Category: Home Improvement

Remodeling Guides

Assemble a Good Team

Don’t jump to hire the least expensive designer, architect or builder unless they also come highly rated, well-regarded and positively reviewed. Have a thorough chat with their past clients to make sure there are no red flags. Ask to see examples of recently completed projects to make sure they have a proven track record.

Hiring the best team may mean having to cut back on something to make the budget work. But I guarantee it will be money well spent. And often you’ll save more money in the long run than if you had simply gone with the lowest bid.

On a related note, it’s a good idea to bring together professionals who have prior, positive experiences working together. Ask your architect or designer to recommend builders they’ve previously worked with. Or if you have a great builder on board but need an architect or designer, ask the builder to recommend someone they have a proven track record with. Think of it like a good marriage — you want to bring together people who can communicate effectively and resolve problems quickly, efficiently and amicably.

Settle Budget and Scope Before You Begin

Before you even start dreaming about demo day, get a firm handle on your project scope and budget. I’ve seen this scenario happen to people before: Imagine being on year two of a remodel that was originally supposed to be just a master suite renovation. You experienced major “scope creep” and started adding and adding to the project, then got stopped in your tracks when the city caught wind and insisted you update your permits (something that can take ages to resolve in a place like). You’ve gone over budget, especially since you had to cover such a long stay in temporary housing. And so on.

Include Budget and Timeline Contingencies

Make sure you are prepared for “worst-case scenarios” because, inevitably, they’ll happen. You’ve probably heard it’s a good idea to add a 1% to 20% contingency to your budget, but you should also add the same amount to your timeline

How to Stick to Your Remodeling Goals

Remodeling is a great way to stay in the house you have. Plus, making changes can improve the way you live. But everyone has heard the horror stories of going 50% or more over the remodeling budget. Truth be told, even contractors will admit that it’s hard to provide an exact price on the work, because there are often unforeseen circumstances that could cause the price to rise. I always recommend factoring in about 20% over what you think you should budget. But knowing what you want from the very beginning — and sticking to those goals — can greatly help your project stay on track. Even if it seems like it’s going off the rails.

Are you seeking to increase resale value? Improve layout? Improve energy efficiency? It could be a combination of a number of things, but make sure you’re being rational. If you want pro-style appliances but you eat out most evenings, you might want to reconsider.

In one project our client wanted to double the size of his kitchen because it felt like he had no counter space. Instead of just going for space, we talked to him about how he prepares meals and worked to increase the amount of usable counter space rather than just making the kitchen bigger.

Create a budget you’re comfortable with, then set aside 20% of that to cover the unknowns that inevitably come up. This is your “build to” budget. During the design phase, your designer should make you aware of the amount that is your build-to budget. You should avoid the temptation to spend your contingency before you begin construction. A contingency is not a slush fund that, if you can avoid spending, you can direct toward appliance and finish upgrades.

A contingency is an integral part of the cost of building, especially remodeling, that is as deserving of budget allocation as any other component of your project. Unknowns are very hard to predict and can easily drive your project over budget otherwise.

Home Renovation Guide

There comes a time for every homeowner when they look around their property and think, “Should I sell, or should I just stay and renovate?”. It’s anything but an easy decision, especially in an expensive real estate market such

The Pantone Colour of the Year is used to influence trends in a variety of industries for the upcoming year such as fashion, home decor, and product designs. For 2020, Classic Blue is the colour to ring in the new decade and the colour that everyone should include in their homes to encourage goods vibes

The holidays are a joyous time. The lights are twinkling, Christmas markets provide weekend entertainment, delicious cookie tins fill the grocery stores and there’s always a party going on in the evening.  At the same time, the holidays can be surprisingly dangerous.

If you are looking at houses for sale but don’t quite see one that fits your personality, consider the major changes you can make with just a coat of paint. When it comes to painting your home, though, there are a number of decisions that you’ll need to make to get your desired look.

Home renovation projects can be very exciting to take on. Not only can they boost the value of your real estate, but they can also create a more enjoyable space for you and your family. That being said, these projects can be a little stressful if they’re not properly planned.

Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Bathroom

So you’re ready to remodel that bathroom. Congratulations! As you probably already know, you’ve got some tasks ahead of you. Even with the help of a professional bathroom designer and a general contractor who will take care of the construction and installation, a lot of the mental work inevitably falls right on you, the homeowner

So it’s going to be up to you where you want things to go, how much you want to spend, what you want it to look like and how you want it to function. This step-by-step workbook will help you navigate the process through the planning and conceptual phases. Just remember to keep your eye on the prize, and seek the help and guidance of people who’ve been there before.

What Are You Trying to Achieve?

It seems like a simple enough question that should have a simple answer: “Well, I need a new bathroom.” But when embarking on a journey that will take a good chunk out of your time and bank account, you want to get it right. And you want to be happy with the end result.

Before you do anything, think about what your ideal bathroom would be. Forget constraints of money and space; just imagine what you want and what the intended purpose will be. Who is this bathroom for? Is it a master bathroom? A powder bathroom? A kid’s bathroom? How often will it get used and what will the function be?

Other considerations:

How many people will use it?

How much time do you spend in the bathroom during the morning, afternoon and night?

What’s your routine — how does your current space hinder it and how could a new space improve it?

Do you plan to grow old in this house?

Do you have medical issues like poor eyesight or arthritis to consider?

Do you just want something that’s easy to clean?

Is storage the catalyst? Relaxation?

Or do you just want to update the look for resale?

Your Guide to a Smooth-Running Construction Project

Imagine walking into your newly built or remodeled home and seeing it exactly as you had imagined it at the start of construction: the windows are all in the right places, the flooring is the right color, and the kitchen cabinets are a perfect fit.

Now allow me to pinch you on the arm, because for most people, reality is often different from that idyllic scenario. You might see missing trim around the bedroom doors or wonder why that small change in the kitchen cost so much. Looking back, you might ask, “And why did we have to hire another subcontractor to finish the bathroom?”

Of course, there are things you just can’t plan for, but there’s plenty that you can. Costly changes and additional time-consuming work can be kept to a minimum if you fully understand what you are building before you start. By understanding the construction process, being part of the team and keeping a firm grip on the budget, your construction project can result in the home of your dreams.

Don’t Skimp on Design Help

Given the busy lives most of us lead, we don’t have the time to research every type of technology and material that might be used on a construction project. Use professionals to save some of the time that would otherwise be spent learning and perfecting the process.

Architects are trained not just to make a project pretty but to match building systems, thermal envelopes and other properties to the client’s needs. They have a broad, up-to-date knowledge of these systems as well as of materials and processes for a wide variety of project areas.

Elements of a Kitchen That’ll Be Ready to Party When You Are

Dinner parties and in-person book club brunches may be the stuff of daydreams right now, but consider this mandated pause on hosting the perfect opportunity to get your kitchen in shape for its post-quarantine debut. Gathering with others will be at the top of the to-do list when social distancing rules relax, so now’s the time to make sure you, and your kitchen, are ready to rock.

To entertain even a small number of guests, or just your family, you need appliances that are true workhorses. A wide French-door refrigerator allows for easy storage of crudité trays, sheet cakes, and extra party snacks. A double oven lets you simultaneously roast and bake multiple dishes at different temperatures, while a five-burner stovetop ensures you have plenty of room to boil, sautée, and fry all at the same time.

There’s nothing worse than ending a fun night with a mountain of dirty dishes in the sink. A high-capacity, efficient dishwasher is every entertainer’s savior. If room allows, consider installing two dishwashers and two sinks, one for prep and one for clean-up.

Even if you have a formal dining room, chances are that guests will congregate in the kitchen, so incorporate seating for a designated gathering spot. Carve out a nook with an eat-in table, or add bar stools to a kitchen island or counter

Entertaining items like large serving dishes, punch bowls, and cake stands can be annoying to store. They take up a lot of space, often can’t be stacked, and wind up being in the way when not in use. The solution? Designate one cabinet or shelf as the “party pantry.”

Huge Mistakes to Avoid When Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Painted kitchen cabinets may look super simple on Pinterest – imagine, just a few coats of a new color and your kitchen will be spruced up in no time! In reality, painting kitchen cabinets is a project that definitely has many potential pitfalls.

To set you up for success, we’ve outlined some of the biggest blunders and outlined how to easily avoid. That way, you can tackle this big job with confidence. With our advice on how to paint kitchen cabinets you’ll end up with an updated kitchen you can’t wait to show off!

You have unrealistic expectations.

Painted cabinets look lovely, but they aren’t going to look totally smooth. “If the cabinets have a visible open grain, the grooves are going to show through the paint,”

You don’t allow yourself enough time.

“This isn’t a lazy Sunday project,” says, who, along with her husband, chronicled kitchen painting projects on her popular blog Young House Love. She says people often think it’s a weekend job, but it takes at least four to seven days when you build in the proper prep time (and snack breaks, of course)

You don’t clean the wood before painting.

“No matter how clean you think your kitchen is, you need to wipe everything down with a grease remover,” says. Otherwise, when you add a water-based paint to an oil-covered door, the paint won’t stick. He recommends a paint-prep degreaser called TSP, and a non-scratch delicate scrub sponge for stuck on spots.

Home Renovations Have the Highest Return on Investment

It’s sad but true: not every home renovation offers a great return on investment. In fact, most upgrades that you make around the house wind up costing hundreds or even thousands more than they’re worth. If you love the result, then those overpriced changes can be worth it. But if you have any intention of selling your house in the future, then you’ll want to choose renovations that make sense, cost-wise.

Garage door installation

The garage door might not be the first renovation you think to do when you’re channeling your inner Joanna Gaines, but it turns out that this particular replacement has one of the highest returns you can get. You’ll get back almost exactly as much as you spend. And if you get your new door for a discount? You might even make money on the project.

Manufactured stone veneer

Curb appeal is worth a lot of money to buyers. Some might not even stop to check out your open house if they don’t like how it looks from the outside. Putting in a stone exterior is a difficult and pricey upgrade, but adding a manufactured stone veneer costs much less and helps increase the value of your home.

Entry door replacement

First impressions matter – that’s why a solid, attractive steel entry door is worth the cost. You can get an expensive-looking door installed for cheap and then recoup almost all the money you spent buying it.

Wood deck addition

Homebuyers are almost always looking for space to entertain and that includes outdoor areas. A deck isn’t cheap, but it will increase the value of your home enough to almost cover that cost.

Benefits of Renovating Your Home!

Whether you are looking to transform your house to put it on the market, or simply want to enhance your living environment and the aesthetic of the space where you spend the majority of your time, a partial or complete home renovation boasts an array of short term and long term benefits for homeowners.

Increases Property Value

From a fresh coat of paint to new fixtures and appliance upgrades, renovating for a profit is certainly doable with the help of industry professionals. From understanding colour palettes and timeless designs, there’s a number of simple home improvements that can drastically improve the value of one’s property by modernizing the interior, refreshing the exterior or simply opening up a previously small and lifeless space. 

Enhances Energy Efficiency & Reduces Utility Bills

When people think of home renovation, they generally associate it with lavish and visible improvements to a home, including a fresh paint job, complete layout redesign and new colour scheme. However, one hugely beneficial part of renovating your home is upgrading old fixtures and plumbing to modern and more energy efficient models, which effectively help to lower your utility bills. Simply upgrading your plumbing and fixtures alone can make a world of difference, not to mention even greater long term savings should you choose to opt for the green, eco-friendly options. Despite the initial expense, it’ll pay off in the long run!

Maximize the Space

Houses can get cramped over time as families grow, resulting in the space looking small, outdated and impractical.

Helps to Avoid the Cost and Stress of Moving

When you get tired of a home, your first instinct is to pack up and move – right? With a home renovation service, you get to recreate the space as extensively or minimally as you want to design your dream layout and design, allowing you to save the hundreds of thousands it would’ve cost you to relocate to a new home. Aside from the obvious prices associated with purchasing a new property, there’s also plenty of additional costs, such as agent’s commission, legal fees and relocation fees

Things I Wish I Had Done Differently: Home Renovation Edition

I may design homes for a living, but that does not mean I’m immunized against making mistakes.  Actually, I make the most mistakes when working on my own homes- mostly because I’m overwhelmed by options and ideas and make decisions on the fly instead of with careful consideration, as I do when working for someone else. “Ehhh, that’ll fit- we don’t need to measure” is a phrase that now gives me chills.

This weekend I began cataloguing some of the things I wish I had done differently in my renovations.  Most of them are from our first phase of the renovation right after buying our house, I think I had learned a lot by the second phase (still obsessed with my master suite).  But in life some of the best lessons come from examining your failures as to not repeat them again!

MY KITCHEN FAUCET

From the beginning wanted a pull down spray faucet with a single lever instead of the separate hot and cold handles.  I, of course, love the look of widespread handles and went that direction- beauty over function, a common designer downfall. Now with a baby (and after a couple years of use), I fear I maybe should have listened. The issue still stands that finding an attractive single lever, pull down spray faucet is very hard- but there are some good options here, here and here.

CHROME VS. BRASS

Apparently I just blew it on the faucet. 🙂  I was scared to go with brass for my kitchen faucet and now I wish I had been ballsier and listened to my inner voice and not the other people who thought it was crazy to do a brass faucet. I’m glad I went for it in my master bath, because daaaaaammmnnnn do I love it. But trying to find a single lever antique brass faucet with a pull down spray is like trying to locate and capture Nessie.

MY BACKSPLASH

I still love my white subway with grey grout but I wish I had done two things- 1) run the tile all the way to the ceiling around the doorway to the mudroom and around the window above the sink.  I also forgot to specify the spacing I wanted (assuming things makes an ass of–well, just me) and they did it way tighter than I had wanted. I wish I had said something and had them redo it instead of just feeling too guilty to ask them to make it right.

Choosing the Right Project for Your Home Renovation

Before the national housing collapse of 2007, home renovation decisions seemed far simpler and much more profitable for homeowners than you see with today’s market. Today, the value of home renovation projects is a whole new ballgame. That’s why you should carefully research any potential fix-up project you’re planning for your home

Aim to cover your costs. Pre-housing crash, people were investing heavily in their homes and seeing returns greater than 100 percent on their spending. In 2016, the cost and return at resale for the projects listed in the report averaged 64.4 percent for a home sold within a year of the upgrades. Making a profit on a renovation isn’t guaranteed, so aim instead to tackle projects that will allow you to recover your costs at the highest possible level.

Smaller projects focusing on essentials can provide better returns. A decade ago, it was an upscale outdoor deck or a gourmet kitchen. These days, new doors, which can cost under $500 to replace and install, are one of the most popular projects. A high quality fiberglass entry door replacement can recoup an average 82.3 percent of costs; a garage door replacement can return over 90 percent.

Upgrade rooms and spaces, but keep it modest. A minor kitchen remodel including upgraded cabinet fronts, new hardware and the addition of one or two energy-efficient appliances averaged a return of more than 83 percent of original cost compared to the 65 percent for the gut jobs.

After assessing the national and regional averages, you’ll need to evaluate your personal situation, local home market and the type of homes that are selling in your neighborhood.

HOW TO SELECT THE BEST BUILDER FOR YOUR HOME RENOVATION PROJECT

When you are planning home renovations, your choice of builder will be one of the most important decisions you have to make. But with so many different building firms to choose from, how can you be sure you are getting it right?

WORD OF MOUTH RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY

If someone you know has had some building work completed and they recommend a house renovation contractor, this is advice worth listening to. Remember, people tend to be very quick to complain about something they are not happy with, while they need to be seriously impressed to offer praise. If they recommend a particular contractor for home renovation, this is something you can take seriously, as it means the work must be outstanding in their opinion.

DO YOUR RESEARCH ONLINE

Online research is an important step when it comes to choosing a builder for your home reno. 90 percent of consumers now use online reviews and testimonials to help them make purchase decisions. As selecting a builder for your home renovation is an extremely important decision, it makes sense to find out what other customers are saying about them before you go ahead.

LOOK AT SOME OF THEIR PREVIOUS WORK

If a building firm is local to your area, the chances are they will have already completed some house renovation projects in your neighbourhood. It is worth asking around and finding out if you can take a look at some jobs they have already completed, so you can see the standard of their work for yourself.

CHECK THEIR REGISTRATION AND INSURANCE

For any home renovation, it is essential to choose a reputable builder who is fully licensed and insured. When you first get in touch with a house renovation contractor, you should ask for details of their license and insurance. The most trustworthy builders are often also members of a professional body, so you should also ask about this. Asking questions is important because it gives you a much stronger degree of protection in the unlikely event of anything going wrong during your home reno

tips for renovating for resale

Everyone has an opinion on how to achieve the best result in terms of adding value to a home; after all, we Kiwis are fanatical renovators

The main thing to remember is no matter which areas you decide to focus on, make sure your renovation budget is relative to the overall value of your house. If prices are modest in your neighbourhood, for instance, there’s no point in installing a new state-of-the-art kitchen or a fancy outdoor fireplace.

Consider your street appeal

‘Street appeal’ is a term much loved and there’s no doubt that the first, outside impression of a home can dramatically influence its saleability. Start by cutting back overgrown trees and replacing tired plants (including the lawn) to make the property look fresher, lighter and more spacious.

Renovate the kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of a home for many of us and improving its appearance can seriously lift the value of your home. However, think carefully before replacing the whole thing as the next owners may want to put their stamp on the kitchen. It may be better to just give it a facelift by replacing the benchtop, handles, taps and splashback.

Upgrade the bathroom

A second bathroom and toilet is almost compulsory these days so finding space for these is pretty much a given for savvy renovators. Adding a second toilet is the very least that most buyers expect. However, don’t feel you need to spend a fortune on expensive fittings – there are many products available for those with a limited budget.

tips for buying a house to renovate

You want to buy a renovator’s dream but how do you make sure that the restoration doesn’t send you over the edge and way over budget?

Location

Nicolas Jarvisto and his wife discovered one of the key buy-to-renovate rules when they bought their first home, an 1915 Queenslander, in Bulimba, Brisbane.

Look beyond first impressions

Another rule of buying a house to renovate is that “you have got to have the vision to look through the ugliness” says Bevan. “Things like off-putting tiles and carpets do not matter. I always find the uglier the better as it puts off most people.”

Budget

“Renovating should be an excel spreadsheet not a dream” says property expert Chris Gray, from Sydney buyer’s agency, Your Empire. Gray has renovated 14 properties himself and oversees renovations on behalf of his clients.

Avoid structural work

Choose properties that need mainly cosmetic work and do not take on structural alterations. “Avoid properties with structural damage, as this is often when expensive problems occur,” says Gray.

How to Choose the Right Renovation Company

People are becoming increasingly aware of how to achieve that luxurious, statement home when new construction is not an option – that’s right, it’s home renovations! There are so many advantages of house renovations, starting with the improved comfort and increased value of your home.

For most, it makes complete sense that the final outcome is going to vary greatly and depend on the experience and workmanship of the renovation company you choose. If you want all the benefits listed above, plus some, choosing the right home renovations company is imperative! For others, cheaper is better… but unfortunately this is usually where the “renovation nightmare” stories originate.

Be ready! There’s no point jumping on Google and contacting endless amounts of contractors and building companies if you don’t have a plan. Know what you want and when you want it. It’s also much easier, and wise, to set a budget for your home renovations too.

Obtain quotes. All the best home renovation companies offer free quotes. Extensions offers a FREE, no obligation consultation with one of our specialist design consultants.

Set appointments. By now you’ve checked references, compared quotes, viewed a history of their workmanship and you’ve narrowed it down to two or three of best home renovation companies. It’s time to book those first appointments and see who’s really going to deliver the goods!