After the sale of our house we were able to determine our approximate initial reno budget of $120,000 (including the land transfer tax and kitchen appliances which we will buy now, pay later). I pulled out my large folder of magazine tears that I had collected over the years of rooms that inspired me in the event that we would be renovating again. I also started obsessively flipping through every home decor magazine that I own (and lets just say that I have alot) in search of layouts etc. that resembled ours, great ideas for storage, how to display art, how to finish off staircases etc. etc. etc. I particularily love the UK editions of Elle Decor and Living Etc., Australian Vogue Living is also fantastic. These mags are great for ideas on colour and styling. But for practicality purposes Canadian House and Home is very useful to find good local sources and feature rooms that work for Canadian style homes.
Sarah Richardson’s Design Inc. website chronicles all of her seasons episodes. I loved “Jennifer’s Kitchen” and “Thecla and Garrick’s Kitchen” both from season 1 - both very clean and modern designs. The site also lists design sources. Kirk and I agreed that we would live in the upstairs apartment (2nd and 3rd floors) while we renovate the main floor. We want to take the month of November to refinish the hardwood floors, replace windows and paint the 2nd & 3rd floors so that the space is ready to move into while we start gutting the main floor.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Kathy Tudor // Mar 2, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I’m thinking of buying a house in the neighbourhood where I have lived almost all my life. The house prices have skyrocketed over the past 5 years. It’s all about location here because the average house is only about 1100-1200 sq. ft. Even with some of the tired old houses, there have been bidding wars. I am now seriously considering buying a house that basically needs to be gutted. I’m single and scared to death about getting ripped off. People are telling me that it would cost about $250 per sq. ft. to renovate this house. That would mean $276,250 and that doesn’t even include the basement! I found your web site through an Internet search and your advice seems great and your experience seems to indicate that a renovation maybe would not be as expensive as $250 a sq. ft. It’s the price tag that is scaring me and I’d like to know if your experience is real and that this is not some bogus or fictitious site designed to get business for the businesses you mention.
2 anke // Mar 3, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Hi Kathy
This blog is real. The costs, the people, the stories are exactly what we are experiencing on a daily basis. We are a normal, not-very-handy couple trying to do a pretty comprehensive renovation.
If we look at things from price-per-square-foot perspective we land around $175. I think you are right that the number is more like $150-$175 depending on your level of fit and finish.
The one piece of advice that we would offer is to make sure you have a great contractor that you can trust before embarking on this journey. We thank our lucky stars every day that we have found someone that we trust and who gets the job done.
If you’d be interested in blogging about your journey and adding it to this forum please let us know at 247reno@gmail.com!
Good luck!
3 Kathy Tudor // Mar 19, 2008 at 1:49 am
Thanks for your response! Now all I have to do is be successful in a bidding war for a house in my neighbourhood!
4 anke // Mar 20, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Good luck! Keep us up-to-date and let us know if you feel like blogging about it. All the best.
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