• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Laura Fuentes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Eat Healthy
  • Fasting
  • Meet Laura
  • Contact
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Eat Healthy
  • Fasting
  • Meet Laura
  • Contact
×

Studio Update #1 & How to Minimize Remodeling Delays

We are going on three months of planning, tearing down walls, chasing contractors, and working our butts off to get the studio ready for our move-in date of May 31st.

MOMables Studio Update!! Check out the renovation process as it comes along.

My husband did all the demo himself, saving us thousands of dollars on labor. So, if you have time (ha! is that a joke?) or have a group of buddies that can help and you need to demo a space, doing it yourself will save you a ton of cash. It also takes a lot longer to get the work done and patience is a virtue that will be tested. Here is were we are today with the remodel.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from the last three months is that doing a home remodel is nothing like you see on HGTV. When I say nothing, I mean like it’s painfully worse.

For starters, things always take twice as long as you imagined. A 3-day tiling job will more likely take a week; often delayed because the contractor can’t get the entire crew there, so he takes off a day to finish a smaller job that doesn’t need that many people.

Speaking of contractors, if you are not hiring a company to manage the job for you and you are contracting your own people to get the job done, you’ll save between 20-30% of the remodeling cost, but you’ll also have a few panic attacks and personal meltdowns along the way -guaranteed.

Take our electrical work, for example. We’ve had an electrician that is a friend of my husband’s family, do the work in our home a couple of times, and we knew he is good, honest, and reliable. However, in the recent months, he’s picked up a contract with a builder and is swamped. He kept putting us off for weeks until I finally had to step in and give an ultimatum. Needless to say, I found another electrician but that “waiting” delayed our remodel by almost four weeks!

MOMables Studio Update!! Check out the renovation process as it comes along.

There are two takeaways when it comes to contractors. #1, if you are hiring someone that your family knows, treat them the same as a stranger. Don’t put up with delays because they are a “friend.” and #2, have a backup plan or two. When I finally got involved in the whole electrician delay fiasco, it wasn’t pretty. What I mean by that is that I was already fed up and probably not the nicest to my husband and anyone else who got in my way of my delayed timeline.

Another thing I learned? Finding a “plan B” when you are in dire need will cost you more money. Contractors can smell desperation a mile away and understand when you need their skill to move on with the job.

 

Since the electrician delayed our timeline by three weeks, the sheetrock guy got tied up in a few jobs and sent someone else. This other person charged us 2.5 times more than the first estimate. As you can imagine, my blood boiled; but what were we supposed to do, not put up the walls? At that point, the walls needed to go up so we could lay the flooring and move on.

I should add, that while these delays were happening, I was at the beginning of a two-week business trip stressing out remotely. During this remodeling process, my husband and I established that I’d hunt down the contractors and he’d be at the studio supervising and managing the work. This way, I was the “bad guy” they never saw but was on top of their stuff, and my husband would make sure the job was being done.

MOMables Studio Update!! Check out the renovation process as it comes along.

As you can imagine, I’ve learned to not rely on phone calls alone to communicate with my contractors. I’ve resorted to persistence via text messaging, Facebook messaging, and lastly a phone call. If you want your contractors to get back to you, you must be persistent in all forms of communication, and if they are working at a job, they are probably not going to pick up the phone but will often reply to a quick text.

Now that the gas line is installed, electrical work completed, and the house prepped for flooring and framed for walls; it’s time to move on with putting up sheetrock, tiling the bathroom, and putting down the floors!

Have you remodeled your home? What are some of your tips to staying on schedule?

More DIY

  • my new charcoal sink
    What’s the best Sink Material for a kitchen update?
  • new white quartz countertops
    Granite vs. Quartz Countertops and How to Choose
  • new kitchen remodel is my favorite room to work in now
    Grey Cabinets and Navy Island Kitchen Update | Before & After
  • Wiping down my counters with Grove's natural cleaning concentrated spray
    My Back to School Kitchen Cleaning Routine

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Food & Lifestyle entrepreneur, Laura Fuentes, wearing a bring yellow shirt, looking straight at camera

Hi! I'm Laura.
I inspire moms to live a healthy lifestyle while juggling their family and work with fresh recipes and practical advice.

More about me →

Let's Be Social!

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram YouTube
Download The Busy Mom's Guide to a Healthier Life

Fresh Favorites

  • Grilled Chicken Kabobs
  • low carb lunches in glass lunch containers
    20+ Low Carb Lunch Ideas
  • large baking dish of pesto chicken thighs
    Baked Pesto Chicken Thighs
  • closeup view of roasted summer vegetables on a sheet pan
    Roasted Summer Vegetables

Trending Now

  • salmon pasta salad on a large serving plate
    Summer Salmon Pasta Salad
  • Healthy Summer Dinner Ideas
  • a collage with three smoothies and three blenders
    Best Cheap Blenders for Smoothies
  • list of real foods for intermittent fasting
    Intermittent Fasting Food List

Footer

Browse

  • Recipe Index
  • Weekly Meal Plan
  • Clean Eating Program

Download the Busy Mom's Guide to a Healthy Life

laura holding meal plan guide in front of prepped food

Useful Links

  • Contact
  • Permissions
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT © 2023 LAURA FUENTES · DESIGN BY FUENTES MEDIA