Before you request proposals
- Write down the three things that frustrate you most.
- Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves.
- Photograph the room, adjacent spaces, and access path.
- Choose a planning budget range you can discuss honestly.
- Note hard timing constraints—but allow the plan to test them.
Bring the house into the conversation
Tell us roughly when the house was built, what’s already been added onto or updated, and anything you’d genuinely hate to lose. Original trim, plaster walls, and masonry show up constantly in Lynchburg’s older neighborhoods, and they change both the sequence of the work and how it gets priced.
Ask every contractor
- Who will supervise day to day?
- What is specifically excluded?
- Which selections must be made before starting?
- How are changes priced and approved?
- Who handles permits and inspections?