I want to demolish a house so I can build a new house

When you are thinking about demolishing an existing home to make way for a new one, make sure that you hire a professional to do the demolition.

Hiring a professional to demolish an existing home might sound like a logical choice but you should know a couple of things before you open the yellow pages and phone the first one that you see.

Here are a couple of things that you should look for when looking to demolish a house;

• Get quotes. A true professional will have no problem coming out to the existing home and giving you a proper quote. This will save you being handed a large bill at the end of the demolition because there was twice the amount of debris created from the house.

• Do your research. It doesn’t take a lot to goggle search companies, ask around or even ask them for references.

• You want experience. Demolition if done wrong can be a very dangerous thing. You are removing a structure that weighs more than any machine that is brought in to tear it down. The last thing in the world you want is to have someone hurt or killed on your land during demolition.

• Insurance. You want to make sure that the demolition company has the proper insurance. You should also contact your own insurance company and make sure that you are covered encase something goes wrong.

If you are planning to build a new house on the property it can be a good idea to have your general contractor (the one you hired to build the new house) handle hiring of the demolition company. A general contractor can also assist you in all the paperwork that the township will require before you are allowed to demolish.

There are a number of services that your general contractor can help you have disconnected before you will be granted a demolition permit. Electrical, gas, telephone, cable and water/sewer all have to be professionally severed from the existing building. If you are planning to build a new house on the property then the connections should be severed back far enough not to impede the digging of a new foundation.
A general contractor a lot of the times will be bringing in a heavy equipment sub-contractor to dig the hole for the foundation. If this is the case you can save yourself some money and have this sub-contractor do the demolition as well. This could save you money because the equipment after it is done knocking down the house can immediately start digging the hole for the new foundation. There is almost no difference in a heavy equipment operator tearing down a house and a demolition company. The only real difference is that a heavy equipment operator will use a large excavator to knock the building down and then load it into dump trucks. As the excavator tears the building down it will separate the different materials and load them in separate bins or dump trucks. This is important because this will save you money when they get to the dump.  Demolition companies will use smaller machines to do the tear down that are easier to transport and will fit into smaller places.

In a dump you will pay per pound. The price per pound will vary depending on what material is contained in the load. Loads that are mixed are the most expensive, mixed loads are when you have wood or metal mixed in with garbage. The cheapest loads are all one material loads such as all wood or all metal. If you end up with an all metal load you can have it taken to a metal recyclers that will pay for the load instead of you paying for the load.

If you go through the general contractor you will pay a management fee on top of the demolition bill but it will save you money in the long run. Because the services have to be disconnected then with the general contractor in charge of the job they will know exactly where those underground services are terminated and capped. If you do not involve your contractor then you could end up paying later when the contractor starts digging around the site trying to find all the connections that are underground. It doesn’t take much for the marking stakes to be lost on a construction site when you are building a house especially if it’s a small sight.
So remember if you are thinking about demolishing an existing house don’t just pick the first company you find, do your research and ask your general contractor it could save you a lot of time, money and aggravation.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Buying local series: General Contractor

Buying local series: General Contractor

When building a new home it is always best to buy from the local businesses in the area or community that you are constructing the home. No matter if it’s your summer home, second home or your primary residence buying locally always makes more sense. This time I’m writing about the reason you should be having your project managed by a general contractor locally, I’m talking about the local general contractor.

General Contractor:

Of all the different trades that I have written about in this Buying Local Series there is no more important part of building or renovating your home then the general contractor. Without a really good contractor it wouldn’t matter how good the rest of the trades are, the project will not run smoothly or at a high quality if the general contractor doesn’t know what they are doing.

A really good general contractor is not that hard to find, all you have to do is your homework. Since you should be trying to find a local general contractor you can start by talking to the local lumber yard and any local trades that you have had previous experience with and you trust. Check the internet, a good general contractor will have a website and this will tell you a lot about how organized and professional they will be. Ask for a list of references so that you can talk to their previous clients, the longer the list that they will give you, the more satisfied clients they will have.

Here are some reasons why you should look to hire a local general contractor;

·         They will know the trades that will give you the quality that you need and deserve.

·         They will know the local weather conditions and be able to advise you on what products do better in this climate and what products perform poorly.

·         Since they are local they use a lot of the same trades over and over again. This gives them some pull when it comes to getting the job done on time and when you require warranty work done on your house years later.

·         In the future once the project is finished, you will not have to go far to get repairs or warranty service.

·         If you plan to do a series of renovations overtime then they are always close to help you with the planning and executing of these projects.

·         They will know the ins and outs of the local building rules and can help you navigate through it to get your permit in a timely manner.

·         When they give you an estimate they will be able to factor in certain things like weather working conditions, soil conditions and some travel problems. These could end up costing you more money if you went with an out of the area contractor who will charge you extra.

·         You should be able to get them to give you tours of other projects they have done in your area so that you know the quality of work they do and the style that they are use too.

·         They employ local craftsmen; this can help you get to know the community and make new friends and neighbours.

·         Since they use local trades, they will be able to cut down the build time; they will know what trades are busy and what trades are available to do the work.

·         They will know where to get the best price on materials and the best quality of material.

In a world that keeps talking about going green; there is nothing more green then using local businesses. They do not travel as far to work, cutting down emissions, the money stays in the local economy and a lot of the material used on the project will not travel as far because it can be shipped from the source instead of being shipped to different locations.

Remember that the most important decisions that you will make when building a new home or renovating an older one is who you choose for your general contractor. The general contractor will be the one that makes or breaks your project and will be the one that helps it come together in a timely manner.

If you want to see what a quality general contractor should be check out our website www.villagebuilders.ca

If you require more information on general contractors email me at robabbott@villagebuilders.ca or if you have a project that you would like us to general for you feel free to contact me.

Rob Abbott

Operations Manager

Village Builders Inc.

Renovating an older home VS Demolishing and Building New (Part 1)

Building new vs. Renovation/addition Part 1

Here is a question that is posed to me at least once a month. Do I renovate my existing home or do I demolish it and start from scratch with a new build.

Part 1 will focus on the benefit of renovating/additions aspect of it.

Part 2 will focus on the benefit of demolition/new building aspect of it.

Most people always think that it’s cheaper to renovate an older home then to knock it down and rebuild it. This is true to a point.

There is a fine line when you are renovating were you need to know if you’re going to start wasting money fixing a house that is not worth fixing.

If your home is structurally sound, the outer shell of the home has been properly maintained (the roof, the siding/brick and the foundation) and it was properly done at the time of the construction then there is probably no need to demolish it.

If most of the changes that you want to do are inside the house and are more cosmetic/ updating then you should renovate. Tearing down interior walls and moving plumbing and heating lines is not that big of a job and can be down in a moderate budget. With new dust stopping protection and floor protection a lot of the work can be down without causing damage to the rest of the house that isn’t being altered. Plus this allows you to leave your furniture and other possessions in the house while it is being worked on.

Depending on your financial situation this option allows you to do the work on the house over many years instead of all at once. One thing that some home owners do when they are doing multiple renovations over many years is that they do some of the work themselves to save some money. These tasks should be limited to small demolition, cleaning up and painting. If you deviate away from these three things you start to open yourself up to problems that you will have to pay a professional to fix later. Also there is safety issue; if you start playing electrician you could hurt yourself or someone else.

If you want to add square footage adding an addition or several additions can easily be done, as long as you have adequate space on your property. Additions are an easy way to make your house more enjoyable and add value. It allows you to do something completely different than the rest of the house which would allow you to leave more of the original features in the existing house. This would allow you to bring a modern touch at a lesser cost then trying to reshape the whole existing interior.

If you have heritage laws where you live you might not be allowed to demolish the house and renovating might be the only option you have. Additions can allow you to do what you want, where a heritage society might not let you change much on the outside.

Permits for a new house are more expensive usually then the permits for renovations because of ever increasing development fees for all new buildings.

There are government grant in Ontario for raising the energy efficiency of the house from insulating to new furnaces. These grants can add up to a lot of money and are usually exactly what your house requires. They are not hard to attain, you simple need a pre renovation inspection by an energy auditor and a final inspection when your renovation project is complete.

By renovating an older house it allows you to keep the character of the house and the history of it. There are unique features in older houses, like stained glass and wood that you just can’t find any more. Sometimes taking a large older house and renovating it can add superior value to the resale of the house that you just wouldn’t get out of building a new house.

If you have to build a new house, you will be required to replace the septic system (if you have one) and sometimes you will have to drill a new well (if you have one). Renovating a house does not require you to do any of these things.

There can be a strong emotional attachment to an older house; it might be very difficult for the neighbourhood that the house is in to deal with the loss of this house. You could experience delays when applying for your building permit because it would first have to go through several committees and be open to public comment. Simply renovating the house can easily speed up the process; it will also put you in good standing with your neighbours and the community at large.

If you have an older house that is already a century old and has been properly looked after then there is no reason that the house should not last another century with proper maintenance and upkeep.

Look for part 2 of renovating vs. Demolition/new build

Part 2 will deal with the benefits of a new build.

If you would like to discuss this or any other topics in the construction industry, please feel free to email me at robabbott@villagebuilders.ca.

Or visit our website villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott

Operations Manager

Village Builders Inc.

What does it mean to be green?

Here's a question I get asked all the time by everyone. What does it mean to be green?

In an era of buzz words, there is no bigger word that causes more debate in the construction industry then “Green”.

A little back ground for you, the construction industry has always had a section that considered itself green. It was just never called that, it was referred to as “best practice”. What you need to understand is when it comes to construction you have to pay the green to get the green.

The products and practices that create your green project usually cost more and take longer to install or build. But in the long run they save you money with energy efficiency and longevity.

Here are some factors that I as a builder look for to help clients to determine if the product is to be considered green:

• If the product claims to save energy, does it save enough energy to justify the extra cost. Because money spent on this item may restrict you from buying something later.
• Spend your money on your heating/cooling system. Its the biggest cost but has the biggest impact on your monthly bills and your “carbon footprint”. If your in a rural setting installing Geothermal ground source heat pumps instead of propane or oil is one way and if your in a urban setting installing a high efficiency natural gas furnace is another.
• Insulation, Insulation, insulation. When it comes to insulation there a million different options. Adding a little insulation to the walls or the attic above the standard 5 1/2 inchs of pink in the walls and ceilings will go a long way to reducing heating and cooling costs. Foaming around windows and doors, foaming of rim joist and insulating basement floors will help. But the amount of insulation should not exceed the potential return in energy efficiency.
• Your flooring should come from a recognized green supplier. Your flooring choices are an area where you have the choice of going with a greener products. But be careful that you don't get caught up in following trends, you need to investigate the product. Flooring from the big box stores might be cheaper but can come with a cost. Hardwood flooring can come from places that don’t re-plant trees. Some flooring products like bamboo can have chemicals in it like formaldehyde or finishes that off gas for a period of time after there installed. Wood products from Canada usually come from suppliers that are by law forced to re-plant forests or use other methods like selective cutting that have less impact on the wilderness.
• In a global world were products are shipped to our shores from all over the world, a simple thing to do is buy Canadian, even buying from the United States has left of an impact. Also safety standards are higher in North America with respect to what chemicals are used and how they are produced compared to places like China and other developing country’s.
• Water conservation. The picking of your plumbing fixtures as in shower heads and toilets can be a simple way to save on water and should not cost you to much more then the conventional ones.
• Hot water. From replacing your old hot water tank to installing tank-less hot water or water on demand, you can potentially save money over many years.
• Roofing, simple fact in today’s roofing is to stay away from asphalt shingles altogether. Asphalt shingles are made from petroleum and have a limited life cycle. Products such as steel roofing or composites that are made from environmentally friendly products are a better way to go for the environment and for longevity. A steel roof will last 50 yrs or more and is completely recyclable at the end of its life.
• Something most people don't think about when they are building or renovating is where there trim comes from. If you are installing wood trim a little research goes a long way in being green. Instead of going down to the local big box store look around for a trim supplier. The good ones will be green certified, to the point were they can tell you where the wood that made the trim came from. If the place it came from has been selectively cut or if it was clear cut and replanted. Also what they do with there wood waste? Do they use it to heat the buildings? Or do they compress it into wood pucks and sell it to gardeners.

If you are truly wanting to be green a well educated and well researched contractor can help you go along way to creating a wonderful space for you to live in and is easy on the planet.

For more help in this area give me a call at 866 877 3202 or robabbott@villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott

Operations Manager

Village Builders Inc.