Finish Your Remodel Right: 10 Tasks to Check Off

When you are in the throes of a remodel (even a “minor” one), it can seem as if it will never end … that is, until it does. When the contractors, architects and designers who seemed to be everywhere you turned are suddenly gone, it can be surprisingly easy to forget to nail down those key last details (like making sure everything actually works) in the rush to get your house back. So grab a notepad and be sure to check off these 10 items before you close the book on your remodel. Your house will thank you.

1. Keep the old stuff. Remodeling an older home often means replacing older fixtures and finishes with new — but think twice before sending any of your home’s original details to the dump. Keeping original light fixtures, a few shingles or worn hardware can be a blessing down the road if you or a future homeowner wants to know what the original home looked like, or perhaps even wants to restore the old stuff and reinstall it.



2. Make sure everything works. Before you send your pros home on the last day of work, be sure to carefully check that everything works as it should. Turn on appliances, faucets and lights. Check to make sure the hot and cold water work, and plug a lamp into outlets to test them.


3. Send in warranty cards. Those gorgeous new appliances or floors may come with a good warranty, but it’s only valid if you activate it — so be sure to send in those cards right away.

4. Update your homeowner’s insurance policy. Anytime you make a major purchase for your home, you should also contact your insurance agent to update your policy. Good record keeping is essential to protect yourself in case anything ever happens to your home and stuff.

How to Create an Inventory, Whether You’re Naturally Organized or Not


5. Open every cabinet, drawer and door. Can you fully extend every drawer and open all the cupboards and doors without knocking into anything? Are the handles affixed properly? Do they open easily? Hopefully you won’t find any problems, but if you do, it’s better to find them right away.


6. Learn about proper maintenance. While you still have the ear of your architect or contractor, be sure to ask about how to care for each of the materials used in your remodel. Ask for specifics — if there are brands of products they recommend or homemade cleaning formulas to whip up, write them down.



7. Keep all extra materials. Unless you speak up, your contractor may be planning to toss out all of the leftovers from your project … so be sure you do speak up. Having that extra tile, grout or section of countertop can be a lifesaver when you need to repair or replace something.


8. Save and label paint. Even tiny amounts of paint can be used for touch-ups, so make sure you keep it all. Dotting a small amount of paint on the lid will help remind you at a glance which color is which, and a master list of colors used in each room will help down the road if you need to repaint.


9. Take care of the legal stuff. Have forms that need to be filed with the city? Even if your contractor or architect told promised to take care of them, it wouldn’t hurt to double check at the end of the project. Sign whatever you need to sign and make sure the appropriate forms have been filed so your remodel is all aboveboard.


10. Keep all of your reno info in one place. Remodeling, no matter the size of the project, generates a lot of little bits of information — contact info for all the pros involved, receipts, paint color names, plans, product manuals and on and on. Dedicate a box or file to documentation from your remodeling project so it will be easier to find exactly what you need in the future.

Tell us: Have you been through, or are you going through, a remodel? Share your own advice in the Comments.

More: What to Look for in a Contractor’s Contract

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