Remodeling goofs: Learning from others’ face plants

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Published Date 7/23/2024

Remodeling a room or an entire home is, of course, a creative endeavor mixed with practicality and forward thinking.

It’s not, however, an exact science, as told by Realtor.com’s Judy Dutton. “The remodeling process is full of pitfalls: missing a measurement, uncovering an unfortunate surprise on demo day, thinking a tile pattern will work when it really, really doesn’t. Plus, it doesn’t help that, besides purchasing a house, a renovation is one of the most expensive things a homeowner will face.”

The first thing to understand is that no project will go 100% according to plan. But you can avoid common stumbling blocks if you know what to look for, says Dutton. She asked the editors of Remodelista for advice from the company’s designers, architects, contractors, house painters, and homeowners about remodeling mistakes and what to know along the way.

The first pitfall they bring up is miscommunication. Remodelista’s Margot Guralnick says. “Remodels are like a game of telephone: With multiple people involved, work orders can shift in small but crucial ways from person to person. There’s no such thing as over-communicating to get the details right.”

A great piece of advice in this regard from a few house flippers in Austin, TX, after remodeling a circa 1915 row house? Label everything. They said despite being crystal-clear with their contractor about keeping all the amazing old details, they walked in on the first day of the demo only to find half of the tin ceilings crushed and thrown away, they told Remodelista. So be sure to plaster signs everywhere saying “Do Not Remove” if you value certain older aspects of a given room or area.

Supersizing the kitchen and/or a bath can become a budgeting faux pas. The bigger the space, the more materials you’ll need, such as tile, flooring, and paint. On the flip side, small spaces are more efficient and eco-friendly and cost less to heat and cool. One editor redid her galley kitchen in Brooklyn a few years ago and realized bigger isn’t always better—and that carefully sourced hardware store finds can look high-end.

One of the most common mistakes in remodels is forgetting to install outlets in key places. An outlet for that new wine fridge. More than one for an appliance garage. Even one outside for holiday lights, along with a switch on the inside of your house for it. And while you’re at it, this is the time to add dimmers to lights or add accent lighting under cabinets or bar tops. You’ll be happy you did.

The group says they checked in with a couple six months into living with their new kitchen and their chief complaint was that the Calacatta marble counters that looked so stunning upon installation were already etched and marked by water rings. Fine for some who love how marble ages, but annoying for others.

Other fiascos documented included cabinet pulls that twisted and went askew, and having used the wrong grit on the sander for a large expanse of wood flooring. And those charming pedestal sinks? No storage offered, so use them only in powder rooms, but think long and hard about even that ahead of time.

Realtor, TBWS

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