A full-on remodel doesn’t really seem like the most prudent way to go about fixing up a home – or spending money – in today’s economy.

As many homeowners look for ways to lower fix-up costs – as well as the fatigue that comes with the projects – one approach is to pursue remodeling in phases, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, based in Des Plaines, Ill. By breaking down work into smaller subsets, dollars are expended gradually rather than all at once and on projects that homeowners deem a priority, perhaps the largest, worst or logistically most feasible.

Money or the lack thereof is the main reason most homeowners don’t do all the work at once, say many design professionals, including Dawn Zuber, an architect with Studio Z Architecture in Canton, Mich.

But there are other reasons that warrant following the phased approach, according to Zuber and others. If homeowners can’t afford to rent another home or apartment while theirs is being torn up, it often makes more sense not to do it all once or have workmen in every part of the house, for instance. “I’ve had families who wished to live in their homes while the work was being performed and needed to be able to move easily from one part of the house to another,” says Chicago architect Allan J. Grant.

Still another reason is the ability to tolerate only so much wear and tear on their nerves – what Matt Lederer, president of Mahogany Builders in Chicago, terms “construction tolerance.” After doing a major project such as a kitchen or master bathroom addition, many homeowners need to catch their breath, get their home back to themselves and their workmen out from underfoot for at least a while, says Miami, Fla.-based architect Marianne Cusato, co-author of “Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid” (Sterling, 2007). Ironically, many stop after that first phase because they decide they’ve had enough, she says.

Yet, another impetus for the phased strategy is that homeowners sometimes want to wait until one project is finished since its completion may affect how another room looks or is used, Zuber says.

Getting Phased

Homeowner Mike Hogan found still another reason for working in phases when he worked on his 1950s Cape Cod-style house in Columbus, Ohio. Besides not wanting to tear up the entire home at once, taking the phased approach allowed him to learn from his mistakes. “My first room I tackled was a bedroom that I transformed into a dining room. When I tore up the old carpet, I sanded the entire original hardwood floor by hand. I quickly learned what a job this was and when I completed remodeling the other floors throughout my house I used an electric sander. It saved my sanity,” he says.

While all the above are sound reasons, two major downsides to proceeding in phases should also be considered: It can be more expensive and more arduous and anxiety provoking. The phased approach usually costs more money in the end because work crews may need to be brought back a second – or third – time, Grant says. Also, materials can’t be purchased in quantity for economies of scale, says Robin Siegerman, a designer with Sieguzi Interior Designs Inc. in Toronto.

Second, the phased approach drags out the process – the upheaval, dirt and mess. Grant had one client who compared the all-at-once approach to a surgery she went through, which involved breaking both legs and resetting them. While friends suggested she have one leg done at a time so she could walk with crutches while one leg healed before she had the other leg done, she opted to break both at once, recuperate in a wheel chair and recover over a shorter period of time, he says. “That’s how she felt about getting her house remodeled. She preferred it be done all at once,” he says.

Before deciding whether to do work at once or in phases, have your designer develop a plan that is bid out both ways. The master plan will also provide a road map and lead to fewer unforeseen problems and costs, Siegerman says.

If costs end up seeming too high with either approach, Grant suggests homeowners trim expenses by scaling back on the scope of work planned from the get-go, having an alternative plan with less expensive selections such as a nonstone material or less intricate backsplash or negotiating with contractors and subs, who might lower their profit margins, particularly now in a slower economy.

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