Gary and I are planning a reno of our condo apartment (which we have been in for almost 3 years now). The scope of the work we plan includes gutting the kitchen and master en suite bathroom, replacing the flooring (and baseboard trim) throughout and some electrical re-wiring to add enhanced (pot and track) lighting in selected areas.
So far we have completed our budget, secured our project financing and have received some design input. We have also discussed our project with two contractors and contacted two kitchen cabinetry design/manufacturing firms who are working on designs for our consideration. We have also been roaming throughout the city (mainly the Orfus Rd and Woodbridge areas) looking at various materials options.
Here is a summary outline of the work we plan to do:
Kitchen:
-Replace all wood cabinetry.
-Replace the counter top (with quartz) and glass mosaic back splash
-Install built in oven and counter-surround electric cook top surface
-Replace the flooring with limestone
-Replace and relocate the sink (we currently have a peninsula with a round bar sink which is being eliminated in the re-design) and replace the tap/faucet
-Drop the ceiling to contain pot lights
Ensuite bathroom:
-Replace and enlarge the shower stall (shower to include bench and complete in wall shower system—the shower will extend forward into space that currently houses a line closet that opens into the master bedroom)
-Replace bath-tub with air jet tub (likely MAXX or Neptune) and add new faucet and bath filler
-Replace entrance door (currently wood) with glass panel and frame less door to seamlessly connect to adjoining enlarged shower
-Replace vanity, sink bowl and faucet
-Replace wall tile and flooring
-Install under flooring heating
-Install heat lamp in exhaust fan
Elsewhere:
-Replace laminate hardwood flooring and carpeting (in bedrooms) with engineered hardwood and install higher baseboard trim
-Install track lighting in living room
-Remove speckled living room ceiling and install flat ceiling
-Install pot lighting in hallway
-Relocate existing master en suite vanity counter top to 2nd washroom
I will post updates to this blog from time to time as we lock in our choices and as the various stages of work progress. We are (perhaps naively) optimistic of having much of the work complete before the new year.
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4 comments:
From our experience having lived with the heated floors for over 2 years, I don't think you'll need the heat lamp and the heated floors.
Have you have any quotes on the price and time to remove the speckled ceiling? Do you plan to live in the unit while the ceiling is being scraped? The only people I know that have done it, did it as part of a much larger project where they were moving out of the unit anyway.
Jeff:
Thanks for the comments. We will probably delete the heat lamp to save $ (both on thne job and the power) and to simplify the wiring.
We are only doing the ceiling scrape in the LR and halls. Someone else in our building had it done and confirms that it is messy. The contractor has quoted $900 for that job.
We will be gone from the unit for 2 weeks (on vacation) when some of the work is being completed. All furniture is being sold or removed.
I have posted some more comments on materials and supplieies-- would also welcome your comments on that.
Based on our very recent experience, I would VERY strongly suggest that you schedule the work when you are in the City. Two weeks away is a VERY long time - you need to be onsite every single day if you want to try and avoid costly changes. We spent a year planning our renovation, and still had decisions to make during every step of the actual work.
Also, if you use slate anywhere near water (i.e. in the shower), make sure that it is sealed and re-sealed properly. We had to replace all the slate in our 5 year old bathroom as it was leeching the mineral deposits in the tile (looked like rust stains).
You should also consider heating the limestone floors in the kitchen - once you have one heated floor, you're going to want all tile floors heated.
We put in an Oceania airjet tub, and so far, we've been very happy.
Be very careful with the
"shower system" from Taps - check and double check that they are ordering all of the individual parts. They neglected to tell us that we needed to order a water flow control, and our project was delayed for over 2 weeks while we waited for the part to be delivered.
And don't think about what they say about renos taking twice as long and costing twice as much as what you planned - ours cost 3 times as much and took 2 1/2 times as long!
LawrenceM: Thanks for your comments. Its always useful to get practical feedback from someone who has been thru a similar reno experience.
We are actually only hoping to get some of the dirty prelim. work (tear down and ceiling scrape) underway while we are away on the two week vacation. Most of the re-build will happen when we are back in the city and able to monitor daily progress. Did you live in your home throughout the period the work was underway? We have been advised that we should expect that we may need to de-camp to other quarters for some intervals (and need to include a hotel / dining out allowance in our budgeted funds).
Interesting comments about the slate floor/wall tiles. I have heard of others encountering similar problems due to inadequate sealing. We will discuss this issue with our contractor at our next meeting. Fortunately, its not too late for us to select another material for the shower area (tho I really like the look of slate).
We have been fore-warned to hold a contingency reserve of 20% in our budgeted project funding. There is no way we can afford our actual expenditures ballooning to 2 - 3 times estimate. Also the condo board will not grant an unlimited window to complete the renos, as they approve the timetable as part of the submitted plans. The bottom line is that there can be little tolerance for "scope creep" on our project once the plans are finalized and work is underway. We have been clear with the suppliers that we expect estimates / quotes and the work schedule to be realistic and accurate, based on the approved locked in plans. Two of the references one of the contractors submitted claim that work was completed early and at or below budget, so that is an encouraging sign!
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