Addition or New Custom Home

Should I add an addition or additions and renovate my home or should I tear it down and build a brand new custom home where the old one once was?

This is a question that I get asked a lot by people, especially these days with the real estate market being so tight and it becoming harder and harder to find homes/chalets/cottages. In our area we also have people deciding to retire and move permanently to the area, they have to decide if they can live in their chalet/cottage and can they make it a proper home which usually means making significant changes to it.

What this really comes down too is a matter of money.

If you can afford to build yourself a new custom home then you should do it, adding an addition to it and renovating the rest of the place should be a last resort.

Why should it be a last resort? Well if you remove the matter of money, then what you need to focus on is what you are giving up by just adding an addition;

• An addition is never as much space as you want it too be. There are many reasons for this but the main one is that you are adding more square footage to a side or sides of your current home, that basically creates two living spaces, the new addition and the old home.
• Usually when people are adding to their existing home its an older home. Older homes are a lot different in layout and the way that they used space then modern homes. Older homes are cut up with individual rooms, this makes the space harder to use and also makes the home feel smaller. Modern homes are more open with as little walls separating the rooms as possible. This gives the feeling of more space and also allows a space to be more of a flex space.
• Older homes require extensive renovations to be brought up to an energy efficiency when comparing them to newer homes. 
• No matter how you tie the new addition to the old home and rearrange the inside living space its hard to make the new addition blend in to the old home, it will never look like one continuous home, it will look like a house that had an addition added to it.
• So things in an older home are not easy to upgrade or re-furbish. Waterproofing around the outside of the home is one, to replace the waterproofing you are basically digging up the entire yard around the home.

No matter what you want to do it all does come back to money.

Renovating and adding an addition will always be cheaper then tearing it down and building a new custom home, but the the costs need to be put into context.

In today's real estate market a new home is going to be worth more money then an older home that had an addition added to it.

The renovation/addition is cheaper but is still expensive, you sacrifice a lot to save money and not as much as you think.

New custom homes are exactly what you want, in fact the new home could be smaller square footage wise but have more usable space inside. The smaller new home brings the price difference closer to the costs of renovation/additions with the added benefits that it is a modern new home.

Whatever you decide reno/addition or new custom home remember that its a lot of money not to get exactly what you want.

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Winter Renovations While Your On Vacation

Do you go south for the winter either on vacation or to Florida for several months?

If you do then that is a great time to have your home (back here) renovated or an addition built on to it.

Now going on a week or two vacation will not be long enough to do a large renovation but what it does allow for your contractor to do a lot of the noisy, dirty demolition when you aren't there. Routinely the water or the heat will need to be turned off for a period of time, or if the bathrooms are being renovated then this can be completed when you aren't there. When you return your heat would be working and so would your water. Usually the start of renovations are the most stressful for people because of the dust, noise and mess that happens.

If you are going to Florida for the winter (several months) then the renovation or the addition can happen without you. Most contractors do not need you onsite, in fact contractors prefer you to be somewhere else. It's easier if contractors don't have to worry about your safety or the noise they are making waking you up in the morning.

With modern technology, pictures or videos can be sent to you the homeowner for approval, questions and updates can happen through text message, email or phone. Communication can happen everyday if the homeowner requires it.

In fact we once built an entire house (the build took 12 months) and the owners were in South Korea the entire time. They only came over twice in that time frame to see how it was going and to pick some tile for the floors. When they returned and moved in everything was the way they wanted it because they had basically seen everything about the house already from pictures and videos.

The point is that if you hire the right contractor, someone that you can trust will bring your vision to life then there is no reason to not let them tear your house apart while your not there and make it look like a brand new home.

One of the biggest things about construction is that the trades and contractors need to be paid, this is made easy with e-transfers and direct deposits. This eliminates the need for you to write and send a cheque in the mail, hoping it gets there in an appropriate time frame.

If this appeals to you then now is the time to start looking for that contractor that can do the work for you this winter, AS WINTER IS COMING!

If you would like to talk about winter renovations email us at infor@villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.

Were To Get Your Plans For An Addition?

What do you need to build an addition? A set of plans and a contractor.

How do you do those two things? Call the right contractor!

Find the right contractor that can build your addition and they should be able to help you get the plans drawn for you.

It doesn't mean that the contractor will draw them for you, but it does mean that good quality contractors that do a lot of additions regularly work with a select group of draftsmen, designers and architects. This streamlines the process, allowing the contractor to help direct the creation of the plans, so that they coincide with your budget and not just your vision for the space.

The process from getting drawings to getting a proper budget to then getting a contract signed with your contractor usually takes months, that's why finding a contractor that can help you with the drawings is a great thing because it will help cut that time down to a minimum.

When the architect and the contractor work closely together then there are less surprises later when the job is being priced and constructed. The architect knows how the contractor prices and builds and the contractor knows how the architect designs buildings and what materials they like to be used. It makes the entire build process run smoother.

A contractor that has been building additions and new homes for a long time will not only know people who can create your drawings, they will also know the right people to draw you drawings. There are many different people who can create drawings but they are not all created equal.

Each person or company that create drawings offer a different level of service, different design style, different build style and of course a different price point. Your contractor will be able to determine which one you will need after discussing it with you and getting some answers on style and budget.

Most contractors that are good at what they do, have been around in the industry for any length of time and have a good reputation will have a stable of people and companies that they can recommend to you for your drawings. If they don't then you should consider that a red flag.

If you are wanting to build an addition and you need drawings and a contractor send us an email at info@villagebuilders.ca or call us at 705-466-3202, we'd be glad to help.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.