Renovation Learnings

Having just completed a gut renovation of a two bedroom, two bathroom, I thought I'd share what I learned from the process having gathered much valuable information from this board. In no particular order: - Kylewest provides excellent advice. Listen to him. - Choose materials for a room all at once vs piecemeal. I picked a great honey onyx tile for one bathroom, only to struggle to choose the... [more]

Having just completed a gut renovation of a two bedroom, two bathroom, I thought I'd share what I learned from the process having gathered much valuable information from this board. In no particular order: - Kylewest provides excellent advice. Listen to him. - Choose materials for a room all at once vs piecemeal. I picked a great honey onyx tile for one bathroom, only to struggle to choose the right counter top down the road. - service at the specialty stores recommended on this board - AF, Simons Hardware, Lighting By Gregory- is only one step up from B&H Photo. Sure, the selection is great but they won't take you seriously unless you know what you want. I had a much better experience going to different manufacturers' showrooms (Hansgrohe, Toto, etc) to at least learn what my options were. Yes, visit the showrooms, but go to the brand stores when you start to have an idea of what you want. - Homeclick.com is your friend. Secondary shout outs to homeperfect and amazon. - choose your contractor carefully. My contractor was amazing, finished on time, and did exceptionally high quality work. I was surprised how disinterested some contractors were that I found on streeteasy or how quick others were to push ikea/home depot cabinets while not adjusting their pricing. - rigorsly track the financial and time costs of everything. You can't rely on others to have the same attention to detail and urgency as you do. - yes to hardwood floors, no to engineered. The difference is both visible and felt with every step. For those who are wondering, my renovation consisted of new kitchen (excl appliances), two new bathrooms, custom cabinetry, new floors, removing the popcorn ceiling, new closets, doors, moldings, radiator covers, and converting a preexisting wall into custom doors. Thanks to everyone who has posted their own experiences in the past, as that was incredibly helpful in setting expectations for my oWn renovation. [less]