So you have your plan and budget ready, secured the permits, and are ready to start your renovation project. But, have you really thought of what makes a successful renovation project besides all this preparation?
Well, the key lies in ensuring precise fit and finish. The last thing you want is to see cabinets or doors that fit awkwardly or colors and textures that look improperly balanced. Everything from the colors, textures, wood placement, the size of the cabinets, and every other detail should come together perfectly for a beautiful finish.
You want everything securely fastened and perfectly balanced, spaced, and aligned. In this article, we tell you why ensuring fit and finish is the most important aspect of a successful project as well as how you can achieve that.
The importance of fit and finish in home renovation
Ideally, fit and finish translates to paying careful attention to every little detail from top to bottom. The contractor should ensure that precise and appropriate measurements and placement of wood, tiles, doors, windows, cabinets, and more are done. This is important to ensure that your renovation project is of top quality.
Ensuring precise fit and finish is important for these reasons:
Longevity of the home
How everything fits and its finishing affects the longevity of your home. If some things don’t fit well into detail during the remodeling, it’s only a matter of time before the faults start to show. For instance, if the cabinets in the kitchen were fitted improperly, you might start noticing that the doors are becoming hard to close, if it’s the floors, they start to bow in the middle.
In the case of siding precise measurement wasn’t ensured during installation, some areas appear warped or bulging over time. This could be because your contractor didn’t leave enough room to allow expansion and contraction caused by weather changes. Besides the uneven appearance, the siding will likely not live to fulfill its desired purpose as expected. With improper fitting, your home might experience moisture leaks that can cause mildew growth and water damage, threatening the life of your home.
Resources
Proper fit and finish saves you money in different ways. For starters, poor measurements can lead to more materials being used. This might mean reordering more material than you had initially budgeted. Besides your budget going overboard, delays are likely to occur, which is a waste of time and money.
In addition, precise fit and finish will save you money for repairing and correcting issues. The problem with poor fit and finish is that the damages are hard to correct. Oftentimes, everything will need to be taken down and constructed from the start to correct the issue. It wouldn’t be possible to correct doors that don’t close well without bringing them down and reworking them.
Functionality
One of the major reasons for home renovation is to enhance functionality. If for instance, you have a wheelchair user in your home, you would want kitchen counters that are easy to reach while allowing enough space underneath for the wheelchair to slide in. This could be hard to achieve with poor fit and finish.
Home Appearance
Poor fit and finish will eventually affect the appearance of the home eventually. Uneven looks and improperly hanging cabinet doors will certainly affect the overall look of your kitchen negatively. Besides, some effects of poor fit and finish can be witnessed almost immediately. It would be hard to miss textures that are poorly balanced or edges and corners that protrude awkwardly.
How to ensure precise fit and finish in your renovation projects
The fit and finish of your renovation projects boils down to the contractor. When choosing a contractor, you need to put in the right effort and do your due diligence before qualifying anyone into the shortlist. What you want is a contractor who can guarantee that your project stands the test of time while ensuring an aesthetically appealing finish. How do you achieve this? By asking the right questions based on what you want.
One, seek to know what fit and finish means to the contractor in question. The way that they answer this question should tell you something about what to expect. If you don’t get straight answers that don’t satisfy your expectations, you are best moving on to the next one.
Two, ask the contractor to show you projects that they have tackled before, probably about five years old. If the contractor is a good remodeling expert, providing references isn’t something they will struggle with. Moreover, when you get to a previous home that they worked on, pay close attention to certain areas such as:
- Siding – Examine the siding well to ensure that the look is even without warping or wavy looks. To get a clear picture, focus on the side of the walls that don’t have doors and windows. A good Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo, or Columbus siding contractor ensures precise fit and finish for that excellent curb appeal.
- Surfaces – Pay close attention to the angles, height, and finishes. With precise fit and finish, the tiles, tiles and paneling and more should align seamlessly.
- Corners and edges – Look out for irregularities and gaps. Everything should fit and appear perfectly at the right angles without any clear gaps or nicks.
- Windows and doors – Make sure to check how doors and windows close and open. This should happen easily and smoothly. In addition, see how they fit and balance on the walls
- Cabinets – Besides checking the doors, look at how they fit in the space. You shouldn’t see any wasted space or blind corners. Make sure that the fitting enhances the flow of the kitchen. For instance, they shouldn’t obstruct the walkways or open to appliances.
Conclusion
As said above, proper fit and finish affect not just the aesthetics, but also the structural integrity of your home. You could be looking to achieve the aesthetic goals that you have in mind. However, you should have it at the back of your mind that you want lasting results. Before making the final decision on the best contractor to work with, be sure that it is a firm that takes fit and finishes with the weight it deserves. This is where your ability to spot the professionalism and craftsmanship of the contractor that you hire is put to the test.
