DEVISE YOUR BUDGET
How much do you have to spend? Once you’ve decided on your budget, it’s vital to use it effectively. So, if the walls need to be repaired, don’t spend the majority of your budget on a new bed. Always allow yourself a contingency of at least 10 percent, too, especially if you live in an old property that might pose unforeseen problems.
PLAN THE LAYOUT
Draw a scale floorplan of the room and include all doors, windows, and radiators. Figure out where the furniture will be placed and use this as a guide to position electrical receptacles, ceiling and wall lights, light switches, and a TV jack if needed.
REVIEW THE HEATING
Look at how the room is heated and consider whether it would be beneficial to make changes—for instance, could you gain useful wall space by moving the radiator? Would a larger radiator be more suitable for the room?
SCHEDULE TRADESPEOPLE
Contact an electrician, carpenter, HVAC contractor, and painter for quotes. If you’re not moving walls, now is a good time for a millworker to provide a quote for built-in wardrobes or closets. Ask if other tradespeople’s work will affect the job so you can get each person in at the right time.
ORDER YOUR MATERIALS
Once your quotes are in, order any flooring, woodwork, doors, radiators, and windows. Furniture, wallpaper, paint, carpets, and lights can be ordered once the main jobs are underway.
STRIP THE ROOM
Remove old wallpaper to see if the walls and ceiling need to be patched before painting or repapering. Rip out old woodwork, damaged moldings that can’t be repaired, and old or unsatisfactory flooring, and remove old electric and plumbing for heating.
HVAC—ROUGH-IN
If you are having new pipes laid for new radiators, have this done first, since it may delay other steps
ELECTRICAL ROUGH-IN
The electrician’s rough-in will include running wire beneath the floors and into the walls and ceiling to provide boxes for light switches. If you are installing recessed lighting in the room, the electrician can begin the necessary work for these lighting fixtures now. Make sure that wiring for any phone and TV jacks is installed now, too.
INSTALL NEW WINDOWS
This task can be put in the schedule once the room is gutted and before sheetrock walls are closed. If windows are being renovated, prepare them for painting. While this is underway, get ready to close sheetrock walls
CLOSE SHEETROCK CEILING AND WALLS
Close wall framing with sheetrock, tape the joints and screw heads, apply a skim coat of plaster, and sand in preparation for painting. Now is the time to have any plaster moldings repaired, or purchase new moldings
LAY THE FLOORING
After the walls and ceiling are closed, you can lay hard flooring, such as wood, or a subfloor if you are having a carpet laid later
HAVE WARDROBES INSTALLED
If you are having custom-made or off-the-rack wardrobes built-in, have them installed now before new baseboards and moldings are put in.
TACKLE THE WOODWORK
Once the plaster is dry, start installing any new wood moldings—baseboards, crown trims, doors, door frames, and picture rails—ensuring first that the carpenter or millworker knows the position of any underlying plumbing and wires.
DECORATE
Fill any fine cracks, then paint the ceiling, walls, and woodwork, and, finally, put up wallpaper, if you are using it.
ORGANIZE THE FINAL INSTALL
With the decorating complete, the electrician and HVA contractor can return to install the radiators and install the light fixtures and electrical receptacles.
ADD FINISHING TOUCHES
Put up curtain rods or blinds, attach the door hardware, and lay a carpet if it is part of your design scheme.
