The housing market in the US is still rather sluggish but, according to a new report issued by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at the venerable Harvard University, home remodeling is set to make a big comeback in 2011 after a three-year slump.

The report predicts average growth of 9.1 percent for the first quarter of 2011, 12.1 percent for the second quarter and 8% for the year as a whole. The report’s authors expect that in 2011 homeowners will spend close to $300 billion (yes, billion) on home remodeling projects.

One area of particular growth that the report identifies that is already making an impact is green home improvements. The share of home improvement contractors that reported they had recently worked on remodeling projects that qualified for federal tax energy credits has jumped significantly – from 40% to 60%. The projects were smaller scale ones – replacement doors and windows, insulation upgrades – but that home improvement is getting greener every day does not seem to be in doubt.

This is all of course great news for the nation’s remodeling contractors but, if you are a homeowner who has been sitting on the fence about a certain remodeling project for a while, now is probably the time to swing into action. The availability of the best contractors in your area – and any deals they might have been prepared to offer during the downturn – may be shrinking soon so the time to act is now.

You can usually tell that a remodeling project – especially a larger one – went well if the homeowner does not include an “if only” in their conversations about the end result. Unfortunately, too many homeowners do end up uttering those words. It’s not that anything went really wrong with their project, it just didn’t turn out quite as they envisaged.

A lot of the time in this situation the problem was not with the work that was done but what the homeowner failed to speak up about. Here are a few examples that you should keep in mind as you plan your remodeling project and maybe learn from the mistakes of those that have gone before you.

If Only I Had Asked For More Outlets

This seems like a rather insignificant detail at first – which is probably why so many homeowners forget all about it – but having the right number of electrical outlets in the right places can make a huge difference to the function of any space.

For example, the homeowner steps into their beautifully remodeled kitchen only to realize that they can’t put their appliances where they wanted to because the outlets are too far away. Or they cannot use their hairdryer in front of that great new mirror because they forgot to ask the electrician to add a socket there. Your contractors are not mind readers and will only do the work you ask them too. Make sure that you discuss even the smallest of details – like an extra outlet – with your contractors before the work begins.

If Only I Had Been More Specific

The clearer you can be with your contractors during a remodel the better. He knows that you want tiling done in the bathroom, but what about the color of the grout? Do you want the handles and drawer pulls that come standard with your kitchen cabinets or do you want to pick out something different? Again, think about these little details before the project begins to avoid disappointment and/or additional expense.

If Only I’d Been Around More

Work may suffer if the “boss” is not around and without good, ongoing communication between contractor and client little problems that could have been solved with one phone call can snowball into serious issues. It should not have to be your contractor’s responsibly to try to catch up with you for two days to answer a simple question that is holding up the whole project. Make a habit of checking in with your remodeling construction crew at least once a day, just to make sure that everyone is still on the same page.

As you can see, the cause of all these “if onlys” comes down to a lack of communication between contractor and client. That is why it essential that you spend enough time with your contractor in the planning stages. And yes, you may have overlooked something, but if you ask “do you think I’ve missed something?”, most good contractors will be happy to point it out to you.

By: Ursula K Rose