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I'm preparing to remodel my condo and need an idea of where I should start. This is important because I will be living in the condo as I remodel and cannot do it all at once so to speak. My condo is two stories and each flour has about 450 square feet.

I'm thinking I should start with the main floor first beginning with the downstairs bathroom, then kitchen, then dining/living room. Once that is done I figure I can move my bedroom and office furniture downstairs and begin the upstairs remodel.

What is the best practice; should I have the guts of my condo inspected first? Thanks, any help is appreciated.

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  • You need to be specific about what work is being done. Are you doing a total gut or are you just doing cosmetics? Is there major electrical work required? (You might not know this until inspection...) Are you located in an area with termite or other things that cause structural problems? Are you doing most of the work yourself, or is this being done by a contractor? My only other thought is that whatever your course of action, you should leave as much as possible in off-site storage until you're done. Pretend you're camping... – Aloysius Defenestrate Feb 27 '16 at 14:44
  • For the down stairs bathroom I want to replace the flooring, sink, toilet, and repaint it. For the kitchen I want to replace the cabinets, appliances, and possibly the flooring. The dining/living room will get new floor and paint. upstairs is most likely just new carpet and paint. I'm good on the terminate issue and I plan on using a contractor. – user50756 Feb 27 '16 at 15:26
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    Do the second floor first (assuming the entrance is on the first floor). Otherwise you'll be traipsing through your newly renovated space with construction materials. – Tester101 Feb 27 '16 at 16:00
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Check with the Condo Association (if any) for their possible needed approvals & outside requirements...noise levels & when you're even allowed to make noise, windows, doors, shutters, porches, siding, roof, etc. They usually just care about the outside aesthetics. But, they could kill the whole plan with a simple little guideline like, only professional licensed & bonded contractors...so you don't burn everyone down.

But absolutely, consult with a Plumber, Electrician, Carpenter, General Contractor or Design Builder if it's a "Remodel" where you plan on moving or removing walls & their utilities or even just utilities. Opening walls means being required to update the utilities to today's standards.

If it's a "Renovation" where you're not opening any walls floors or ceilings all the way to the structure & just re-painting & replacing tiles, cabinets, appliances & fixtures to not move a single utility, then have at it.

Otherwise, do you just want a dumpster at the start for demolition or removing the old stuff & then another dumpster at the end for all the new stuff's scraps & errors. Or, will you just call 1-800GunkJunk (for example) when the pile fills the room.

Do you have any experience in anything you're doing or do you have any problem with following manufacturer's instructions to the letter. If you're just going to wing-it, then be prepared to rip out what you did wrong & re-buy everything to start over.

This isn't a few weekends here & there situation for either the Remodel or Renovation scenario. You need a lot of tools, strength, stamina, positive attitude & the ability to live in filth for a year.

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  • After reading your post I would say it's more of a renovation than a remodel. I figure it will take a while, that's why I only want to do one step at a time and I want to make sure I use the most common sense approach to it. – user50756 Feb 27 '16 at 15:32
  • Fantastic! Then, I'd say your plan sounds perfect! Since, no-one else knows your lifestyle or habits. However, see if you could just move all your stuff to the center of the room(s) i.e. bedroom & office walls & ceilings with a pole on your paint roller. Get up on a ladder with the poled paint roller to reach over your tarped stuff for the ceilings. Then, you don't have to remove anything or much & doors stay closed while the dirty stuff happens. Knock out the easy stuff first & save the pounding & hauling until last so your ambition isn't killed until it's all done anyway. – Iggy Feb 27 '16 at 15:51
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    Good luck with everything & please comeback in the future. This question was very broad & I hope your future questions are bit more precise. Search the database for similar questions you might have for instant answers, you can link them in a new question if it wasn't quite the answer you were looking for. – Iggy Feb 27 '16 at 18:22

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