Since writing a guest blog for Homebuilding & Renovating last week I’ve received a few phone calls from friends who’ve found their way to the blog and were keen to add their own top tips to the list I was writing for this week’s entry.

I’m not sure if they were concerned I didn’t have enough material or whether it was just that real enthusiasm we ‘renovators’ seem to have for passing on nuggets of wisdom to those less experienced. It appears that completing just one project turns most of us into instant experts and the pained look that passes over peoples’ faces when I start to talk about renovating suggests I am no different!

I hope you find the five tips below of some use. It would be great to hear some of your tips so, if you’re passing by this blog, do please post a comment. You never know, we might even get a book out of it!

Visit the Site Every Day If You Can
Visiting the site every day is a great way of keeping the project on schedule and ironing out any problems there and then. Varying the time you appear is also a good idea as it means you are never expected and can quickly pick up if things aren’t going to plan or the work rate is slower than expected.

No matter how detailed the plans or how good the design it is a rare building project where no changes or unexpected decisions have to be made. It is always preferable for the homeowner to make the call on this rather than the builder.

I turned up one day to find that the position of the downstairs loo wall in the hallway was blocking the flow through from the kitchen to the sitting room.

Although this was detailed on the plans it hadn’t been obvious that it would have caused such a problem.

The stud walls had gone up but it wasn’t too difficult to rip those out, measure the size of the loo and work out that a smaller loo would still work and balance out the hallway more effectively.

This wasn’t something the builder would have considered as he was following the plans but by catching the problem early enough I was able to avoid an oddly shaped entrance.

Always Make Stage Payments
I quickly learned the hard way that how I doled out the money affected the speed and standard to which any job was completed. After paying up front for the radiators, I had a real problem getting two exchanged that leaked and had chipped in transit.

I managed it eventually but the long phone calls and endless bargaining caused unnecessary stress.

From that point on I always withheld at least 10% until the goods had been delivered and where possible only put down a 30% deposit.

With the builders I made stage payments against agreed timelines.

I’ve got friends who asked for penalty clauses to be inserted into the contract and who went on to have one of the quickest builds on record!

I wasn’t brave enough to do that but I would certainly try to insist on it if I undertook a big project again.

Control the Quality of Building Materials
I decided to purchase all the materials myself and soon learned that not all pieces of 2 x 4 are the same!

Placing an order over the phone and then accepting the delivery meant we had quite a bit of waste, cutting off lengths that were warped, twisted or contained too many knots.

In the end, when ordering wood, I always went to the builders’ merchants and selected the material myself.

Taking poor quality materials back was always an option but sometimes it would hold up the job and it just wasn’t an effective use of the carpenter’s time.

Sure, it made the purchasing process more time consuming but I knew exactly what I was paying for.

Keep Those Instructions Close to your Heart
If you’re having anything installed by electricians, plumbers or builders, be it boilers, showers¸ special light fittings or windows, make sure you’re there before they leave to rescue the instructions from the bin or general pile of waste by the door.

You may not need them straightaway but when its time to replace the bulb, service the fitting or work out which bit might need replacing, trying to work out how something works without instructions can be incredibly frustrating.

I recovered countless lighting instructions from the skip as well as a number of warranty cards.

Ebay is A Wonderful Thing
It is amazing how many people can be interested in what you assume is a pile of junk – or conversely are selling the exact thing you need for your project.

I sold old doors, fireplaces, light fittings, left over bricks, roof tiles and a window on Ebay. And in return I picked up a beautiful Georgian fireplace for a song, Laura Ashley light fittings that I had forgotten to budget for and 30 old bricks needed to repair my front garden wall and which were no longer made.

I also got a number of new items for a lot cheaper price than what they were being sold for elsewhere¸ mainly because retailers often use Ebay as a second shop front and sell their goods cheaper there.

I got very good at being a last minute bidder and even though I sometimes had to travel some distance to pick up the goods it was always well worth the journey.