Undoubtedly we can accomplish a good amount of tasks with the help of our smartphone: from finding recipes to social media, complex calculus, dating and sports, and so the list continues. However, we can ask ourselves if industries whose work require an immense amount of traditional paperwork can feel the benefits of digital improvement. On this behalf, let’s analyse what smartphone apps can do for Home Renovation firms.
From paper & pen to a comfortable UI
No one can question the importance of smartphone apps for a variated range of fields. In what construction business regards, industry leaders like Autodesk have invested a considerable amount of time in releasing solutions like AutoCAD mobile, variated BIM apps, not to mention the ever popular SketchBook as a portable solution for those who love digital sketching. But what if we turn such advancements into authentic productivity-enhancing tools that sum up value to the project we are crafting?
We can take the very best from augmented reality and merge it in an app with the sole purpose of making the home renovation process a smoother experience as it is the example of MagicPlan and Adornably. These apps work in the fashion of capturing spaces for later on envisioning how furniture, decoration items, lighting fixtures and so on would look like. Efficient, time-saving and an engaging way to encourage the client to take part of the project, these apps have changed the old working method in which pen and paper were the only way to quickly express ideas unless you decided to put time and effort into crafting 3d renderings from the space to renovate.
Replacing manual tools with digital mediums
Another compelling aspect to consider is when applications become means for replacing traditional tools like measuring tapes, calculators, levels in a single format.
Of course, we ought to consider the fact software doesn’t have the precision we can expect from a tool meant for that sole purpose, although consistent improvements on this behalf are slowly making to the point of turning these innovative applications into a valid resource.
When inspiration is needed
Did you ever felt the need to express an idea with just an image? Sometimes we just know what we are looking for, but we can’t verbally materialise such idea. Therefore, applications that can be labelled as a sort of “digital scrapbook” with resources geared to cultivate your thoughts have to be taken as an opportunity for skill development.
Not only we can quickly get familiarised with similar examples of what we have in mind, but also we can get acknowledged with tonnes of technical data about similar solutions to the project we decided to start, or simply saving reference material for future applications. Under this point, apps like Pinterest and Houzz take the first place in defining the perfect link between ideas and practical examples.
Applications for quality professional services
Finally, we need to talk about the apps strictly meant for professional construction work like Handyman Calculator for Android or Home Improvement Calcs for iOS. These apps not only help us in the measuring process like a traditional tool (sans the precision factor) but also feature tools for helping us calculate real-life situations as how much material is needed for a project – like some tiles per wall at a bathroom renovation project.
Besides that, applications like iFixIt can quickly teach us how to diagnose and repair appliances, with video tutorials, in a layout somewhat familiar with old-fashioned manual repairing guides for users.
Can I get applications for hiring the services of repairers around my area? The simple answer to that question would be yes, as there are apps that fulfil such demand, yet area coverage for these services is still limited.
Imagining the scenario in which these applications would actually hold a list of professionals easily filtered by area or service required, we can picture a quick example: we all agree that water damage repair is an emergency. Therefore, I can just log into my account, locate repair companies nearby my area whose ratings prove their reputation, plus also being available at the time needed to be hired. For software developers, introducing variables like the ones described above is simple, although it demands a well-crafted control in what regards to users’ ratings, keeping contact data of the companies up to date and so on.
Technology can give us a vast amount of resources to meet up with the demands of today’s job, therefore is entirely up to us to adapt and take the most of it, or simply assume to be outdated in comparison with our competitors.
