How to Prioritize Your Wish List

Let’s just start with what seems obvious to me, but somehow many homeowners try avoiding it: at the end of the day, You, the homeowner, have to make the decision. You have hired great professionals to guide you through the process, but no one else can decide for you what you value most in your home or how much you’re willing to spend.  I’m sure you’ve heard by now, every project is made up of three major factors - budget, scope, and schedule - and you can lay the groundwork for your project by prioritizing just those three elements, setting yourself up for success with future decision-making throughout the process.  

Budget:
For many (most?), budget is the guiding factor.  There are a finite amount of funds which can be accessed and going beyond that simply isn’t a possibility.  If that’s the case, you can see clearly that keeping your project on budget will be paramount for every choice that follows. How large of a space, what type of finishes, and which details you can include, will all be informed by the budget.  Additionally, you’ll want to keep in mind that you should consider disbursement of the budget across all areas of the project.  It is an odd experience to walk into a home where someone has clearly invested heavily in their kitchen, for instance, while skimping in other places such as lighting, or flooring. You can see quickly when the whole home is not built-up to the same quality.  Keep your budget balanced, and choose to level up everything with small splurges here or there rather than focusing on one room or feature, while leaving the rest to be visibly lacking.

Scope:
The second most-common priority for folks is scope, the “what” of the project you’re building.  The size of the home in square feet, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, or type and use of spaces, are often driving the project solutions.  This can come up against that pesky budget, and some homeowners come to discover that their budget cannot afford them quite the size of home they were hoping for, and so, must come to a decision on the viability of the project. Maybe the project size is limited by the property restrictions, lot coverage, setbacks and other outside factors.  These are out of the homeowner’s control but will influence decisions throughout the project such as how spaces are formed and what connections are made both inside and outside the structure.

Schedule:
Trying to get this project completed during your vacation out of the country?  Have a baby on the way and need to be settled before their arrival? Looking to host Thanksgiving?  These are all reasonable constraints which may place timing as a priority for you when planning a construction or renovation project.  The reality of project timing is that it is the least manageable of these three major factors, as it relies on so many participating entities working in concert to pull off a perfectly timed project delivery.  Additionally, most projects have the influence of supply chain issues, delayed deliveries, and unplanned weather events which can all be disruptive to the project calendar.

If you have a firm deadline, be clear about this with all parties from the beginning.  Work with your architect and contractor to ensure that your schedule is feasible, and that they are on-board with working toward this timeline.  If you want your builder to be contractually obligated to a project completion date, set it in writing, but understand that any contractor willing to commit to such an ask, will understandably be charging a premium on every piece of the project to ensure they have the resources to get the job done.

Having created a hierarchy between budget, scope, and schedule, the smaller decisions throughout the project should be somewhat easier to manage.  If you’ve got schedule as your top priority, then you may decide on an insulated panel system for your exterior sheathing which combines your rigid continuous insulation, weather barrier, and structural sheathing in one product for a fast and efficient installation process.  If budget is top of mind, you might find that selecting a stucco finish over stone is the right choice for a portion of your home.  And if scope is your priority you may find that the time to import an italian marble is worth it for you to have the kitchen of your dreams.  Whatever the decision, if you understand your priorities from the project start, you’re already on track to making wise choices that you will feel confident in well beyond project completion.