Do this before you ever ask for a proposal
- Name the top three things that actually bother you about the current room.
- Sort your wish list into what you need versus what would just be nice.
- Take photos of the room, the hallway leading to it, and anything blocking access.
- Settle on a budget range you're comfortable saying out loud.
- Write down any hard deadline, but stay open to the plan pushing back on it.
Give the house its own backstory
Roughly how old is it, what's been added on since, any known plumbing or wiring quirks, and anything you want kept rather than replaced? Original trim, old plaster, and masonry show up often enough in Suffolk homes that they change both the sequence of work and how it gets detailed.
Questions worth asking before you sign anything
- Who's actually on site day to day?
- What's explicitly not included?
- Which choices need to be locked in before demo starts?
- How does a change order get priced and approved?
- Who's pulling the permits and scheduling inspections?