by David Feinleib

Remodeling your home is no easy task. At homeownershiponline.com we have worked with many contractors involved with home improvement. We've also been through our own home improvement projects. Learn from our mistakes!

First, keep in mind that unexpected things come up during every home improvement project. The best contractors make conservative estimates, but even they can find dry-rot and other problems. Such discoveries can often lead to delays and ultimately frustration for home owners. The key to managing these sorts of delays is good and open communication with your contractor.

Home improvement projects are just like any other project. As a great person once said, expectations are the root of all evil. As a result, the more you set expectations up front, and continue to set expectations along the way, the better an experience you will have. Expect your contractor to give you regular updates on progress? You need to communicate that as one of your expectations.

You need to manage projects on a daily or weekly basis. It's easy to get into the habit of only talking to your contractor when issues arise. But imagine if you had an employee at work to whom you only communicated negative feedback. That employee would have a worse and worse experience and would not want to share bad news with you. If you have an open dialog with your contractor about what's going well and what could be going better on a regular (weekly) basis, you'll both be happier and communication will be easier.

One suggestion we have from our years of experience is to set a regular time to speak or meet with your contractor. That way you both know when you're planning to meet, and you don't have to coordinate schedule every time. A phone call can do the job, but an in person, face to face meeting is best. Again, it's just like having an employee or employees working on a project at work: if you don't put in the facetime, they won't feel like you care, and you won't get the information you really need. You also won't be in as good a position to control costs and get the results you want.

So keep communication open, set expectations early, and meet on a regular basis. These are just a few of the things you can do for a successful home improvement project!
About the Author

David Feinleib hosts http://www.homeownershiponline.com, a growing community of online home owners. Share your own stories, upload articles, or read about the experiences others have had!
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