To all of our renovation customers, we know exactly how you feel and we appreciate your patience and flexibility more than ever. For years we have been dismantling and recreating your spaces while you learn to live and work amongst the organized chaos. On Tuesday, September 26th we commenced renovations to our own home/office. Our desks and office equipment were moved to the main living area while members of our crew began to demolish and re-build walls, floors and ceilings. The need to create more space had been building for months, and with a new person joining our office this fall, it was time to get the ball rolling.
The Progess
The Scope
- Shelter the living space with poly walls and floor protection to conserve hallway flooring and reduce dust.
- Strip out the old plaster, down to the studs and ceiling joists.
- Remove office flooring to expose and fix a squeaky subfloor.
- Remove a partition wall and existing closets, opening two rooms into one.
- Replace old ceiling joists with new 6″×12″ fir beams.
- Install whitewashed tongue and groove soffit above beams to achieve a higher ceiling and a west coast architectural detail.
- Frame a new meeting room separated by large glass pocket doors to keep an open feel
- Upgrade electrical and data wiring to accommodate for an expanding team.
- Insulate roof and walls with high performance insulation.
- Drywall and install new flooring and trim.
- Remove floor protection and plastic walls.
- Clean up and paint.
- Then voila, it will be done!
Our Advice
- Get references and be sure your professional is experienced for your type of job.
- Be clear on what you want, what you like and what must go. Communicate your questions.
- Use a contract, know your payment schedule and study the details. Many companies are using a Project Management tool to maintain clear communication with clients, tradespeople and project managers. This tool keeps everyone updated with the latest plans, progress and changes. At Interactive Construction, we use Buildertrend.
- Be open to new ideas and changes to the original plan if they are found to be needed. A good contractor will use their experience to recommend solutions to renovation problems exposed during construction.
- Bring colour samples home to test, don’t trust those fluorescent lights in store.
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- Know the value of your house, your neighbourhood, and the value of increase to expect in case you decide to sell.
- “Keep in mind that if the value of your house exceeds the average market value in your neighbourhood, your renovations will not yield much return. But if your house value is below the average, you can recover a large part of renovation costs.” – Recent article in styleathome.
- Know the value of your house, your neighbourhood, and the value of increase to expect in case you decide to sell.
Considering a renovation that is focused around energy efficiency? Doing it yourself? Don’t get too overwhelmed with the big stuff right away, start small:
- Lighting: Install CFL or LED bulbs
- Temperature: install a programmable thermostat
- Heat: cover your hot-water heater with an insulated blanket
- Water: install low-flow plumbing fixtures in your bathroom, use a rain barrel to capture rainwater to re-use in your garden
- Think Clean:(volatile organic compounds) which are released as gasses from paints, lacquers, building materials, furniture and carpets. They are bad for the environment and for your health!
- Shop Local: Where possible, consider the traveling distance of building materials and products that you purchase for your home. Not only does it reduce your carbon footprint, but it helps to support your local economy and create jobs.
- Recycle: consider re-using materials and appliances where possible, and donating what you can. Buying new costs money and increases your carbon footprint, and throwing away items only adds to our landfills. Consider using that old wood flooring to wrap the island in your new kitchen, like we did for our recent Passive House, Urban Green, which won the 2017 CARE Award for Best Multi-Family/Townhouse Project.
- Going “Passive”? We would love to hear from you, contact us to discuss your renovation goals!
Stay tuned..
We will keep you updated on the progress of our office renovation, thanks for reading!