Renovating The Exterior Of A Century Home

There are a lot of old century homes in the rural area's of Ontario, the great thing about century homes is that they av survived for over a century (100 years). The bad thing is that a lot of the times because they have survived so long that people stop maintaining the old side of them and when it gets to the point that they need to be updated or repaired they don't know what to do because it seems like a daunting task.

Repairing or renovating the outside of a century home is not easy, it's not simple and its not usually cheap. The good thing though is as long as the bones of the century home are in good shape then the outside renovation should last a long time once it's completed and completed correctly.

Most century homes are brick, now brick is great if it's been kept up with, but like most century homes that need major renovations the brick gets to the point where its not worth repairing. There are a lot reasons why the brick on a century home can be compromised;

• Foundation shifting. A lot of century homes are built on stone or ruble foundations, over time these foundations shift and move. This movement can cause cracking in the brick above, cracking that isn't a cause for concern where it comes from the home becoming structurally unsound but it does make repairing the brick properly nearly impossible.
• Water penetration. If water has gotten into the brick overtime the face of the brick will start to shatter and fall off. There is no treatment for this, only replacement of the bricks if possible.
• Sandblasted. There was a trend years ago that the best way to clean brick was to sand blast them. This actually has disastrous affects on brick. It removes the skin of the brick allowing moisture in destroying the clay based brick.
• Painted brick. A lot of people wanted to change the look of the outside of a century home went and painted the brick. Once brick is painted there is no way to return the brick to its original colour.
• Stucco. Some people wanting to cover up damaged or cracked brick opted to cover the brick in stucco or parging. What happens is that the parging or stucco cracks over time because the brick behind it continues to move and shift.

So what do you do? Remove the brick? You could but at that point you are changing a large part of the house. 

What we have found is that if you can actually cover it in new siding. Cement or wood siding is the best as it has the strength to stay in place. Wood is the preferred method because unlike cement siding wood will bend allowing you to work easier on an un level surface like a century home.

There are several things that you will have to do to make sure that your siding lasts a long time on the outside of your century home;

1. House wrap. You have to install house wrap on top of the brick, this is to help with the moisture that will end up behind the siding.
2. Strapping. Wood siding requires that you strap the building. This is to help with installation and also to allow the moisture to run down the back side and out.
3. Air movement. You have to allow air movement behind the siding. The strapping helps with that but it only works if there is a way for the air to get from the bottom of the siding to the too of the siding and vice versa. Most sidings now have flashings that allow for this at the top and bottom and around windows and doors.
4. You will need to change the windows and doors if they are not new. Once you change the siding you will not want to replace the windows and doors.
5. New flashings. You will have to install new flashings around all the windows and doors and around the window sills. 
6. Caulking. This is one of the most important jobs that gets overlooked. Once you have completed the siding you have to go back around and caulk all the joints in the siding. Everywhere it attaches to windows/doors and at the corners.

The biggest thing you will need is to find the right contractor. A contractor that knows what they are doing and will properly install your siding for you.

The better your contractor the better the results you will have in the end.

Rob Abbott 

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Renovating in Creemore

Renovating in Creemore

If you’re planning to renovate your home in the Creemore area you have chosen a wonderful place to invest your money and your time. Any upgrades you do to your home here will give an immediate return on your investment. Creemore has become one of the premier places to own a home or cottage in all of Ontario.

Since you’re planning to spend your hard earned money on your home then you should be doing it the right way. You should do it in a way that will give you the maximum return on your investment and it should turn out to be the home you always wanted. The worst feeling in the world is when you have spent thousands of dollars on renovations and at the end of the project it turns out not to look like what you had envisioned in your mind.

There are ways to avoid this happening to you. The most important thing you can do is hire a professional to do your renovating, a professional that has the experience to do your job in the high quality that you expect.

Here are some things that you should be looking for when you are going to hire a renovator;

·         Insurance. This might sound like an obvious thing that your renovator will have insurance, but it’s not as simple as you think. You need to make sure that they have the right insurance and the proper amount. What I mean by the right insurance is that they need insurance depending on what they are doing in your home. If they are renovating a bathroom and you are still going to be living in the house then that insurance needs to reflect that the homeowner is living on the property. The right amount of insurance is extremely important, if the renovator has a million dollars in insurance that’s sounds like a lot until you find out that your house and all its contents are worth 1.5 million to replace. If the worst happens you want to be able to have all your possessions replaced and your house rebuilt.

·         References. The builder/renovator should be able to give you a list of renovations that they have done in the area and the email or phone numbers of the homeowners so that you can call to ask them how the project turned out.

·         Quality. Ask around the area and find out what type of renovations that they do. You do not want to hire a contractor that has no experience doing high end renovations. A contractor might mean well but if they have never done a certain type of work they may become overwhelmed.

·         Ask a lot of questions. A renovator that has nothing to hide will welcome your questions. Ask about what they think of what you plan to do, do they have any suggestions that would make the job turn out better? Ask them how they are going to protect your property while their working around it. Ask them how they are going to control dust, dirt and debris.

·         Get a proper quote. Get the quote in writing. Any contractor that is a true professional will give you a written quote that states clearly what you are getting in the renovation and what you are not.

·         Designs. Find out if they do design and what is the charge for design. Try to find a renovator that has an on staff designer or works closely with a local designer. This is one of the most important aspects of renovating. If you can get the drawings done by the builder then you will be able to see exactly what you are getting. This will allow you to work with the designer to make changes before you even start. Every time you change something in a renovation after the renovation has already started it cost money. But if you can get drawings and make your changes before the builder even starts then you can reduce or eliminate that extra cost.

This is the single biggest way to ensure that you get the maximum return on your investment. A designer turns a simple renovation into a work of art, like what you see in magazines. Designers are able to give you that wow factor that everyone wants and most people don’t know how to get.

·         Schedule. Ask when they can start, when they will be finished and when do you as the homeowner need to be there to make decisions. If this is your cottage or second home and you are not going to be around all the time you will want to know when you need to be there. Or when you need to make important decisions like the choosing of fixtures, layouts and colours. A lot of this can be done over the phone or via email, but there are times when you simply have to be there to understand some of the choices that you are being asked to make.

·         Hire a contractor that can communicate in the modern world. A lot of older contractors do not like cell phones and do not use email. You want to be able to communicate with your contractor easily. In today’s world it’s not wrong to ask for a contractor that can communicate with the convenience that you are used too.

·         Hire a contractor that has a support team. A professional renovating contractor will have employees. You want to be able to call them and be able to talk to someone. No matter if it’s the operations manager, the owner or a secretary you want to hire a contractor professional with a support staff.

·         Hire someone that you are comfortable with being in your home alone without you. This contractor is going to be in your house alone without you more then he will be in your home with you. You need to be able to trust them and the sub trades that they are going to bring in to your home.

When you are planning to renovate in the Creemore area and you follow the points that I have laid out in this article you should come and check out Village Builders.

We are at 3 Caroline St. East in the village of Creemore. Check us out at www.villagebuilders.ca

If you are thinking about renovating and are looking for a builder or if you are just looking for a designer feel free to email me at robabbott@villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott

Operations Manager

Village Builders Inc.