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Tip Jar

9/7/2013

I just thought I would share a my top ten tips for when you are going through a home building process or a renovation. It is so easy to get screwed over in the construction industry. It's usually not over just nickles and dimes. It can often be the difference between your dream home and your worst nightmare.

1. The importance of planning

Whether you are building or renovating, having a clear vision of the end product is a very good thing. Sketches, magazines, lists are great to have when starting the planning process. It gives the other people involved a vision of what you want. Listen to the ideas of others, and bounce your ideas off of them. Sometimes, what you think might look cool might be unpractical or even dangerous, in some situations.

For example, wanting to have a roof top patio in the below situation may not have been a practical application in this setting. Perhaps, a dormer for the room may have been my suggestion. Or a window, even a Juliet window balcony, on the side of the garage. I don't even want to think about the days it rains on that roof top party. Throw some fish in there, and you have a giant aquarium, complete with the viewing glass.

Planning would have avoided this dilemma, and it is much simpler to change a drawing than it is to change a structure.

2. Know your budget

If we all had a million dollars, this might not be such an issue, but when you go into a renovation, have a very clear idea of what you are able to spend. If your budget is $10,000 or $100,000, keep it within there.

I cannot stress enough the importance of getting quotes. Make sure they are very specific about what work is being done and what the cost of materials are. If possible, ask them to break it down into those two categories (materials and labour). When you add extras or remove a scope of work, ask them to modify the quote, so you know how much the price of both go up or down. Unless you've made changes, the quote is as good as the invoice, which gives you a clear idea of the costs. It doesn't matter how small the job is, get quotes! It's truly the little things that add up, and if you don't get quotes for anything and everything, you could be slapped with a big bill that you didn't see coming.

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3. Find a good contractor

Do your research before hiring a contractor. Don't just look them up on the internet. A company with really strong marketing, doesn't necessarily mean they are quality builders. Just because a picture or a website or ad looks great, doesn't mean that it's not photo-shopped or even a picture of their work.

Ask around. Have your friends just built a new house or gone through a renovation? Talk to them about their experiences in dealing with a certain company. Would they do it again? Any problems they encountered? Word of mouth really is an important aspect of the construction world.

Visit the company's show room or shop. Ask to see their portfolio of work, and make sure the buildings have actually been built, not just rendered pictures. They could have a great designer on staff, but if their workmanship is not in the field, it's best to move on. Visit the sites of the actual buildings they have built, and take note of the quality you would expect them to deliver.

Again, get quotes. This is where people get screwed over. If you do decide to go with a certain company or contractor, get everything in writing.
Make sure you have legal documents and contracts.

There are different times to pay for certain things, so know exactly what is due and at what point. NEVER pay the entire amount until the work is finished, and you are satisfied. Deposits should be around 50-60%, and no more. Make sure everything is accounted for, and this is where you need to be sure that you have a honest contractor. 50-60% would be a lot to walk away with on a $100,000 budget. Yikes. I can't even imagine.

I'd even recommend going so far as to hire them for a little project before hiring them on a big project, just so you really know their work ethic and integrity.

4. Get second opinions

In the construction world, it's not only normal, it's encouraged, to get at least three quotes from different contractors. That gives you a feel for the different guys out there, and let the best man or woman win. Remember that the cheapest option is not always the best option. Often, the cheapest quotes have forgotten something, and then is added later on the invoice. Make sure you watch for this. Having three quotes to compare is helpful too, to make sure that nothing gets missed. The middle quote is usually the one to go for- not too cold, not too hot, juuuust right. (I think I've been reading too many story books.)

Once you've hired a contractor, and something seems not right to you, feel free to get a second opinion before it's too late. Sometimes contractors can be moody about this, being a pride thing, so try doing it discreetly. If something doesn't seem right about the work that is going on, chances are you are right. Better to nip it in the butt before it turns into a messy and sometimes legal mess. A second opinion can either calm your nerves and let you know that everything is OK, or it can confirm your suspicions about your contractors work.

5. Have a timeline, but be patient

Rome wasn't built in a day, and why rush a good thing? For some reason, renovations and construction always take longer than expected. I don't know why. They just do. Expect it.

It's frustrating, but there is always some issue that comes up. The windows didn't get delivered on time, so that puts the plumbing behind because it's winter and they don't want the pipes to freeze, which puts the kitchen behind and because the kitchen was behind, the tile guy got double booked, so now it's really behind.

Take the expected time line and double it. That will at least make you feel better when it finishes late. It will make you think it's completed early. Now, if it goes longer than double the expected timeline, then you might have issues...

6. Limit your changes

Building a house is not like changing your outfit. Any changes to a building that is already in the process of being built means time and money. Changes that are simple on paper are not simple when the building process is already chugging along. Changing a bath to a shower in reality is a huge change. The walls were filled with plumbing for a bath faucet and shower head, the plumbing fixtures were all ordered, the tile was ordered for a bath, and the "simple" act of changing it to a shower meant:

A) The plumbing for the bath faucet needed to be removed, which meant ripping out drywall and patching it, and changing the plumbing. Also the drain for a tub is in a different position than a large walk in shower. That needed to be changed as well.

B) Having a shower base instead of a bath meant the need for more tile on the walls. The difference in height between a shower base and a tub is about 2 feet. Doing the math here: The difference in square footage was about 22 square feet. (3'x2'x5') Using a mosaic tile, which is around $25/ sf= a difference in about $550. That's just for the tile. No tile edge, no extra grout and tile adhesive, which are small costs, but it adds up.

C) The bath tub and bath/ shower fixture combo was already ordered. Often, you cannot return special orders, so this would be an extra expense. Hopefully, another bathroom could use the bought and paid for fixtures.

7. Be Involved

It doesn't hurt to be aware of what is going on with your renovations. This is a good way to make sure the project is going as planned. You wouldn't want to walk into your house to find missing walls or extra walls because someone read a drawing upside down. Imagine if you told someone a paint colour and they misheard you and your house was bright orange or something. Mistakes happen, and if you have a clear idea about what's going on in your house, it's easier to pick up on mistakes before they become a big deal. Being around is also a good way to appreciate the workmanship that is happening. I always think it's neat to see the project before, during, and after.

8. DIY

Where and if you can, try doing it yourself. It can be small projects, like painting walls or installing trim. If you are willing to try, you'd be amazed at what you can accomplish. Not to mention it saves a little money. Contractors aren't cheap.

9. Quality over quantity

If you are wanting to redo your entire house with a small budget, maybe think about priority areas. That way you can put a bit more money into the quality of work and materials. I figure if you get the cheapest quality materials, you will just have to replace it sooner, and labour is the often really expensive part anyways. Might as well buy good quality, and you will know it will last you longer than a year before it needs replacing.

Kitchens pull in great returns for your investment, as do bathrooms. That would be where you might want to spend your money on nice, durable counter tops. I'm a huge fan of IKEA cabinets, which can help out on the budget of a renovation. The quality is good, and I love those soft closing drawers. But an IKEA kitchen has to be able to fit standard sizes of cabinets, with no variances. No one wants an 8" gap between the kitchen cabinets and the wall because IKEA didn't have a cabinet that would fit. In that case, you would have to go the custom cabinetry route, but if your kitchen needs new cabinets, then it's worth the extra cost.

10. Be safe

There are two parts to this safety rant.

Firstly, if you are doing it yourself, make sure you know what you are doing, and that what you are doing is safe and done correctly. Don't do things that you are uncomfortable with or things that are unsafe. Get help when you need it. Unless you are very handy and know what you are doing, I would stay away from doing any electrical work yourself. Ideally, electrical work should be permitted and it would help to avoid circumstances like below. I was helping my friend remove a basement wall, and as soon as we had ripped off the paneling, I see this cut wire among the insulation. Not cool. Thankfully, with a closer look from a distance (yes, that is contradictory), I realized the wire was cut on both ends and just left there, so it was not a live wire just hanging out, starting fires. Thankfully. It's not always the case. We were lucky.

Secondly, if you are getting the work done by someone else, and they come across a safety issue, such as mold, rot or structural issues, this needs to get fixed. It is not your contractor trying to screw you over. In fact, it is them looking out for you. As much as this sucks for the budget, it is important to fix it. Safety first, my friends!

I hope this helps when picking out a contractor when renovating or building. I don't like seeing people getting screwed over in this industry. Life can be pretty ruthless sometimes, so if this saves you a headache, then I've done my part. Home is where the heart is, and it shouldn't be a traumatic experience to get your home the way you want it.

Happy Building!

Jena xo

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The First Meal

9/6/2013

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I'm not sure why it is, but the harder you work at making a delicious meal, the less likely you are to get to enjoy it together. As is the most likely the case with busy families anyways.

Now that I am back to work, I've realized that I have to actually start planning meals. I guess you could say, working is making me more efficient at time management. For instance, instead of having all day to do the never ending chores, I only have half the time to get it all done. And amazingly, it gets done.

But back to the meal! I had this wonderful meal planned out, and of course, it took me a bit of time. Adam had to leave to a meeting the second it was ready. So much for me becoming more efficient at time management! It's only the first of many meals, though, so hopefully I get better at planning.

First off, I started the chicken breasts. These bad boys are drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt, pepper and garlic, then topped off with sundries tomatoes and fresh basil and fresh green onions. I baked them at 190 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes. It was so moist and tasty, my mouth is watering thinking about it...

Then I started with the potatoes. I had bought a mixture of baby potatoes, just to add a little more colour to the meal. I boiled them until they were sort of soft, and then threw them into a mixture of rosemary and those fresh green onions. I smashed them, not mashed, smashed, and then fried them in olive oil with some garlic until they were crispy. Of course, I added sea salt and pepper. I don't usually use salt on my food, except potatoes and corn on the cob. How can you not? It's like peanut butter without jam. Or whatever you think goes best.

Lastly, I steamed the asparagus for about ten minutes. I prefer them with a little snap to them, so maybe it was more like 9 or 7 minutes. Who's counting? Once they were ready, I threw them on the plate and drizzled (or doused) them with the beloved olive oil. Then I crumbled Asiago cheese on them, and added some sea salt.

Let's just say, Adam is lucky that there is any left for him after his meeting. I held back, or else Adam would have been dining on some fine KD.

Happy Back to Work Cooking!

Jena xo