For the next several days (or weeks) you’re going to have a lot of traffic coming in and out of your home. There will be a ton of dirt, debris, and obstacles to get through as you wait for your home to be renovated. Aside from hiring a reputable contractor to complete the job, you also need to prepare your home (and other things) to ensure that the process is smooth sailing. Below is a list of five things you need to tackle before the contractor shows up:
Contact Your Homeowners Insurance Provider
Many homeowners are unaware that there are a lot of risks with home renovation projects. Most of those risks fall on you as the property owner. For instance, if a contractor gets injured on your property and you don’t have adequate personal and property damage coverage on your homeowner’s policy, you will have to pay for the injuries.
This means if a contractor reaches out to an accident attorney to help file a personal injury claim, you’re unfortunately going to be the plaintiff as your homeowner’s insurance policy won’t provide coverage. Therefore, tell your insurance provider about the renovations and ask about liability insurance coverage. If you need to increase coverage, now is the best time to handle it.
Purge and Pack
Take an assessment of the rooms you intend to have renovated. You’ll want to get rid of things that could be in the contractor’s way during the renovation. You should also be sure to relocate things you might need to other parts of the home so you won’t have to jump through hoops to get to it.
Double Check Security
Your home will be easily accessible to contractors and subcontractors for a designated period of time. While you’d hope that a professional would not come into your home to damage or steal things – it can happen. Not to mention, passersby will notice that your home is constantly open and make take the opportunity to steal things. Rather than having to be reactive, it is best to be proactive.
Make sure that your home alarm works well. It may also be a good idea to invest in a camera so that you can see what’s going on inside the home when you’re not there. There are smartphone capable cameras that are easy to install and can be viewed from virtually anywhere. You can arm and disarm the security system and keep an eye on who’s entering the home.
Find a Place for the Kids and Pets
You don’t want your kids to end up hurt during the renovation, so it’s a good idea to figure out where you’re going to have them while construction is going on. If you have younger kids, placing them in a playpen would suffice. However, if you have older children, you may want to have a talk with them about the areas that are off limits and why. The same goes for pets. If your pets are allowed to roam freely through the house, you may need to invest in a few gates to keep them out of dangerous areas.
Set Up Exterior Protections
If the renovation project is going to be done on the exterior of your home or the contractors are planning on storing things outside the home it is important to safeguard these areas. Setting up safety gates, using caution tapes, or even placing signs around the work areas are best to keep others from getting hurt as they pass by.
There is a lot to be done before the contractors arrive. Don’t wait until the last minute to start prepping your home and family for the big change. As there will be a lot more foot traffic and part of your home will be inoperable, the sooner you start making these adjustments the better it will be for your family. In closing, be sure that you hire a contractor that has their own liability insurance to ensure that they’re also protected. While you hope nothing goes wrong, being proactive is always better than having to react.