Most people start to think about a new project in March - April when the snow is starting to melt and the daffodils are poking their heads out. It is a time of renewal and homeowners can see themselves taking the plunge with a long talked about renovation. For architects and designers, this is usually the start of the busy season, which follows on a month or two later for contractors, but waiting until the spring is not always the best option.

Picking up the phone and making that initial call does not have to be the start of a runaway train that results in a new bathroom and tens of thousands of dollars worse off - there are plenty of times during the initial phases, right up to the first day of construction, when work can stop if you need to take a breath.

The most important thing is that you are mentally and financially ready. A lot of homeowners do not understand the design and construction process and just how long this can take. If your architect or designer is not busy and is able to start right away, you can be looking at several rounds and several months of drawings, depending on the complexity of the project. Once finalized, the contractor selection process begins and this could be a couple of weeks of walking through the home with them and going over the plans. Generally, they are given 3-4 weeks to crunch their numbers and give you a proposal. Once selected, the chosen contractor submits your plans to the town for permitting and this can take around 6 weeks - sometimes longer if it is the busy season. If the town have questions, their federally mandated turnaround time resets. Once the permit is approved, you then have to wait for your contractor to be available to start.

Running a construction project over the summer may make sense if you are without a kitchen, for example, and planning to be away all summer, or use the grill in the yard for cooking, but contractors tend to run more than one project, demand for building materials (and prices) increase and there is a sudden, urgent thought that you need to be done by Thanksgiving when you have family coming.

A lot of projects can be done over the winter with far less stress and more time to get things right, unless foundations need to be dug, as this is the only part of construction that really can't be done while the ground is frozen. You also need to spend time on the front end, making sure your plans are going to work for you and your family and making any tweaks necessary. You can also take stock after the first round of bids to see where the numbers are coming in and decide if you need to redesign any aspects to save on costs, or take some additional time to save a little more money.