Renovating or rearranging a house is often a series of micro-decisions that, if made too quickly, can be costly to correct. The choice of flooring, the layout of a partition, the location of an electrical outlet: every detail affects daily comfort for years to come. This article focuses on three concrete angles to successfully carry out your home renovation and remodeling projects without unpleasant surprises.
Indoor air quality after renovation: the trap that estimates do not show
Have you ever noticed a persistent odor after painting or laying down laminate flooring? It’s not trivial. The Indoor Air Quality Observatory (OQAI) highlighted, in a summary published in 2023, a measurable increase in indoor pollutants after poorly planned work.
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The problem does not necessarily stem from a single material. It is the combination of several emission sources (glue, paint, insulation, new furniture) in a closed space that raises the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A renovated home with low-emission materials but without adequate ventilation remains polluted.
Before choosing your materials for an interior renovation project, check two things. First, the emission label (A+ rating). Then, the state of your ventilation: a clogged or undersized mechanical ventilation system negates the benefits of “healthy” paints. Renovating the ventilation at the same time as the surfaces is the only coherent approach. To deepen your research on layout and renovation work, the website www.habitat-guides.com gathers additional resources on these topics.
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Equipment adjustment after work: the commissioning that changes everything
Installing a high-performance heat pump or external insulation guarantees nothing if no one properly adjusts the systems after the work is done. Cerema, in its report on High-Performance Buildings (2023 edition), documented this phenomenon: failures in BBC renovations often stem from poor adjustments rather than faulty materials.
What is called “commissioning” (initial setup and adjustment) concerns ventilation, heating, and sometimes hot water regulation. In practice, a poorly balanced double-flow ventilation system creates areas of overpressure or underpressure in the house. Thermal comfort is affected, and energy consumption remains higher than expected.
How to check that the commissioning is done correctly
Ask the installer for a commissioning report. This document should indicate the measured flow rates room by room for ventilation, and the heating curve set for the heating system.
- Ventilation: the actual flow rates must correspond to the regulatory flow rates room by room, not just in total flow
- Heating: the heating curve (water departure temperature based on outside temperature) must be adjusted to the actual insulation level of your house, not left at factory settings
- Hot water: if you have a thermodynamic water heater, the temperature setting and operating time slots must be configured according to your habits
Without this fine-tuning, you are paying for theoretical performance that you will never see on your bill. This is a point to be clearly stated in the estimate for your work.
Kitchen and bathroom layout: prioritize networks over aesthetics
The kitchen and bathroom often concentrate the majority of regrets after renovation. Why? Because aesthetic choices (tiles, countertops, faucets) are made before validating the layout of water, drainage, and electrical networks.
Moving a water point by a few centimeters after laying tiles means breaking and redoing. The layout of the networks should be decided before the choice of finishes, not the other way around. Start by positioning the water inlets and outlets, then the electrical outlets, and only then choose the furniture and coverings.
Anticipate future uses in the kitchen
A rarely applied piece of advice: plan for at least one additional water inlet and outlet, even if you don’t need it immediately. Adding a dishwasher, moving the sink, or installing an osmosis system will be much simpler if the connections already exist under the countertop.
For the bathroom, the same reasoning applies. A walk-in shower requires a precise drainage slope. If the floor does not provide enough height for this slope, you must either raise the shower tray or break the slab. It’s better to know this before ordering the tiles.
Electrical pre-equipment: preparing the house for future uses
Since 2024, complete renovations increasingly integrate pre-equipment for electric vehicle charging. Some local authorities encourage this approach, and brands like Effy or Hello Watt include it in their work packages.
Running a suitable cable during the work costs little, doing it afterward costs a lot. The same principle applies to home automation, RJ45 network outlets, or power supplies for motorized shutters. While the walls are open, each additional conduit represents a marginal cost. Once the plaster is closed, it becomes a project in itself.
List your current needs, then add a margin for the next five years. If you are hesitating between two options, always choose the one that allows for the most flexibility.
- Dedicated conduit for the electrical panel for a future charging station, even without an electric vehicle today
- RJ45 outlets in main rooms (office, living room) rather than relying solely on Wi-Fi
- Pre-wired electrical supply for roller shutters, even if you initially install manual shutters
Every conduit run during the renovation is a free option for the future. A successful home renovation is not one that meets today’s needs; it is one that does not require reopening the walls in three years.