Renovating a property gives you the ultimate opportunity to create a bespoke home for your family. Whether you’re remodelling your existing house or buying a fixer-upper, you’ll want to ensure you’ve got everything covered.

When you first start thinking about renovating your property, it’s easy to focus on the most enjoyable aspects of the project. Choosing statement furniture, selecting a kitchen style and planning your interior décor helps you to envisage how your new home will look, for example. However, there are other factors that you need to consider before you can get to this stage. To help plan your project, take a look at the tasks that should be top priorities when renovating a house:

1. Increase Square Footage

Making your home bigger gives you more functional space to enjoy but it also increases the value of your property. When you’re renovating, converting your loft, adding a side extension or finishing a basement can make a significant difference to the size of your home.

These projects can take time and effort, so it’s important to factor them into your renovations now. You won’t want to embark on them once your remodel is complete, but making them part of your renovations enables you to speed up the process of increasing the square footage of your home.

2. Upgrade the Boiler

The boiler and heating system may not be the most exciting part of your renovations, but it’s certainly one of the most important. Your boiler is responsible for supplying you with heating and hot water, so you want to ensure you have a safe and reliable model. Furthermore, choosing a model that’s more efficient can significantly reduce running costs and help you save money in the future.

What’s more – upgrading your boiler may not be as expensive as you think, so it won’t add much to your renovations budget. To learn more, take a look at this guide to new boiler replacement and the costs involved from Boiler Central. At Boiler Central, you can select a boiler that meets your needs and arrange professional installation online. With a simple, hassle-free way to get the expert assistance you need, upgrading your boiler should be an essential part of any home renovations.

3. Rewire the Property

No matter what type of renovations you’re undertaking, you’ll want to ensure you have sufficient power throughout your home. If you’re adding an extension, for example, you’ll need electrical cables to be added too. However, you don’t have to stop there. When you’re renovating an entire property, it’s the perfect time to upgrade the wiring too.

Electrical wires are situated within walls and under floorboards. This means it can be a major project if you aren’t carrying out renovations. By making an electrical rewire one of your top renovation priorities, however, you can ensure the work is completed before you undertake any cosmetic work, like replastering walls, hanging wallpaper or laying flooring. What’s more – you can increase the number of electrical sockets in your home at the same time. If you’re constantly relying on adapters or running out of charging sockets, this can be a great way to make your home more user-friendly.

4. Planning Permission

Depending on the extent of your renovations, you may require planning permission. This can take weeks or months to obtain, so it’s best to submit your application as early as possible. Although you don’t require planning permission for every project, the rules can vary from one area to another. Just because you didn’t need planning permission in other homes, don’t assume it will be the same this time.

If you’re wary about applying for planning permission yourself, it can be useful to get expert advice. By working with a builder or architect, for example, you can get specialist advice and increase the likelihood of your plans being approved straight away.

5. Plan the Layout

When you renovate a property, you’ve got the chance to totally redesign the layout of your home. Don’t assume that each room has to be used for the same purpose that it’s currently fulfilling. Instead, try to envisage just the outer perimeter of the property and imagine what you can do with the space that’s available.

Now that you’ve got the opportunity to effectively redesign your home, don’t let it go to waste. If you’re finding it hard to imagine the options available to you, it’s well worth consulting with an interior design or property expert. By getting some ideas from a third-party, you can begin to explore the potential of your property and create a dream home.

6. Factor in Plumbing and Drainage

If you need to upgrade your plumbing system, you’ll certainly want to make this part of your initial renovations. However, even if you aren’t making changes to the plumbing itself, the other modifications you’re carrying out could affect the plumbing and drainage. Due to this, it’s vital to consider what impact your renovations will have on the existing functionality of the property.

If you’re adding a side or rear extension, for example, exterior drainage channels may need to be moved. This will prevent your property or garden from becoming flooded and ensure that you aren’t faced with subsequent plumbing issues once your renovations are complete.

Planning Your Renovations

Every successful renovation starts with detailed planning. You might be eager to get the work underway as quickly as possible, but in-depth planning will help you to avoid potential problems and ensure that your renovations go without a hitch.

One important factor you’ll need to consider is whether you’re going to manage the project yourself or hire a dedicated project manager. Depending on your experience, having someone to manage the day-to-day issues that will crop up can be a real weight off your mind.

By liaising with professionals, like electricians, plumbers, builders, architects and interior designers, you can get the lowdown on what you need to consider when renovating your property. This will give you the information and inspiration you need to transform your property in the home you’ve always wanted.