Planning Home Renovations in Dallas, TX? Here’s Everything You Need To Know Before Getting Started

Wondering if hiring a Dallas handyman to remodel your home is the right choice?

Did you know the US home remodeling market is expected to hit $500 billion by 2026? The American trend of renovating homes rather than buying new ones is rapidly growing. Experts predict that the number of people opting for home renovations in Dallas will continue to rise in the upcoming years.

Doing a Dallas home renovation allows you to customize your home to your preferences, although in a more permanent way. Much like putting a fresh coat of paint on a wall or placing an assortment of throw pillows onto an available surface, renovating your home allows you to change it to suit your tastes and needs. Whether you are turning that 80s bathroom into a relaxing master suite, turning an unfinished basement into game night central, or simply updating from old to new custom cabinets in your kitchen, undergoing a renovation means making your home your own.

If you’re a homeowner who’s considering a home renovation in Dallas, then you probably have a wide range of questions about how to get started. You might be asking yourself:

“How do I choose the right design for my home renovation in Dallas?”

“How much will my house renovation in Dallas cost?”

“What should I be aware of when my Dallas home renovation is underway?”

There is a lot to consider when it comes to home renovation, and it can be stressful and frustrating not to know where to start. That’s why the team at Mr. Handyman of Dallas put together this helpful guide.

By ensuring you know what you need to know about the renovation process before you get started, you can reduce your stress and unease throughout the process and enjoy it more. Read on to learn more.

Reflect On Your Home Renovation: Dallas, TX

One of the first home renovation tips we’ll give you is to reflect on your renovation. Before you start any renovation, you should step back and really look at your home, asking yourself the question: “What’s my ultimate goal with this renovation? What do I want to change, and why?”

This will help you understand your priorities during your home remodel or home renovation in Dallas. For example, if you want more space in your home, your focus should be on making your kitchen and living spaces more spacious instead of re-tiling your bathroom. This may sound pretty straightforward, but it can help you focus on your priorities and get what you really want out of it.

Once you know your priorities, you want to think about every single stage of execution. This will keep you from overlooking any details that might derail your project completely later.

For example, if you want to take down a wall, but there are pipes going through it that are important for your house’s plumbing, you can find out beforehand what’s involved with the potential removal and consider if it’s the best move for you or if the money and labor are better spent elsewhere. That way you won’t waste money getting started before getting to this problem.

Think About Your Desired Design

Once you’ve thought about the different stages of your Dallas home renovation project, you’ll want to think about what you want the renovation to look like in terms of design. In addition to potentially tearing down a few walls or replacing the kitchen sink, you need to know what your home will look like by the end of the project.

Especially if your renovation is design-based — where you’re changing the feel and look of your space without making changes to its actual construction — you need to think about design.

To figure out what you want your home to look like after the renovation, browse design shows, interior decorating websites, Pinterest, Instagram, and home decorating magazines. This will give you a better idea of your design preferences.

If you’re meeting with a designer to discuss the changes to your home, you’ll want to come prepared with your ideas about design. Otherwise, your new design might end up looking more like what they prefer than what you do.

Additionally, be clear about your budget restrictions. Yes, those marble backsplash tiles are pretty, but if installing more than a square footage of them means having to sacrifice quality in every other area of the project, you should consider alternatives.

Create a Home Renovation Budget

Speaking of budget restrictions, you need to have a clear idea of your budget when it comes to your home renovation in Dallas. Once you have an idea of what changes have to be made to your home and what its final design might look like, it’s time to look at each stage and consider the costs.

There are many costs involved in renovation projects. In addition to the remodeling project costs and new materials, you will need to pay for construction, labor hours and cleaning. This is on top of ensuring you have a contingency fund for any unforeseen and unpleasant surprises you might encounter during the renovation. This means that having an emergency fund is also crucial because you’ll never know if you have a change of plans.

When budgeting, add up all these costs and aim for the higher amounts. Otherwise, if your budget is lower than what everything will actually cost, you’ll have to stop renovations in the middle of the work being completed because you ran out of money.

Additionally, make some financial room for potential additional costs since you might end up adding another project to your renovation or spending more on new materials than planned. However, home renovations in Dallas don’t have to be complicated. All you need is a trusted remodeling team that is transparent and informative about every step of the process and that includes budgeting.

Standard Home Renovation Costs in Dallas, TX

Knowing the usual renovation costs in Dallas, Texas, will help you when budgeting. Generally, in terms of per-square-foot costs, a gut renovation in Dallas, Texas, will cost you $80 to $100 per square foot if your home has low-range finishes. Using more high-quality materials and products will greatly increase your renovation costs.

In terms of costs for specific costs, this is how much they usually cost in your area:

• Wood deck: $40 per square foot, usually totaling up to $13,000
• Deck composite: $60 per square foot, usually totaling up to $19,000
• High-end remodeling or expansion of a bathroom: $30,000 or more
• Mid-range bathroom remodel: between $15,000 and $25,000
• Budget bathroom remodeling: between $8,000 and $15,000
• Kitchen remodel: high-end usually costs at least $40,000, with mid-range costing between $25,000 and $30,000, and a budget one starting at $15,000

Please note that these prices are only a guide, as the main criteria lie in the smaller details of your project. You can find out what works within your budget. If you have a strict budget, we recommend focusing on the area that needs it the most. Other areas can be a future project.

Speak with Different Contractors

It can be tempting to choose the contractor with the flashiest ad. But, like with any big purchase, you should shop around and discuss what you want with different contractors to ensure you are getting the services you want.

We recommend speaking with different contractors about what their services are, what their thoughts on your plans and wants, and what their costs are for the changes you’re having made to your home. Put together a spreadsheet with their answers, so that you can compare answers later on.

If you don’t ask questions to multiple contractors, then you might end up paying way more than necessary for your renovation and not getting the renovation you want. And if there’s a contractor you really want to work with, but they’re a bit pricey, you can negotiate with them for a lower price if someone else has a lower price.

When interviewing contractors, remember to ask if they expect payment per job or if they charge hourly for their work. If they charge hourly, have them come in to take a look at your home so they can give you an estimate of how long the project might take, so you’ll know how much you’ll be paying.

Additionally, remember that extremely low prices can be a red flag. Even though you think you’ll be saving money, an extremely cheap contractor is likely to have lower-quality materials and might even scam you, leaving the job half-finished. Conduct thorough research, check for references, and compare multiple quotes to ensure you are making an informed decision. It's better to invest in a reliable and reputable contractor for renovation services to avoid potential scams and unfinished work.

When interviewing different contractors, ask them if they have a guarantee for customers or a warranty available. Check if they are insured and if their contracted workers are insured to work on residential properties. By asking these questions, you’ll verify whether you’re working with a legitimate contractor.

Think About Your Timeline

Once you’ve chosen the right contractor for your home renovation in Dallas, know what the project will involve, and what your budget is, it’s time to sit down and think about your timeline. Renovations will often take much longer than originally planned, so if you think it’s all going to get completed in a short amount of time, you should think again.

In addition to the estimates given to you by your contractor on how long the work itself will take, you need to think about additional aspects that might impact your timeline, such as how long it might take for a part or piece of material to be shipped to you.

Also, there are almost always unexpected issues that come up during house renovations, such as an unexpected piece of wiring or plumbing that means an additional construction job has to be done. For this reason, we recommend adding a couple of weeks to a month to your schedule.

Start With Your Kitchen

If your kitchen is one of the areas you’ll want to have renovated in your home, then we suggest starting with it first for a number of reasons.

First, renovating your kitchen will give your house a huge amount of value if you choose to resell it. A lot needs to go into renovating a kitchen, and they can get very pricey depending on the work and finishes you put into them. However, that effort gets rewarded when it’s time to sell, as updated kitchens add a premium to your home’s value. So, if you start with your kitchen renovation and find that you don’t have money left over to do the rest of your planned renovations, then at least you’ll know that you’ve spent money on a renovation that you’ll make money with in the future, should you choose to sell your home.

Renovating your kitchen will often change your life for the better, far more than any other renovation. After all, we tend to spend a lot of time in our kitchens. Whether we’re making dinner, doing school work, participating in an online meeting, or grabbing a drink, your kitchen is most often the most used room in your home. If it doesn’t function properly, it can throw off your enjoyment of your entire home. Investing in quality renovations not only enhances aesthetic appeal but also functionality.

Finally, kitchen construction creates a huge amount of debris and dust and takes a long time to finish, so it’s best to do this messy renovation first so that you can enjoy being in your home once it’s been finished. If you do your other renovations first, you may have to constantly clean up the dust and debris from the kitchen construction, which can be quite exhausting and lessen the chances of those spaces becoming damaged as a result. Additionally, as your kitchen is the place where you prepare your meals, you’ll want it done first, as you can ensure you’ll have access to a clean and safe place to prepare and store meals while dirty and disruptive work is being done in other parts of your home.

Use a Lockbox

Once renovations start in your home, we recommend getting a lockbox. That way, your contractor will be able to come in at any time of day, even if you’re out running errands or in the office.

Unless you want to have to rush home in the middle of the day to let them in or spend all day at home, invest in a lockbox so that your contractor can come in to work whenever necessary.

Utilize the Right Savings Strategies

When getting your house remodeled, there are so many costs involved, both expected and unexpected, that it can seem like the bills are never-ending. It’s important to stay on budget and in control of your spending, if only to avoid going broke halfway through the renovation process and ending up with a gutted home at the end of it.

When considering or undergoing a renovation, it’s important that you resist the temptation to splurge on everything, and instead focus on spending your money where it really matters, and saving where you can.

Here are some saving strategies you can employ to help you get the most for your budget:

Focus on Efficiency Instead of Size

One of the biggest costs involved with Dallas home renovations is taking down walls or moving large items to make more room for yourself in your home. If you want to save money, we recommend focusing on efficiency instead of size. For example, instead of pulling down your walls to make your kitchen bigger, invest in new kitchen cabinets, to give you more storage space, or install a kitchen island, so you’ll have more counter space.

Go to a Recycling Center

Many recycling centers can sell you the materials you’ll need for your home renovation at a cheaper price than what you’d pay at a hardware retailer. The added plus? You’re reusing materials, which is better for the environment.

Ask Your Remodeling Contractor for Materials

Contractors often have spare material left over from other construction projects they’ve been working on. Since they’re there to help, ask them if they have any they think could be useful for your home renovation in Dallas. This will be far cheaper than buying the materials at a big box store. However, make sure these procedures are documented, and you know where those materials come from.

Don’t Mess With Your Pipes

Some renovation projects are much pricier than others. This is especially the case if you’re thinking of moving the kitchen sink, toilet, or any other part of your home that’s connected to the plumbing system. If possible, find alternatives to messing with this complex system, like keeping everything in the same spot to avoid running up plumbing costs.

Need Help with Your Home Renovation, Dallas?

Here at Mr. Handyman, we’re happy to help. We’re experts when it comes to home and commercial renovations, no matter the size of your projects. Whether you’re looking at freshening up your living room, finishing your basement, adding new bathroom cabinets, or getting the chef’s kitchen of your dreams, our expert renovation team is happy to give you the advice, tools and expertise you’ll need to make it happen.

Whatever questions you may have about the Dallas home renovation process or any future projects, we’re happy to answer them. Contact us today to ask your renovation questions or learn about additional home renovation tricks. 

We’re here to help you take that first step in transforming your space, whether you’re in Dallas or the surrounding areas of University Park, Las Colinas, or Rose Hill. Trust us to increase your home’s resale value and curb appeal when you choose Mr. Handyman for your next remodel project.