Homeowner Renovations Not A Good Idea

Just because you think you can do it doesn't mean that you should!

I've visited potential clients that when I walked into their home to quote a renovation only to find out that the job has already started, not by another contractor but by the homeowner themselves.

Usually it's the demolition that they have started, they started taking down the walls that they wanted removed to create the new space that they've been dreaming about. What stops them is either a friend or neighbour commenting that what their doing is dangerous or their spouse starts to get worried about the drywall that is cracking in other parts of the house.

I was once in a house that people had removed the bearing wall a year ago to make the kitchen and the dining room one big space. They wanted a quote to fix the cracks in the ceiling, once I asked how long the cracks had been there and then inspected the attic I realized that they had removed the main support wall that held up the roof.

Basically the roof was now slowly pushing down causing the drywall to crack, eventually the roof would collapse into the house, usually in the winter when there would be a large snow load.

The quote to repair the house with a beam, support posts and repairing and replacing the drywall was probably more then what they originally spent to open the rooms up in the first place.

The moral of the story is that just because you think you can renovate your own home doesn't mean that you actually should.

I see homeowner renovations that end up costing people more in the long run because they needed repairs after the fact and because usually the renovation didn't turn out the way they wanted it too.

Save yourself time and money and call a professional for your next renovation.

One other thing that has come to our attention is that homeowner renovations are starting to affect the resale of homes in the area. Because people have home inspectors they are finding flaws with the renovation work done once they've established that it was homeowner done renovations and that the renovation had flaws. This is causing people not only money in the value of their home but also potential buyers who are scared away from homes because they really don't know what the potential problems are that could be in the walls that will cause problems in the future.

Make your life easier hire a proper renovation contractor that is insured and understands what is needed to complete the renovation, you won't regret it.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.