Naomi Findlay, Australia’s Rapid Renovation Expert, shares the 21 common mistakes renovators make and her personal advice on how to avoid them.

Demolition before planning is really a common mistake that so many renovators make.

Now, demolition can often be associated with something big and scary such as wrecking balling an entire property. However, demolition, with demo or stripping of the property prior to renovating it for wealth is actually a really different thing.

So, this sort of process can also involve removing fixtures and fittings, tiles from walls, or internal doors that will be replaced. It can even involve simpler things such as removing curtains and all the other items from the property.

It can also go as far, though. For example, if you’re looking to do a complete renovation on a bathroom, you could be pulling down a damaged ceiling. So demolishing can be quite an intensive activity but really rewarding.

DEMO FAVOR

Now, there’s such a thing called “demo favor” when it comes to renovating. But one of the key mistakes people make is demolishing before the planning. Earlier, I spoke about the importance of putting on goggles and working through the property, identifying what can stay and what will continue to add value, and what can save you on your renovation budget.

For this reason, demolishing before you’ve made those decisions can cost you greatly. But there’s another area to demolition that can cost you greatly if you haven’t planned well. That’s the damage that can be caused by rip, tear, or bust demolition. It’s so important that you demolish a property well.

Sometimes, in one case I’ve been a witness to, a sledgehammer that’s only meant to be demolishing only one side of a wall made its way all the way through the other side. These sorts of mistakes may bring a smile to your face. However, they really hurt your bottom line and your timeline.

So make sure that before you get excited; before you pick up your friend sledge or your friend jack, make sure that you plan your renovation. Otherwise, it can cost you greatly.

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