This is the first in a series of articles for anyone getting ready to renovate. It offers practical tips and guidance on getting through the renovation process smoothly, working with the right professionals for each job, and, above all, avoiding construction defects as much as possible.
To keep from ending up with construction defects, it helps to know in advance which processes and situations make it easy to cut corners, compromise, and end up with a poorly renovated apartment. In our experience at Arad Bedek Bayit, renovation work produces more construction defects than any other kind of work on a home. There are many reasons for that, and the articles in this series work through some of them.
New kitchen
Want a kitchen fast? Do not take shortcuts. You have invested in an expensive new kitchen, and the installers come in one after another to fit it. Watch out for installation mistakes that turn into construction defects.
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Renovating without construction defects
Before you hire a contractor, check his past work with whoever recommended him. If you have a friend in the construction trade, ask him to come and take a look at that work.
Question the person who made the recommendation closely about the contractor's conduct and the quality of the job: are there problems now, after the work is done, such as leaks, elements coming loose, or sealing failures?
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The contract and the specification
A contract and a technical specification are an essential step before renovation work begins. This reduces the chance of ending up with construction defects in the first place, and even where defects do occur because of unprofessional work by one of the tradespeople involved, it still makes it possible to hold someone accountable and have those defects corrected.
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Home inspection (bedek bayit) after renovation
Renovation work is among the most problematic kind, because it is carried out on top of an existing structure and is sometimes accompanied by improvisations that fall outside the standards set by law.
In some cases, the tradespeople doing the work are not even familiar with the standards or the accepted rules for how the job should be done. As a result, various problems can arise, some of which may compromise the safety of the apartment or lead to dampness or flooring that comes loose.
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Tips for the planning stage
The renovation process begins well before you choose a contractor, back at the planning stage. Renovation work means weighing a range of parameters and constraints and combining them wisely, which is why you need the right professional for each part of the renovation.
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The engineers of Arad Bedek Bayit, led by building engineer Ron Arad, whom courts appoint as their own expert on construction defects. The company has been inspecting apartments and buildings since 2001. Engineer Ron Arad · More about the company