When to Renovate Multiple Spaces at the Same Time
Project: Heritage Pine | Photo: Rebecca McAlpin
Phasing out a project may seem appealing in order to reduce short-term costs , but it often leads to more expenses overall. You’ll also find that you’ll be making some design compromises along the way that will reduce your overall return on investment..
When You’d Rather Pay Once
Splitting up a project cuts down on efficiency. You’ll essentially pay for a lot of construction prep twice. Each round of construction will permits, another round of site protection to protect your home during demolition, and rentals like a dumpster for construction waste. Alternatively, renovating all spaces at once saves you from paying these fees multiple times.
Each trade working on your project would going to need to make multiple trips for each separate renovation project. Professionals like your HVAC contractor, plumber, electrician and tile installer will end up costing more that if you combined the renovations into one larger holistic project.
Consolidating a renovation project saves you money—construction costs decrease with increased volume. Renovating a kitchen and two bathrooms together is more cost-effective than doing them separately over time, due to shared preparation and trade work.
If You Value More Cohesive Design
Anytime a client wants to update multiple rooms, we design those spaces simultaneously to increase efficiency and project success. As we work through phases of our design process—space planning, sourcing, pricing and project management—we achieve better results because we’re tackling the project holistically.
As we design multiple spaces, we have the opportunity to coordinate all the materials and finishes. Our Ventnor Contemporary Coastal client had the wall between the kitchen and dining room removed which required updating the flooring. We specified luxury vinyl plank for the expanded kitchen, which the client also chose for the living room and sunroom to create a unified look.
From a procurement standpoint, we could order all the flooring needed for the kitchen, living room and sunroom at once and not worry about the material being discontinued (this happens all the time). Extra delivery costs were avoided as well.
When You’d Prefer a Shorter Timeline
Full bathroom renovations take about 8 weeks to complete. A kitchen renovation usually takes about 12 weeks. If you update these spaces separately you’re looking at a total of 20 weeks.
However, if you renovate your full bathroom and kitchen at the same time, you’re back down to 12 weeks because the trades can work more efficiently. When a plumber is onsite they’re handling all the plumbing work at the same time, rather than revisiting multiple projects. Same with the electrician, painters and so on.
If Reducing Stress is a Priority
Everyone is so excited about the prospect of a newly renovated home or office that they want to magically walk into it tomorrow. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Renovations take months to complete from start to finish. That being said, most people would prefer to go through a major renovation only once.
While our clients enjoy an elevated design and construction experience, most homeowners and business owners still wouldn’t call a renovation fun. Renovations can be quite stressful at times—it’s messy, noisy and a huge investment. You need to be really honest with yourself about how many times you want to go through the construction process. It’s worth it in the end, but you might want to consolidate the stress too.
You’d Prefer More Efficiency + ROI
There are instances where phasing out a renovation work makes more sense, but in my experience it’s rare. The more scope that can be included in a renovation, the better because everyone involved can work more efficiently. You’ll end up with a better design, long-term cost savings, a shorter timeline and less stress—all good things when considering the return on your investment.
If you’re not sure which renovations to tackle separately or simultaneously, let’s chat.