This is a question I get very often, because maybe you try to keep costs down and distribute them over time. It is not entirely a wrong reasoning, but you have to understand when it is worth it and how much it can cost more.
The following arguments are valid both for an apartment and for a local pizzeria, a hotel, an office and so on. We are therefore talking about goods with their own identity and physically well delimited.
unamortized costs
There are several costs that are not amortized, if not even paid several times depending on how many times you ask to re-intervene. We often forget about their existence, or are not fully aware of it.
implants “tomorrow”: I am often asked if it is possible to think about the aesthetic factor by postponing the renovation of implants for a few years. Of course you can, but it is good to know that the renovation of a system involves the removal of existing connections, that is, pipes embedded in the wall and floor. To do this, all cladding, plaster and portion of the wall / floor that hide the system will be destroyed. Result? The money spent a few years earlier for that beautiful parquet or that wall mosaic risks being in vain – better to intervene once and for all if possible.
construction site preparation: an item present in each new intervention that includes the construction site electrical panel, safety lighting, transport and rental of equipment, signage, material transport, etc. In the case of larger construction sites, items for the installation of an external toilet, parapets and fences, authorizations and fees for the occupation of public land, communication bodies etc. are included. The item also includes the costs for the removal of the site itself.
inspections / interventions: each professional, based on their experiences and personal way of managing the work, draws up an estimate that takes into account the number of times it will be necessary to go to the site. Dividing the work into several “sessions” means carrying out more inspections that must be counted. At the same time, making multiple items in a single solution, even if it is frightening, is actually more convenient because the company can amortize some expenses, which can translate into a greater discount for you.
material discounts: the simultaneous order of several pieces or large quantities can give the right to a discount date – as well as report a single cost of shipping the material. This happens not only for building materials such as coatings, but also in the case of famous furniture brands.
any practices: in the case of extraordinary maintenance (therefore not just the replacement of coatings, painting, etc.) it is necessary to present a file, its completion of work and the final stacking. Two extraordinary maintenance in two different times (very distant from each other, of course) require two separate practices, two separate stacking, two separate security practices and so on.
a unitary idea – the project
The economic aspect is not the only parameter to keep in mind. It is also important to keep the aesthetic aspect under control, to avoid frustrating the efforts made.
Let me explain: what guarantees the success of a project from an aesthetic point of view (unless the professional is good and you like his style) is that there is a unitary idea behind it.
Entrusting the work in two different moments to two different people, with a different sensitivity, is like having an article written by four hands: contrasts could emerge, differences between the two different ways of working could emerge. It could also be fine, if the latter is able to continue the initial idea (assuming it was valid) and if there are no great claims. Surely it would not be the same as entrusting an entire text to one of the two.
In the case of a single designer, knowing that a larger part on which he can intervene is accessible allows him to make aesthetic considerations that reward a lot on the final effect. Do you ever appreciate that a given material / color appears in a regular – and unobtrusive – way in several places in the house? Often they are not choices dictated at the last second, but well thought out as a whole. Not communicating in advance that you intend to intervene on a given area could jeopardize the project, because in order to harmonize the final whole, the architect would keep as fixed a datum that you are actually planning to remove / change.
A method to save the final aesthetic effect – if you are already thinking of changing almost everything – could therefore be to ask the professional for a complete project, which you will then carry out in different phases. Then you have to be good enough not to be tempted by useless and binding purchases over time, because it is then easy to settle and frustrate everything. A global vision is useful to the end customer, because, not being a professional in the field, as much as he may love the places he is trying to renovate, he cannot really get the whole picture.
when it is convenient
I would recommend it when it comes to different units, with their own autonomy, so a different approach would still be necessary and physically there are no “overlaps” over time. For example, works in a country house, with an adjoining garden and an outbuilding, would not suffer many inconveniences / losses if the project were divided into three phases (residence, land, annex). As well as a house-studio on two different floors, it could also be managed in two different times, and so on.
when I would advise against it
I find it not very convenient – if you have the possibility to do otherwise – to intervene at different times on communicating rooms / adjacent to each other, linked together by common systems or by an aesthetic effect that must be absolutely homogeneous (such as the parquet laying of the whole apartment).
In fact, for the finishes it is important to remember that there are always production changes, bankruptcies, end of stocks or personnel changes within the company (for example the installer of a parquet company)! For adjacent rooms, on the other hand, the principle of inspection / intervention and intervention on the systems discussed above applies.
I have drawn some general lines to allow for greater awareness, however I always recommend checking the action strategy by communicating your needs to the professional in charge. Given the uniqueness of each project, there may be evaluations that escape your mind or that you have not taken into account.
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