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by
Allan Britnell
illustrations by Jason Schneider |
ZEN AND THE ART OF HOME RENOVATION (part
2) |
Material
World
While there’s certainly some truth to the saying “you
get what you pay for,” sometimes you can pick up a lot
more for a lot less. For almost any home-reno project, there
are a number of choices in products and materials that can make
or break a budget.
“With kitchen and bathroom renovations in particular,
finishing materials are what dictate the amount that project
is going to cost,” says Easson.
It becomes a matter of picking and choosing what’s right
for you. Do you spend $1,200 or $200 on a kitchen faucet? A
granite countertop is gorgeous, but you can have laminate installed
for half the price. (That said, Ed McDonald, owner of Victoria’s
MAC Renovations, says counters might be one area in which to
splurge: “When you’re trying to make a cheaper kitchen
look nicer, the countertops are what people notice.”)
Custom cabinets are nice, but you can pick up ready-made, mix-and-match
components for a fraction of the cost. Ikea’s DIY kitchens,
for example, start at $65 per linear foot. And the range in
flooring runs from peel-and-stick linoleum starting at less
than $1 per sq. ft. to marble tiles at $20 or more for the same
dimensions.
Trim is another area in which you can save money. If you’re
going to paint window casings and baseboards, you can buy finger-joint
or composite products for a third less than their solid-wood
equivalents.
Similar logic applies to outdoor projects. “The same deck
design can go for $7,000 in pressure-treated wood and up to
$20,000 in composite,” says Your Deck Company’s
Todd Mounsey.
Material choices made, you can save even more money by shopping
around. You don’t even have to leave the house to do it.
A few minutes online or a couple of phone calls and you can
easily find out who has the cheapest lumber, drywall or light
fixtures. While I’ve done both to research pricing, I’m
generally a more tactile person and like to have things in my
hand to help suss out what they’re worth. I’m lucky
enough to have a plaza near my downtown Toronto home with a
Rona, Home Depot and monster-sized Canadian Tire. Always budget-conscious,
I’ll gladly criss-cross the parking lot to save a dime
per board foot of lumber here, a few dollars on light fixtures
there. (Prices should get even more competitive when the U.S.
chain Lowe’s begins to open its first Canadian stores
sometime in 2007.)
But don’t limit your shopping to the big-box stores. Habitat
for Humanity runs ReStore outlets across the country at which
you can pick up discount renovation supplies, at the same time
reducing landfill waste and helping to support the organization’s
homebuilding projects. Web shoppers know they can find anything
imaginable on eBay or www.craigslist.com.
And my wife has picked up everything from a chandelier to area
rugs at the local auction house for a fraction of what those
furnishings retail for new.
Finally, ask your contractor for advice. Many have trade discounts
from suppliers that they can pass on to you. They may even have
old samples or mis-ordered windows and doors cluttering up their
warehouse that they’d be happy to sell for a song.
Regardless of project size, Easson advises homeowners to make
a list of all the finish materials they’ll need and to
“start shopping around before construction. That way,
you’re not feeling pressured and rushing into decisions.”
That’s good advice to take as you budget for your next
big reno.
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1.
Contractor shopping | 2.
Finding the right materials
3. Other renovation costs |
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