How to renovate my house by vwruleschick

"Biggest freaking project I have done lately, but SOOOOO worth it!"

How I did it: We bought our place in May 2007 which was a 3-level townhouse with an awesome view of downtown Vancouver in the Fairview area. Problem was that it was stuck in the early 80s. Mind you, the exterior was nice and simple; it was the interior that needed most of the work. So we had to get rid of all the really old, chocolate brown carpet, brass fixtures, dusty rose paint and the original appliances.  

Day 1: start scratching the cottage cheese ceilings that were so ugly. I MEAN UGLY! And we needed to bring our new home into the 21st century with a modern feel and technology. We replaced everything, I mean EVERYTHING, except a couple of studs and floor boards, everything is new.

First 2 months was demolition time! Then we had to move out as there was no running water or toilets or showers/tubs set up and no kitchen either. It took another 3 months to get the electrical and plumbing (hired help) and new walls all setup & working again. We finally moved back in September 2007.

Next we had the kitchen cabinets installed with our kitchen ninjas! (5 guys installed the cabinets in about 4 hours). Major areas were the kitchen and the 2 1/2 bathrooms and all 6 appliances, everything else was only flooring and paint in the hallways and rooms which were less complex then the kitchen an bathrooms. All the flooring in kitchen, entry and bathrooms were installed with nuheat and 2x1 subway tiles. All bathroom fixtures were replaced with low-flow dual flush toilets and showerheads and faucets. All appliances were LG EnergyStar, as well as, we replaced all the baseboard heaters with newer, less energy consumption models and a newer water heater too.

Finally, it was 12 months later, we were about 80% done, we still had to work on the last 20% - it was going really slowly since we had been working on the place for the last 12 months. We kept plucking away at all the small projects, but important ones to get final inspection from the city.

We were able to finish 98% to celebrate Christmas with family and friends are our place in Dec 2008 (even with a tree) YEAH!!!

Other a custom closet for the master bedroom and railings for for the stairs (yes, we left the original railings installed for inspection and removed them afterwards) - we are finally done!

Lessons & tips:

  • Find out what your budget is/will be, and then ADD 30-35% for run-over costs/unexpected things
  • Do all your research on items (tiles, carpet, appliances, fixtures, doors, etc) find local suppliers and negoitate costs/shop around & online
  • Do hire help if required, otherwise do-it-yourself to save on labour costs
  • Anyone you hire, get quotes/estimates in writing and get 2-3 references & check with references
  • Get a building/home designer to do the floorplans, it will save you headaches later at city hall and with the builders (good way to get acute price quotes off the drawings - comparing apples vs apples)
  • If you don't like something, tell them - otherwise you will have to live with it for the rest of your life, and be willing to pay for it if not in original drawings/plans
  • Have fun demo-ing!
  • Be prepared to delays, delays and more delays
  • Celebrate when you are done with BBQs, dinner parties or just lounging on the couch with your honey.

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Jul 10, 11:07PM PDT | 0 comments


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