Home renovation or construction projects should be a source of excitement for families. Anyone tackling a remodel or a new home construction effort, however, needs to be prepared for the challenges that will follow. You can prepare by addressing these four potential concerns.

Surveying

Even if you're renovating a house and not going near the property lines, it's a good idea to conduct a survey if you're going to change the structure's footprint. For similar reasons, you need to survey before new home construction work, too. A survey will let you know the limits of the property, and that provides liability protection if someone questions where you built. Likewise, a survey will help the contractors identify key landmarks so you and them can confirm you're on the same page about where everything will go.

Financing

You should also be financially prepared for a project. If you're taking out a loan to pay for building or remodeling work, make sure to have some overhead. An excess of 20%, for example, will ensure you'll be prepared if something unexpected happens, such as a storm damaging a portion of the newly built or renovated space.

Make sure your bank is on board with your plans, too. Talk with a loan officer so they can assist you in executing payments for the contract. If you're paying in tranches of 20%, for example, have a process in place so the bank can release the money once you and the contractor agree the requirements are fulfilled for that part of the job.

Engineering

Home renovation and building projects will have engineering issues. Even if the problem is as simple as calculating how much load a portion of the house can bear, you want to be sure everyone is clear about the requirements. You may need to work with an engineer or architect to work up the specifications. A customer should include these in the contract to ensure everyone knows which materials to use and how.

You may also encounter civil engineering issues with the composition of the soil. The builder or renovator will want to know if the ground can handle the work you're planning. Perform engineering studies to ensure the solutions won't create more problems than they might fix.

Scheduling

Finally, you need to have a calendar outlining when specific things will happen. Have some flexibility so you can be sure something like a couple of weeks of unexpected rain doesn't derail the project. Work with the contractor to make sure the schedule is feasible, too.

Contact a contractor near you for more information about home renovation.