Sunday, January 31, 2010

Introduction

This is a jouney how I (an average 28 year old guy) and my wife maintain, fix, repair and renovate our 100 year old family home. We purchased this house in August 2008 for a low price as there is tons of updating work and repairs that are required to make it a safe, efficient and comfortable, modern house. We plan to do all the renovating ourselves while following the city building codes and without outsourcing contractors unless they are absolutely necessary to keep the job safe and legal.
We will be renovating this house from the foundation, up. Everything, including actual foundation repairs, insulating the floors and walls, renovating the kitchen and bathroom, new flooring, drywall and doors in every room, updating windows and siding, repair the roof, fixing facia and unvented soffit, resurfacing the driveway, adding unilock patios and retaining walls, clearing out the overgrown yard, grass seeding, fix and repair sheds, new fireplace and patio.

Any plumbing and electrical repairs should be contracted to a qualified professional. Make sure to do your research before hiring a contractor to do any job. Ask if they have a plumbing or electrical certificate plus their experience and any referrals. You often get what you pay for so I recommend that you get several quotes, compare and hire somebody with experience who gives an average quote. ALWAYS make a paper contract before you give them any money, otherwise you may end up paying much more than quoted and worse be left with an incomplete or unsatisfactory job.