Renovation and Décor

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What does it cost?
You’ll spend $20,000 to convert an unfinished basement of 75 sq m (800 sq. ft.) into a bright, handsome family room. That covers the cost of digging down a half-metre or so to give you a minimum of two-and-a-half metres headroom, plus installing new windows, a powder room, wiring for computers and TVs and a 52-inch plasma TV (Sony, $2,800).

What can go wrong?
Don’t try to stuff too much into the basement. A family room is fine; so is a three-piece bathroom and perhaps a small home office; but unless you’ve got a huge basement, you should forget about putting in a couple of spare bedrooms as well. “A basement is generally dark and if it’s separated into six tiny rooms, it feels like you’re in jail,” says Burgio, the real estate agent.

Many people go wrong by scrimping on the quality of the work, because, after all, it’s only the basement. “I’ve seen a lot of work poorly done by fly-by-night contractors,” says Colin Hine, a general contractor in Ottawa. “I know one person who didn’t like the look of a structural post, so he took it out. Then the first floor began to sag.”

Payback
A well-done family room is one of the most lucrative renos. Expect a payback of 50% to 75% of your costs — much more if the renovation is professionally done. “I’ve seen people put in $20,000 and get back $30,000 or more when they go to sell their home,” says Jim Parthenis, an appraiser with Carrington Appraisal Services in Toronto.

MAIN-FLOOR ADDITION

What does it cost?
You’ll typically spend $30,000 and up for a 3 m by 4 m (10 ft. by 13 ft.) addition, complete with a pair of skylights, electric fireplace, casement windows with movable shades, patio doors and a hardwood floor.

What can go wrong?
The process of putting on an addition can disrupt your life. Count on several weeks of dust and noise right around where your family will be eating meals and doing homework. You may want to tack on the cost of moving out of the house while the renovation is being done.

Local by-laws can also be an issue. Municipal regulations often lay down restrictions on how big an addition you can add on to your house and even the style of addition that’s permissible in your particular neighborhood. An experienced contractor can guide you through the bylaw issues, but make sure to ask if he’s got all the necessary approvals before the first brick comes down.

Payback
You may get 50% to 75% payback on your costs, but that’s only in a best possible case, says Parthenis, the appraiser. A lot can go wrong. If your new addition swallows up too much of your backyard, or is out of scale with the rest of the neighborhood or your existing house, it can actually detract from resale value.

Bottom line: A finished basement is the runaway winner — if it’s done properly and the finished product looks airy and bright. “Sure, main floor additions can be nice,” says real estate agent Gina Burgio, “but people don’t want to mess them up — it’s the ‘somebody might come over’ attitude. Family rooms in the basement are a different matter entirely. People see them as a place where the whole family can play and relax. Everybody loves them.”

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home remodeling

Adding on to a home is complex undertaking and with all the details to be worked out it’s easy to overlook anything that isn’t tied to nails and wood. Even in a basement remodel the space has to be tied to the amenities of the main home: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, etc. And these important functions have to be addressed before the first tool comes off the belt.

External Consideration

Plumbing

In every addition that includes a bathroom a licensed plumber will have to be involved. Even the handiest do-it-yourselfer can’t create an expensive problem if the water, sewer and drainage are not planned properly.

Sewer: For example, if the addition includes a basement and you want a bathroom in the basement the plumbing considerations have to be addressed long before the cement truck gets there. Sewer pipes will have to be hooked up for the toilet and shower before the floor is made. Many an experienced contractor has had to jackhammer part of a basement floor because the proper subterranean piping was missed.

Water Supply: In addition, water is needed and if the source is in the main part of the home this will be an easy undertaking for the plumber. However, if the addition is over top of the water supply coming from the street then the pipe will have to be carefully excavated before the full basement is dug. Then the plumber (along with the building inspector) will have to either move the input for the water supply or include it in the addition.

Home Fuel

Gas Line: Just like the water pipe needs to be found and moved, if the house is heated by natural gas, so does the gas line. A gas company representative will have to over your plans and then have a crew unearth the pipe and move it. If a new furnace is going into the expansion then the pipe will be shortened or lengthened later on. For the present they will probably add a splice to get it out of the way of the construction. This would be the same with a large propane tank, if the lines were underground.

Oil Tank: In many parts of the country oil is still a primary heat source. If the tank is in an external spot, and in the way of the renovation, then it will have to be moved under the eyes of a certified plumbing and heating professional. Even if moving an oil tank looks easy the tank may not be in great shape and your attempts to move it might cause a large spill. If that happens then your government agency may require that you excavate a large area around the spill so that it doesn’t get into the ground water. And this will be an unwanted expense as well as a sum that you insurance company will not cover because the work was not carried out by a professional.

Electrical

Many areas have underground power, telephone and cable to their homes. As with the gas and water, the power company will have to be notified before digging. Hitting an underground power line might not only take your neighbourhood off the power grid it might cause injury or death.

Interior Considerations

Heating

Even if your renovation is a second story you will have to look at the heating requirements. Because there are next to no areas of the country that do not get cold in the winter. If it is duct heating then the HVAC professionals will be subcontracted by the contractor (or you). Depending on the size of the addition the heating contractor will compute the amount of heat needed and see if you present system can handle the load. Usually, unless you are adding a terrific amount of space, the newer furnaces can handle excess capacity. But if the unit is older then it might make sense to install a new one. New means a warranty and also has an advantage in energy savings. However, if you purchased you system just a few years ago then get another opinion before changing it out. As well, a heat pump may need a larger compressor to handle the added space.

Another consideration in central heating is where to place the new ductwork. If you are using electric heating then this is an electrical matter and electric heat can be applied in many disguises: in-floor, baseboard, radiant ceiling, electric thermal storage units.

Electrical

Most homes newer than 30 years have 200-amp service but this may not be enough for your addition. Depending on how large you go the electrical requirements will be increased dramatically. This will be a huge factor of you are considering electric heat.

 The contractor’s architect will automatically have this factored into the project but if you are doing most of the building yourself you will need an electrician to help you with your plans.

Plumbing

If you are planning for radiant in-floor heat or baseboard water heating then your plumbing requirements will also include your heating. This is in addition to you regular requirements if you were planning to put in a kitchen or bathroom in the new area. Hot water heating can be separate from the regular plumbing: an electric on-demand boiler or a separate system with a small electric water heater. However, if you put on a living room or another bedroom the regular water, hot water and drains would not be required.

How do you figure out what your renovation will cost? How much should it cost? How do you set an appropriate budget? What is the likely payback at resale? How can you maximize your return on investment?

This section lays out the main factors that influence the economics of your renovation.

Cost
Renovation Cost Will Vary By…

• Type of renovation
• Materials used
• Geographic market
• Finishes used
• Resources used
• Cost of permits
• Cost of cleanup
• Contingencies/unexpected
• Move or stay/storage
• Your time invested
• Eating out or ordering in

At its simplest, cost is a function of materials, time and labor, and local market conditions.

Get multiple estimates. This will give you a good idea of what to expect. But, a good rule of thumb is this – whatever amount you’re zeroing in on – multiply it by a factor of 1.5 to cover changes, contingencies, and Murphy’s Law. Seasoned remodelers know that the unexpected always occurs. So just go ahead and plan for it.

While not explicitly for renovations, www.building-cost.net can help with cost estimates. Also, check out www.letsrenovate.com which has a handy calculator for monthly financing.

Budget
If you’re like most of us, your list of needs and wants will exceed your ability to foot the bill. While the actual cost of renovation varies tremendously, you still need to establish a budget.

If you’re renovating for yourself or your family, a bank can help you figure out how much you can afford to spend, and how much you can borrow.

Generally, 20% to 30% of the value of your home is an acceptable amount to invest. For example, if your house is appraised at $200,000, it’s reasonable to invest another $40,000 to $60,000 in improvements.

Factor in

What you may have set aside
What you can borrow and the interest rate you can get
What is a reasonable monthly payment?
How long you plan to live in the home

Maximizing the Return On Your Investment
How do you know if your investment is going to pay off? You may not be planning to sell any time soon, but you want some idea if you’ll recoup your remodeling dollars.

If you are looking at resale soon, do consider renovations that give you the most bang for your buck.

What do the experts say about the best value for your renovation dollar?

Remodeling Magazine produces an annual Cost versus Value report, surveying some 60 markets across the U.S. When it comes to payback, these renovations have the highest return on investment:

Kitchen
Bathroom
Re-siding (for curb appeal)
Master suite additions
Attic bedrooms.

When looking at these statistics, remember that they yield average costs and returns; the values in your local area or particular situation may differ.

Renovation in home – tips from professionals