Guide to Remodeling

Remodeling is all about fixing things. Whether it’s a floor plan, a kitchen, the number of bedrooms, or the amount of natural light in a home, if the building you’re going to add onto weren’t inadequate in some way, well then, you wouldn’t be there in the first place. In this collection of articles from Fine Homebuilding, we’ve given you a primer on what you need to know when planning a remodel.

Everything that goes into new construction goes into most remodels -- and then some. Along with all the new construction details, there are also concerns about tying into the old building. Systems such as electrical, plumbing, even foundations have to match up and work together.

The same thing goes for the architecture. We’ve all seen bad-looking additions or remodels where the new construction looks as out of place as eyeglasses on a cat. We included 10 project articles that will show you on a variety of house styles how it’s done right.

Controlling costs is another biggie in remodeling. Due to the uncertainty about what might be behind the enclosed walls, figuring accurate estimates for remodels can be tougher than for new construction. To that end, this collection includes sound advice from San Francisco architect John McLean.

And for the final dirt on the topic, we’ve included lots of information about controlling the dust and debris that are a big part of every remodel. Keeping a project neat and clean goes a long way toward keeping your client happy because if that relationship gets broken, it might be impossible to fix.