Preparing Your Philadelphia Renovation For The Holiday Season

So this is the year you want your Philadelphia home to be where your family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving. But there’s one problem – your kitchen or dining room is lacking the space you need to hold everyone.

Now, you think, may be a great time to do that renovation. The end of November’s still months away and you should have plenty of time, right? Well, not exactly. A successful remodel requires plenty of planning, and part of your plan needs to include the possibility of delays that could occur.

Is Summertime Best for a Philadelphia Renovation?

What happens when you ask 10 remodeling pros about the best time of the year to remodel? You get 10 different answers. Many people like to schedule their remodels for the summer months. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that May is National Home Improvement Month!

It’s true that the warmer weather is great for working outdoors, but there’s more to a renovation than the outdoor temperature. So while Spring and Summer are the most popular home improvement seasons, the best time for your remodel is actually when it best suits your schedule and budget.

In other words, no season is perfect for everyone. Certainly if your remodel will require tearing off a portion of your roof to add more space, you’ll want to avoid the rain or snow but these things can be handled in any season with careful planning. First your builder must know how long it will take to open the area, make changes, and then close up the exposed areas.

The construction team should choose a window of clear weather that will span that length of time. There should be plenty of skilled people on hand to complete the task with time to spare.

Most importantly, plan for the worst! In the Philadelphia area weather can change quickly so there should be tarps ready to put up in case the weather window closes unexpectedly and Mother Nature takes over. Tarps should be tight and well fastened! If they are blowing and flapping in the wind, you better have some buckets handy because you might need them.

Keep in mind, too, that you are probably not the only Philadelphia or Main Line area homeowner having the same thoughts. It may be a good idea to have your renovation project scheduled for a month or two before everyone else. Not only will your remodel be completed in plenty of time, but you might even save a few bucks by booking people when they’re not as busy.

Philadelphia Renovation for the Holiday Season

At Cottage Industries, our remodeling process includes everything from creative design with detailed construction pricing, to refined scheduling, to fine craftsmanship with a total commitment to customer satisfaction always safeguarded by our 5-year warranty. Even with all of that, delays can still occur and you should have room to spare in your schedule if you really want to hit your deadline.

Our advice to clients who want to complete their renovation in time or the holidays is this: don’t cut it too close. There can be unforeseen circumstances or work you want to add making the project take longer. For example, if you estimate your project will take three months and you want it completed the weekend before Thanksgiving, don’t schedule the start date in mid-August. In that case, your safer choice is to schedule it the beginning of July. Otherwise, we always suggest having a backup plan for the big feast. Of course that means starting construction in July, not starting the design and material selection then!

Here are a few of the things that cause a project to stretch out longer than planned; people getting sick, weather problems, materials that don’t arrive on time or arrive damaged. You need to factor in the possibility of adding more work to the project. Some customers decide that while we are there, we can add extra work to the list but if you have a hard deadline, you might want to avoid this. We also work closely with other people’s schedules which can sometimes change such as plumbers and electricians, as well as township or city inspectors.  

Delays are not Inevitable

At Cottage Industries, we like to be up-front with our clients about the possibility delays, and we build flexibility into the schedule to account for some of them. We give projected start and end dates, and we do our best to meet them. In fact, the majority of the Main Line and Philadelphia renovations we do are completed on time. To facilitate completing a project as planned, we encourage our clients to keep the lines of communication open and direct, working with us to:

• Make material selections in a timely fashion.
• Have the house accessible when needed.
• Minimize adding more work to the project.

Ultimately, the best remodels are more about good planning and communication, and less about the weather and other surprises. One adage you can always count on – no matter what the season – is that the best time for a holiday season renovation is after it’s been well thought out!

To learn more about how Cottage Industries helps your renovation project come together in a harmonious fashion, download our guide to optimum value design today.