So you’ve called around, got a couple quotes, have a start date, signed the contract, and payed the down payment. Now what? Do you have to prepare at all? Should stuff be moved? What about your flower beds next to the wall they need to fix? Here is a quick check list to make sure you are ready for your contractor and their team to come and improve the value of your home or office. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. Talk to your contractor and see what they will need and what they request.

• Remove photos, electronics, and other decorations from the walls they will be working on and put them in a safe place out of the construction area. You don’t want to see anything get broken. This includes TVs and sound systems. Although the contractor’s team will promise to be as careful as possible, accidents do happen and you want to be able to still watch the Sunday football game. If something is too heavy, feel free to ask them to help you move it to a safe spot in your home. They don’t want to break your TV either, trust us.
• Remove the ‘bad parts’ of your wall if you can. This will help the project move along faster and can sometimes reduce the cost of your project.
• Do you have bushes, shrubs, or flower beds outside the wall they are fixing or tearing down? It might be a good idea to temporarily uproot the plants for the duration of the project to your roses don’t get crushed and your daffodils can see another spring. If your bushes are too large to move you can still help by trimming them back as much as you can. Not only will you help the shrubs by pruning them, you will keep your construction workers happy because they won’t have to wrestle a juniper to fix the crack that is causing water to leak into your basement.
• If you are having interior work done, let the contractor know if you have pets. They will need to carry heavy materials in and out of your home and they don’t want you to come home and have to tell you Fido and Mittens are missing. It is best to contain the animals to one area of the home if you can.
• Let the contractor know if you will be leaving on vacation or having guests over and want them to stop the renovations for a bit. Feel free to stay at home during the construction or leave and go to work. They will do their best to accommodate your schedule and needs if you communicate with them what you need.
• Give your neighbors a heads up of the work that will be done. Construction requires big trucks and sometimes trailers or lifts and has a tendency to bring with it some noise.
• Make sure the crew has access to water and electricity. Let them know where they can attach a hose and an extension cord.

The bottom line is if can’t do anything whether you short on time or just simply aren’t able to, just let us know and we will be happy to help you!