Things I Messed Up
my silly renovation mistakes, so you won't make them!
Do I want to detail all the mistakes I made during our little attic renovation? Not especially. But I think it’s important not to sugarcoat the process or pretend that everything’s cool when everything is not, in fact, cool. In every renovation, there are the things that go wrong. Like many predictable, difficult things (childbirth and hangovers stand out), once they’re over we often forget about the specific parts of renovations that were difficult. We think in general terms: it cost too much and took too long. I’ll share the specific places I messed up while they’re still fresh in my mind, both to remind you that even professional renovators can sometimes drop the ball and to show you where it can happen.
Everything below will be things that were fully my fault. Many things (so many things) went wrong that had nothing to do with me but I won’t be throwing any trades, suppliers, contractors or the weather under the bus. And while I won’t be detailing others’ mistakes, I would say that over-communicating with everyone working on your project is the best way to avoid issues or at least fix them quickly. Keep in mind, too, that this is just an itty bitty renovation that includes two bedrooms, one teeny bathroom and a flight of stairs. (Read all about the plans and see floor plans and elevations here.) So while the list is not massive, it shows that even when you’ve thought (and thought and thought) about something, and there’s not too much to think about, there’s still room for error. And fixing it. And moving on.
