All jokes aside..

Financial strain is widely recognized as the leading cause of stress in relationships.
This stress almost always stems from poor communication and becomes compounded due to the ongoing lack of effective dialogue.

This issue is no different in the early stages of any project, whether you are planning to build an extension to make room for a new addition to the family or you need to give an old home the love and care it deserves.

Having personally experienced both the challenges of renovation and the complexities of marriage,
I can attest to the truth of this statement.
Even though the final results of our projects have always turned out to be visually stunning and highly satisfying, the most significant sticking points have invariably occurred when my partner and I were not on the same page.
Misunderstandings, assumptions, and a lack of clear communication have often led to unnecessary stress and conflict.

So, what can you do about it?

🔳 Giving yourself time and be willing to be open to ideas.

🔳 Work on “what” the project will achieve, this is such a simple question but it is amazing the amount of people I talk to have different answers to this.

🔳 Seek advice from someone who can work with you to highlight potenial issues down the road, “you don’t know what you don’t know…”

🔳Once you are clear on the direction of your project you want to progress your design to a preliminary stage and then aquire a pretender estimate from a quanitiy surveyor. This small investment could save you alot of hard ache, time and money.

Why?

Well.. you arrive at a realistic budget faster, rather than having to re-design once you have your first few prices come in and blow the budget.
It not only saves months but it’s reduces unwanted strains on your relationship,