So how do you get the new space of your dreams at a reasonable price? It comes down to two unglamorous but necessary words: planning and budgeting. For a detailed breakdown of individual costs by project and by room, HomeAdvisor.com is a great source, but here we provide you with our top high-level tips to think about when planning a remodel and need to hire a pro.

Define Your Needs: Build up, Build out, or Bump out

Of these three options, a bump out is generally the least costly, mainly because it does not involve changing the roof or foundation. A bump out typically extends a space to align it with an existing roof, adding square footage while avoiding major upheaval.

A build-out goes further than a bump-out, but often requires costly foundation and roofing extensions. Though it provides more interior square footage, the downside is that it also increases the exterior footprint of the home, which can drastically reduce outdoor/garden space.

Building up is a great way to retain the existing footprint of your home, but it can require significant roofing adjustments (some or all of your roof will have to be replaced), as well as bolstering of the foundation and weight-bearing beams.

Select Your Contractor

• First step: get recommendations. It’s always good to work with someone who has been vetted, and about whom you can get the inside scoop. Ask friends, colleagues, and neighbors for referrals.
• Next, examine their credentials and licenses. Make sure their paperwork is up to snuff. After that, narrow your potential hires down, and interview the ones who have made your shortlist.
• Finally: get bids. No matter how the initial interviews went, make sure you receive proposals from more than one contractor. Don’t base your selection on price alone. What appears to be the cheapest bid can sometimes end up costing you more in the long run.

Account for the Uncountable

Most remodeling projects go off the rails because of unforeseen expenses that are not captured in the budget. These are the top three:

1. Indecision: While a level of flexibility is necessary, too much flexibility – constantly changing your mind – can lead to budget overruns, as well as bad relationships with your architect, contractor, and vendors. Worse yet, it can result in an incomplete project.
2. When the Walls Finally Talk: It happens almost without fail: just as the project is starting to sail along, your contractor finds something unexpected, or even borderline disastrous. Issues like rotted wiring, termite-ridden studs, cracked foundations, moldy basements, faulty plumbing…the list goes on. Standard remodeling budgets include a 10% contingency allocation, which is meant to provide funding to address issues like these. Do not make the mistake of not including a contingency fund. Something always comes up, and it is best to be financially prepared.
3. The Cost of Comfort: Most homeowners remember to include all the construction-related costs in their budget, but they often forget to plan for how to keep themselves and their family comfortable during the remodel. Depending on the scale of the project, you need to set aside funds for storage, moving, alternative accommodation, eat-out/order-in dinners, child care, boarding pets, commuting costs, and income lost due to time off from work. Your contingency fund is typically earmarked for costs directly related to the rebuild. We suggest adding an extra 5% or more to your contingency fund to cover any additional unforeseen expenses.

If you love your home and neighborhood, but just want a bit of a change, remodeling can be a viable option vs. purchasing a new home. At 305 Florida Contractors, we can guide you through the process, and help you achieve the home of your dreams at a reasonable price. Just contact us to learn more.

Psychologist Deborah Serani explains, “Christmas decorating will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone. For a lot of us, Christmas is a magical time, it’s a time of innocence, and it’s a time of joy.”

And what an excuse to decorate your home without having a high remodeling cost. So get ready, bring out your Christmas lights and make this weekend a happy and memorable moment.

1. Clear the Clutter

You’ll be surprised what a big difference you’ll see just by throwing out what you don’t use.  Or you may just find that some items just don’t belong in that space.  Once you are done with this process you’ll probably notice your backyard space looks just a little bigger too.

2. Container Gardening

The idea of using container gardening creates an all year round colorful design. Dress up your garden with gorgeous potted plants.

3. Add a Swing

Think swings are just for kids? Think again. A swing will not only add a beautiful touch to your patio but it will add health benefits as well. Swinging is good for your mental health, balance, muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and it helps to burn calories. So have that glass of wine and swing away.

4. Paint the Fence

Add curb appeal to your backyard by painting the fence. Shades of blues look beautiful all year round.

5. A Bird Feeder

Adding a bird feeder to your backyard has a lot more benefits than just feeding birds, it’s relaxing.  Choose a bird feeder that best fits your style and remember the food you purchase is the birds you’ll attract.

6. Lights

Don’t forget that lighting is the magic to the show. Adding string lights or a simple chandelier will add the last sparkle your backyard needs to welcome your guests and start the show.

You might think this is just a simple cost-driven budgetary choice. And it’s true that there are some good, budget-friendly alternatives at a number of price points, most of which involve a stock or “pre-fab” cabinet purchase at some big-box home store.

But for our money, the kitchen cabinets that result in the happiest homeowners are custom cabinets. We’ll tell you why, but first, let’s make sure we define some key terms:

• Stock (pre-fab, etc.) cabinet are just that – pre-made in assorted standardized configurations and sizes usually in 2” – 3” increments. If you find an acceptable color and material combination in your local home store, you can take them home and install them usually within a few days of purchase, if not the same day. Many homeowners choose them for remodeling because — usually — they’re the least expensive option.
  
• Custom cabinets at the other end of the spectrum are hand-made to your specifications in almost every respect, including color, hardware, materials, sizes, and shapes. If you have an oddly-shaped space in your kitchen, a stock cabinet might not work in it. Time to installation from the date of your order will vary, as will your cost.
  
• Semi-custom cabinets are something of a hybrid. You order them, and then they’re built, but you’ll choose from a predetermined list of sizes and styles. Price, lead time, and customization vary just as they do with custom cabinetry.

For you as the homeowner, the major practical differences between these three options come down to two key factors: cost and degree of customization/control.

In other words, you get what you want more precisely, but you may have to pay extra for that delight.

Why choose custom kitchen cabinets

First, though, let’s put one myth to rest: You won’t get a “handmade look” with custom cabinets. Just because they’re crafted by hand, that doesn’t mean the people making them aren’t highly skilled professionals, using sophisticated equipment and techniques.

Custom cabinets won’t require you to sacrifice consistency of finish or feel, either. Your cabinets should look “of a set” with each other, no matter what type you select.

Another advantage of custom cabinetry over stock or semi-custom options is the maximization of your available space. Professional cabinet makers can craft your cabinets to fit the available space precisely, so your kitchen benefits from greater efficiency and a cleaner aesthetic.

For example, if you need a deeper shelf on one wall, or a slightly wider fit for a specific corner, you might not find what you need in a limited supply of pre-fab cabinets. If you do, you might have to settle for your second or third choice in color and materials.

By far, however, the biggest advantage a custom cabinetry job will yield for your home kitchen project is the degree of control and customization. With stock cabinets, you’re limited to what’s literally “in stock.”

But with custom cabinets you’re in the driver’s seat all the way. You get the exact color and “look” you want, in the material and hardware combination you want, with the specific sizes you need. Your options are much more extensive.

True, you’ll probably pay a little more for that much choice, at least when compared to stock and semi-custom options — but maybe not nearly as much as you’d think. 

Depending on the size, number, and materials used, you could be looking at a relatively small increase in price for that custom cabinetry. The increase could be a few percentage points, perhaps ten percent or less.

In some cases, though, you might even wind up paying around the same amount as you would for a stock cabinet purchase, depending on the details.

So while you may luck out and find just what you’re looking for in a stock, pre-fab cabinet purchase, if you really want to get the best possible fit, with the look you want and sizing that’s tailored to your home specifically, it’s hard to beat well-made, high-quality custom cabinetry.