house you can surely relate to how the gross a old house can get from more then 150 years of different people living there, yet you still see the beauty being the grim and the old house is cry out for help and is asking to be brought back to her former glory!