Remodeling your house can be a nightmare, there’s no hiding it. But as you get older, it’s more and more likely you’ll want to change something about your home rather than moving to a new house. According to a 2017 study by Houzz and Home, people 55-years-old and older spent about three times what millennials spent on renovations, however millennials are spending more year-by-year. The National Association of Home Builders says that most renovations include the kitchen or bathroom.
If you’re starting to explore the idea of remodeling your home at any age, there’s a few things to keep in mind.

Doing it yourself is possible, but takes determination and patience.
DIY stores sell an average of $3.95 million worth of materials per year. Some of this is bought by professionals and small contractors, but a lot goes to homeowners like you, too. What it doesn’t tell you, is how much of this money is from people’s second or third trip back to the store. Or how many people gave up on their project entirely after several trips. Anyone who’s tried home remodeling on their own will tell you: expect problems, expect extra expenses.
Underneath that paint could be plaster or drywall, underneath that, who really knows? Building codes have not always been uniformly enforced, and not every homeowner gets their changes inspected. If you weren’t there when the wall was put together, chances are your best guess at what’s behind those six layers of paint and wallpaper is wrong. If you just want to replace some fixtures, that’s usually simple enough, but if you’re considering any work that involves opening a wall or moving a door or window, do yourself a favor and find a remodeling contractor.
Not all remodeling contractors are going to make you a priority.
If you’re not planning on spending big money, don’t go to the big remodeling companies. They put their best guys on big projects and the guys that just barely make the cut on the little ones. If you’re a big client for them, they prioritize you because they can’t afford to lose the job. If you’re not a big client, then you’re dispensable.

Hire someone hungry for the work you’re offering. There are plenty of small work crews and individual contractors looking for work from homeowners. Now you can get reviews on local handymen through a multitude of websites, too.
Hiring a design-build contractor can save you money and get you exactly what you want.
In any business there’s problems with communication between those who design an thing, and those who construct or use a thing. In remodeling, this can mean you, the “end user” winds up living in a home that’s almost, but not quite what you wanted.

Hiring a design build contractor, a builder who can design and draw up plans for your remodel in-house, can spare you those pains. In smaller companies, the builder who comes to your house to swing the hammer might actually be the designer and can help you redesign the remodel even while the build is still in progress. In larger companies, the designer and builder likely have a history of working and communicating with each other, minimizing misconceptions of the project and smoothing out the process of fixing any problems.
If you’re attempting to do it on your own, just be prepared to spend more time and money on the project that you initially expected. If you decide to hire someone else, make sure you spend time communicating with them about what you want, and don’t go with a company too big to care about your project.