Let me be your Home Remodeling Guide!

Let me be your home remodeling guide as you go from planning to doing. It's time, it's real, let's do it!

By now, you are getting close to information overload. So, separate all of your notes into categories. Today, we want the notes that go with drawing your space, only. Gather them together and let's do the drawings that you will use to submit for permits, to subcontractors and to product vendors.

Although you can pick up grid paper, a scale and a pencil at any office supply store and you can do this drawing by hand, I would recommend that you pick up home design software instead. For purposes of todays discussion I am going to assume that you have selected my favorite software and that is what you are using. If you don't have a computer and you must do the drawings by hand, please contact me and I will walk you through this privately.

Before you start the drawing, contact your local building department. Ask them for their guidelines on submitting a drawing for permitting. These guidelines will tell you exactly what you need to do, how you need to submit, what they want to see on the drawing, how many copies they want and what subcontractors they may need information from.

Even if you and your team determine that a permit may not be required, this guideline will give you information that will help you in planning your remodel correctly.

As your home remodeling guide, I advise you to go to the building department in person. This way you can request to meet the plans examiner who will be reviewing your plans. If you can meet with this person ahead of time, you can introduce yourself and your project. You can find out EXACTLY what will be reviewed, and then you can present it in this manner from the get go. You will also get a chance to ask why something is needed, which will clue you in to things you may not have realized. This could be a very important educational trip to make.

And then when you create your drawings, do it EXACTLY the way you were instructed to do them. This step will save you so much time, effort, aggravation and eventually money. If this kind of minute detail tracking is not your cup of tea, assign it to a family member who can do it.

The explanations from the building department and within the software are pretty simple to follow, so I won't go into these any further. If you get hung up on a detail, please contact me, your home remodeling guide, for clarification.

Next stop: it's time to select the products unique to your home remodeling project. In other words - let's go shopping!

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