Quality Over Price When Comparing Renovation Quotes From Contractors

No matter if you are doing a renovation or having a custom home built picking your contractor solely based on price is going to leave you disappointed in the end and probably poorer for it. 

When comparing quotes or prices you really shouldn't be looking at the cost first, you should be looking at the quality and the trust factor of the contractor. The last thing you should be looking at is the price.

When contractors do good quality work, hire proper professionals, use the right material and do it in a timely fashion then the price of the job is basically the price of the job. You can't compare other contractors if they aren't doing all of those things. You have to compare apples to apples, if your lucky enough to have two contractors that measure up on quality, trust and they are both using the same materials (then your lucky to have found them) then by all means choose the one with the lowest price.

But most people aren't that lucky.

I have seen it time and time again a homeowner is presented with a price or multiple prices for a service like painting and they think that the price is to expensive, so they go out and find someone that can do it for their price. Usually they end up compromising to get the price they want by;

1. The overall scope of the work.
2. The quality of the work.
3. The timing of the work.

Once you have comprised on those 3 things then you basically are not comparing quotes anymore, you are settling and in residential construction settling is usually not a good thing.

The contractor that does the work properly, hires the right sub trades and usually is one of the higher priced companies. They also usually have the most detailed quote laying out what work is to be preformed and the materials to be used. The point of the detailed contract is so that there is no misunderstanding between contractor and homeowner on what they are getting with the price that is quoted. The more detailed the contract the more accurate the price and the more accurate the price the harder it is to compare that quote to other less detailed quotes.

The less detailed the quote the more assumptions that you have to make about what they are supplying. This creates friction later when disagreements arise over what is an extra and what isn't.

So when you are looking for that contractor to do your next project start by looking at who best fits your job by the quality of work they are going to perform, then what they are supplying in their quote and finally what their price is compared to other qualified contractors.

Remember you get what you pay for when it comes to residential construction.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.

Think Of Building Your Basement Out Of ICF

Are you planning to build yourself a house?

When you are in the planning stage with your architect or builder there are may things to consider, one of them is how you are going to insulate your basement walls.

In the past 5 years there have been many code changes in the building code in Ontario and one of the big ones is the amount of insulation that you have to install in the walls of your basement.

The actual amount of insulation that you have to install varies by the amount of windows you have in the house and the heating system that you are planning to use in the new house. Its an equation that has to do with the overall energy efficiency of your new house and the standard the code demands it to be before you will be granted a permit. 

One of the ways that you can easily meet the minimum amount of insulation needed is to have your basement built out of ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms). ICF is a concrete wall that has foam insulation installed on both sides of it. This creates thermal mass, making it superior to conventional insulated concrete basement walls that are only insulated on the inside.

In fact ICF is such a good insulator that not only does it help your new house meet whatever minimum insulation code that is required but it also will exceed it.

It actually exceeds it in a way that it helps you not have to spend more money on insulation or higher end windows elsewhere in the house.

This means that the added cost of building your basement out of ICF is offset somewhat by the savings you achieve in other parts of the house.

ICF doesn't just help you reach your insulation requirements it also helps create a warm, dry and cozy area that most basements never achieve. ICF helps you create a real living space that is usually reserved for storage and that pool table that seldom gets used.

So remember that while you are in your planning and budgeting stage of your new house build ask about an ICF basement, you won't be disappointed.

Rob Abbott

Village Builders Inc.

The Cost Of Custom Homes and Renovations Will Rise In 2018

Be prepared to pay more for your renovations and custom home build in 2018.

The cost of construction is rising and doesn't look like its going to settle down anytime soon. If you are planning to build or renovate in 2018 then you need to adjust your budget accordingly.

Here are some of the reasons why construction is going to cost more in 2018;

• A building boom. There is a building boom in our area, builders are busier then they have ever been before. That means that they have the ability to pick and choose the jobs that they want to take on, gone are the days of pricing jobs low just to stay busy.
• Material costs. Building materials have doubled in price in the last 6 months. That means that the raw building materials could cost you anywhere from 50 to 100,000 dollars more then in early 2017. It has become so bad that there is an actual lumber shortage at most lumber yards for a lot of products.
• Labour. With a bunch of law changes coming from the provincial government and a minimum wage increase the cost of all labour will be going up in 2018. All businesses will have to raise there rates to cover the increase in costs.
• Trades shortage. There is a severe shortage of trades in most areas. Tilers, masons, plumbers are getting harder to secure because they are under such a demand for their services.
• Big Business. Large corporations are buying up smaller businesses and consolidating them so that they have a monopoly. Insulators, concrete suppliers, waterproofers, mechanical contractors are just a few of the trades that are being bought up and controlled by a handful of large corporations. This means that they will be able to artificially inflate the cost of what they provide.
• Land costs. If you are looking to build a custom you are going to have to pay more for your building lot with the hot real estate market.
• Building Code Changes. The building code has had dramatic changes in the last 5 years with the amount of insulation required rising and the overall energy efficiency of homes having to rise. Eventhough this is a good thing in the long run it usually means that it will cost you more money upfront to build.

Whatever you are planning to do in 2018 whether it is building a custom home, renovating or adding an addition be prepared to pay more then you did in 2017. You will have to approach the project with a contingency fund to help offset the costs that are rising so that you don't end up in a situation where you run out of money before the project is finished.

Rob Abbott

Village Builders Inc.

The Rules Before You Call A Builder About A Custom Home

As August and the summer vacations rolls to a conclusion my email has lit up with people interested in building custom homes.

That's great for business except for one little problem, 75 percent of the emails I receive are people that have only just started thinking about building a custom home. They don't know what anything actually costs and they really don't know what the house they want to build will look like because they don't have plans.

Now everyone has to start somewhere when starting on the road to building a custom home, there are certain things that people want to know before they start down that road of building a new cusotom home.

Here are some rules to use when you want to build a custom home, these are rules and recommendations that you should know and consider before you call a general contractor asking for quotes or advice;

1. The average cost of a custom home to build is $210.00 a square foot. This is the starting point of the cost custom homes, its hard to get lower priced then this but the cost goes up from there depending on how fancy you want to get in your home.
2. Custom homes are expensive, if your only thought is that you can build a home cheap don't bother trying to build a custom home.
3. If you are worried that you can't afford a custom home to the point were you don't even want to get drawings done then you shouldn't bother.
4. There are a lot of extra costs to building a custom home above the square foot price.
5. NOBODY prices custom homes per square foot, that is only to help people with budgeting.
6. If you want to know the costs for permits and other fees in your municipality you should take the time to call your local building department.
7. Drawings are going to cost you money, the more expensive the custom home the more that you should be paying for your drawings.
8. Most custom homes are time and material plus a management fee on top. That is industry standard.
9. There is no way to get a proper price on a custom home without a set of official drawings.
10. If you want help finding the right piece of property or with designs of your custom home be prepared to pay someone for their time.
11. The larger the home you want to build the MORE IT WILL COST YOU!
12. Custom Homes are not a used car, there are no big deals, the cost of constructing a custom home is the cost. There is no real with to make it cheaper.
13. Quality costs money. A properly quoted custom home should be pretty close to the same price from every company, the only difference will be how much they charge for a management fee. If you get a price that is a lot lower then any others then there is a reason, there's something missing from that quote!
14. Understand that your contractor is going to know more then you, expect it and take there advise. If you believe that you know more then your contractor then you either picked the wrong contractor or you don't need a contractor as you don't want to listen to them.
15. Just because you are building out of the city doesn't the cost of your custom home will be cheaper. Construction costs are the same everywhere, don't be surprised when the cost to build up north is the same as in the city.
16. Be prepared for your contractor to offer you upgrades, these upgrades are for your benefit, some will cost you more and some won't, but remember there for your benefit to make your new custom home better.
17. To finish the basement will cost you more money.
18. Doing things different will cost you more money. 
19. Don't be afraid to have your home built out of newer materials, technology is making homes better built.
20. If your in a hurry to build and move in to your new home and you haven't started your going to be disappointed because designing, getting permit approvals and building the actual home is going to take a longer time then you think.
21. Be prepared to not to get everything in your custom home that you want unless you have a budget that is very flexible.
22. Do not get more then 3 prices for anything to do with your home, it will only waste your time and confuse you.

There's probably many more that I could list but this is a good list to get started with, if you understand what your getting yourself into when wanting a custom home built and that there are costs associated with them and that custom homes are not something that you get a deal on or something you shop for like a used car then you won't be disappointed when you start talking to custom home builders you will be prepared and understanding.

Rob Abbott

Village Builders Inc.