Best Practices for Planning a Home Remodel

A home remodel takes a lot of planning. In fact, most successful large-scale remodels can take months of preparation before the actual work begins. Knowing in advance what kind of preparations your home improvement project requires can help you stay on top of the home remodeling process. Whether you’re about to embark on a bathroom remodeling project or entire home addition, here’s what you need to know. 

Know Your “Must Haves” Vs “Nice to Haves”

If you’re remodeling on a budget, it’s important to fit in the most important elements first – and fit in the “nice to haves” with whatever money is leftover. Before you can prioritize your home improvement project tasks, you’ll have to decide what those priorities are!

Sit down with members of your household to talk through your upcoming remodel. Make a list of all the features you’d like to see when your home construction project is finished, then prioritize them by placing them in one of two columns – nice to haves or must-haves. Knowing this information in advance will help you during conversations with your designer, architect, and contractor when the time comes. 

Alleviate Stress with a Project Manager

Home improvement projects can be stressful – but they’re usually less stressful when you have a project manager. Work with a capable and confident project manager. They’ll be able to direct your home improvement project, supply you with home remodeling tips, and resolve issues that may come up with your home remodel, so you don’t have to. 

Design for Your Specific Needs

As you’re planning your upcoming home improvement project, think about your goals for yourself and your family in your home. Are you planning to have more kids? Do you need more useable yard space? Will you be inviting a senior family member to come live on your property in five years? Knowing these things in advance will help you make smart choices as you’re considering what features are most important to you during your home remodel. 

Pad Your Budget for Overages

It’s common for construction projects to go over budget. Sometimes this happens because homeowners make last-minute adjustments to the project scope or features. Other times, this happens because the contractor discovers hidden damage that must be repaired before the project can move forward. 

Plan to add at least 10% to the cost of your home improvement project before the work is finished. Set this amount aside just in case – you might be glad you did. 

Plan for Additional Time

For the same reasons that home improvement projects sometimes go over budget, they also go over time. Don’t plan any large family gatherings or events on your property in the days just after your home improvement project is scheduled to be finished. Weather, material delays, and more can all cause your completion date to be bumped back unexpectedly. 

Contact Drafting Cafe

Drafting Cafe can help connect you to a designer, a project manager, and a contractor to help get your home improvement project off the ground. You’ll be glad you did!

How to Plan a Garage Conversion

A garage conversion is a smart way to add useable space to your home, whether it’s for additional living space, an in-law apartment, a home office, or some other purpose. Before beginning this useful home remodeling project, it is helpful to know the process. This is a major remodel that involves working with a qualified designer and contractor. Finding the right professional who will do the job right can help ensure your remodel will succeed.

Hire the Right Architect and Contractor

Interview architects or design to build professionals first to discuss their experience and view their portfolio. Hire a communicative professional who displays good customer service and transparent billing practices. When viewing their portfolio, ask to see past work on garage conversions to confirm they’ve done this kind of job before and that the quality is to your liking. 

The architect and contractor you hire should also ask questions about your end goals, budget, aesthetic preferences, and timeline. They should be curious about your hopes and discuss any concerns that they may have about your project. 

If it seems like the professionals you’re considering hiring don’t understand your project or are disinterested in listening to your concerns, then that may not be the right professional for you. 

Garage Conversion Elements to Consider

There’s a lot to think about when converting your garage into a living or home office space. Some of the elements to consider are listed below. 

HVAC

To ensure that your new garage living space is comfortable year-round, your construction team will need to tap into your home’s HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system. This could involve replacing your air conditioner and furnace or installing a mini-split heat pump that can keep your new space comfortable without drawing from your current HVAC system.  

Plumbing

Are you going to install a bathroom or kitchen area in your garage? If so, then your construction team will need to add plumbing. This can impact how long your garage conversion will take and go a long way to make your garage space more useful. 

Insulation

Finishing the walls is another thing that your builder will need to do to keep the space comfortable. Adding insulation helps keep the space energy efficient. 

Access

Depending on how you plan to use the space, you may want to remove the door into your house and create a separate entrance. If you are planning for an ADU, you will want your guests close, but still have their privacy.

Garage Door Removal

Removing the garage door is an important part of insulating your new space since garage doors tend to be less energy efficient than normal walls. Talk to your architect about options for ensuring that the new wall on your home will look natural and less like a garage than it used to. Or, you may want to incorporate the doors into the design. There are many possibilities.

Permitting

Garage conversions almost always require a permit, and any professional working with you on this project should alert you to the permitting costs and procedures. Getting a permit will help protect the value of your home. An unpermitted conversion could make your home harder to sell when the time comes.  

Contact DCA for Your Garage Conversion

Are you ready to convert your garage living space? Call the experts. Make an appointment with Drafting Cafe Architects to discuss your upcoming home improvement project. 

The Truth About ADU Costs

Accessory dwelling units are increasingly popular throughout California as counties are encouraging in-building to create more housing. If you’re considering investing in an ADU in the Bay Area, no doubt cost is one of the most important factors in your decision-making process. Because this is a significant investment of often more than $20K for our clients, you should prepare yourself for the realities and the chances of surprise costs.

Architectural ADU Costs

Before the building can begin, you should understand that there are some costs associated with designing and permitting well before the foundation is laid. The very first thing you will need to do is hire an architect to create the plans. Choosing an experienced architectural firm is an important step in the process. You’re essentially building a small home from scratch, so the better prepared you are, the better the process will be.

Not all architects are ADU experts, and that can end up costing you more over time. It would be best if you find an architectural firm that understands ADUs from planning to construction. If you have the right partnership with your architect, they can help you stay on budget while designing all of the amenities you want. If you have a custom design in mind, costs will vary on size and your ADU’s overall vision. The more complex and customized, the more it will cost. We offer pre-designed ADU plans that are more affordable but offer the same quality that you expect from our team.

Other Costs

The additional things that will have an impact on your budget are obtaining permits for building and hiring a contractor to do the unit’s construction. For many homeowners, these are not tasks they have experience doing.

Once you have plans from your architect, you will need to get them approved by your municipality or county. Some architects may even charge extra for this step, so be prepared for that cost. In the Bay Area, seismic concerns may require soil tests to assure the neighboring properties that adding to yours will not affect there property.

Hiring a builder that understands the ADU niche is also another way to stay on budget. Depending on the location and size of your project, it could require some pretty extensive infrastructure additions: upgrading electrical, sewer, and water. Some areas have tight lot lines and could require making way for large equipment for digging foundations. You need a quality construction partner that will respect your existing property too.

Avoid Budgeting Surprises

One way to prepare for the cost reality of an ADU is to find a firm that can handle everything for you. Hiring several firms to handle each step in the process can drain your time and budget. DCA’s end-to-end project management services help clients maintain a predictable schedule and budget while having an advocate working with your builder for all those last minute decisions.

The Best Architectural Firms in the Bay Area

Drafting Cafe Architects has been named one of the best residential architectural firms in Union City, California. Without a doubt, DCA sets a higher standard for unique styles with several design-to-build options not typical in the area. The firm, founded in 2010, focuses on design, construction, quality, efficiency, and sustainability for clients throughout the Bay Area.

Customized Approach

As a design-build pro with a mindset for producing signature styles, DCA founder Ethan Andersen has successfully created a business distinctive from other architectural firms. From early on, he understood that the need to focus on a personalized approach for homeowners. As a result, Andersen and his team built DCA’s foundation on facilitating, not dictating, architectural services for clients. In particular, this individualized approach has been a significant portion of the team’s architectural offerings throughout the years.

Drawings with Depth

Most importantly, every residential project starts with a dream, a plan, and drawings that bring it all together. DCA takes pride in providing modern drawings for projects of all types. Consequently, our ADU plans are not the industry norm. They highlight an array of living options that work for various residential needs. As a result, clients enjoy seeing exactly what they have envisioned with our custom-designed and organized packages.

Beauty and Functionality

Furthermore, through customized drawings, DCA has a reputation for turning dreams into reality. They offer vision, dedication, and a deep understanding of customer needs. DCA’s design-to-build options make things smooth for clients by taking the complications out of the process. Particularly, the team handles the entire process, from picking out the materials that make the design work, such as paint, tile, and other structural items. They also work directly on behalf of the customer to ensure that the builder has everything to deliver the best final product.

A Different Kind of Architectural Firm

To stand apart from the crowd, DCA offers architectural services unique to the Bay Area. From structural engineering to innovative configurations, their intricate detail and personalized service stand out from the competition. California has its own set of nuances, and it takes expertise to walk homeowners through the planning and building process. For homeowners looking to get a specific result, working with an experienced design team like DCA is essential.

Remodeling Projects

No doubt, kitchen and bathroom remodeling are part of our portfolio. However, because kitchens are a focal point in the home, it can be challenging to add a style that is also functional. With this in mind, our team keeps things modern while using all available space. Our skilled team keeps your goals and dreams at the forefront to ensure our designs are everything the customer wants and infused with everything they didn’t know they needed.

Creating and executing unique architectural design takes skill and expertise. Working with almost every municipality on different projects throughout the Bay Area, the DCA team sets a high standard on all projects. Contact an associate at Drafting Cafe Architects today for more information on our work performed by our Bay Area architects.