The construction of your new house is complete and you are ready to move in. Not so fast. Before you move into a brand new house with your family, especially one that was recently completed or renovated, there are a few things you need to do before getting the moving company over.
This article contains an essential checklist of activities you should do in the run-up to the moving in to ensure that your home is ready for occupants.
Organise a handover
Some builders and renovators include this as part of their services but in the event that you work with a company that is only concerned with finishing the job and handing over your keys to you, you can take charge and organise a handover or what is also known as a new home demonstration.
This is when the contractor, builder or renovator walks you through the new building and give you all the details and information you need to use your house. If the building contract involved furnishing your new house, the contractor will show you how everything works - from household appliances to the central heating.
This is also an opportunity to go through the house plan and verify that everything is done as it should be. Check everything. Make sure that you take this time to ensure that everything works properly, including checking for leaks, locks and any other thing that may have been overlooked.
Clear out the rubble and clean up
Typically, clearing out the rubble after construction or renovation is the responsibility of the contractor, but there are also cases when this is not part of the contract.
If this is true for you, then you definitely want to make plans for removing the rubble and leftover materials before moving in. Fortunately, this will not be too difficult to handle. Simply engage the services of a local concrete removal service and everything will be cleared off your premises and taken to the landfill.
In some cases, you will need to first hire people that will gather all the rubble and leftover materials, clean up and put everything in one place for the removal service to take away, or the removal service can also double up as a cleaning service. But this will depend on your arrangement with them.
Once the rubble is completely cleared off, you are about ready to start living in your new home.
Change the lock and keys
One of the safest and smartest things you can do as the owner of a new house is to hire a locksmith to change all the locks on the doors and windows before moving in.
The truth is that even though you hired a trustworthy contractor to build or renovate your house, there is no telling who has a spare key to your new house. Remember that the contractor will probably have to hire a lot of people to handle different aspects of the building project, it is very possible and quite a simple matter for one of these people to either make away with a spare of your key or make an impression for running a duplicate.
Even if no unauthorised person has a key to your new house, it is better to be safe than sorry. So, change the locks and keys to the exterior doors and windows and sleep better in your new house with peace of mind.
Do an energy audit
According to the US Department of Energy, making the upgrades identified in an energy audit can save you as much as 30% in energy bills. Of course, a brand new house is expected to be highly energy-efficient, especially compared to old houses, but it doesn’t hurt to be extra sure.
Energy-efficient homes are not just advantageous to you the homeowner; it is also good for the environment. This is why you need to perform an energy audit of your new home before moving in. This audit will identify energy efficiency problems, potential sources of heat and air loss, and make suggestions of what you can do to optimise your new space for energy efficiency.
You can either ask the contractor for a local gas and electric company that can carry out an energy audit for you or check in the energy services network directory.
Install window treatments
Even though there are certainly dozens of things you should do before moving into a new house, these few are some of the really important ones. Once you have gotten all the above out of the way, the next thing you should do after which you can engage the moving service is to install windows treatments.
Whether you want to buy them online or get them custom made for your home, windows treatment is important both for your own privacy and to give your new house that essential finishing touches. Of course, this is assuming that the contractor or builder has done any painting and minor decorations that should be done in the new house.
If this has not been done, then your next step will be to hire an interior decorator or consider doing the painting by yourself.
