A HOME renovation can cost a lot — but it should not cost more than you expect. Bad planning, expensive extras and unpleasant surprises can break a project budget. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead. Set priorities. Define scopes of work and balance what you need with what you want. Always leave room for the unforeseen.
The best, most cost-effective renovations begin with plans. Right off the bat, ask yourself: “Why am I doing this renovation?”
Usually, the answer is obvious. But if you’re considering a number of projects, your best approach is to set priorities. And those should always be maintenance and improvement of systems that make your house work.
Maintenance items — leaky roofs, bad wiring, mouldy patches — should always get highest priority and immediate attention. After all, these are the jobs that protect your investment in your home.
Retrofit projects are jobs that improve the way your house functions as a system: the way it moves air, how it keeps out moisture, how water flows in and out. You’ll want to give these second-highest priority for two reasons.
One, if you leave these systems unchecked for long periods of time, they could break down and become top-priority maintenance items. And two, retrofitting is a great way to save money on operating costs.
Think about it. Building standards and new technologies have changed a lot in just the last 10 years. What was modern when your house was built in the 1970s or ’80s is way out of date today. Yes — 20 years is a long time and building technology is always improving.
New furnaces, windows, insulation products, water fixtures can all save you big dollars in the long run.
As far as I’m concerned, you should rank lifestyle improvements lowest on your list. This is what I call the lipstick and mascara. These are the jobs that make your house more livable. All the real-estate experts will tell you you’ll get the biggest return on investment from renovating your kitchen and bathrooms, but these jobs are nowhere near as important to the well-being of your house as fixing immediate problems or retrofitting for efficiency.
Once you’ve set priorities, look closely at each project’s scope of work. Ask yourself, what needs to be done now and what can be left for later? A new kitchen countertop, for example, is a nice-to-have item, but swapping an old countertop with a new one is a relatively easy job that can be done at any time. Save this job for later and spend the money you save on newer, more energy-efficient appliances.
A renovation’s biggest, most budgetbusting item is finishes. These are the last touches that make a renovation special: the brushed-steel faucets, the crown moulding, the stone countertops. All are great, but each adds cost.
And while you never want to compromise quality on your renovation, don’t ever forget a well-built structure is way more important (and valuable) than a job that looks pretty on the surface but is rotten inside.
My advice on finishes: Do only what you can afford and be strict with the budget. But where your home’s performance matters, go with higherend options. More efficient furnaces, water-saving faucets and better insulation all return money in the long run.
Plan for extras. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Stuff happens.
You never know how a renovation job is going to go until you open up every wall and see what’s inside. Walls can hide a million problems: bad wiring, leaky ducts, rotten framing, the list goes on and on. A smart homeowner never spends all of the project budget.
Always, always, allocate 10 to 15 per cent more than your contractor’s estimate to extras. In the best-case scenario, your job goes perfectly and you’ve got money saved up for another job at a later date. But if the job goes badly, a bit extra in the budget absorbs some stress.
Try to take the emotion out of the job. Renovating is exciting work. But don’t get carried away with enthusiasm. Swap emotions for practicality.
Plan ahead. Set priorities. Say no to flashy things and yes to functional ones. And above all, always leave wiggle room in your budget. A little common sense goes a long way toward protecting your project’s bottom line.
Catch Mike in his new series, Holmes Inspection, airing Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/ PT on HGTV. For more information, visit www.hgtv.ca. For more information on home renovations, visit makeitright.ca.
