Chapter 3 ----- learning about the project

     With the expanded list that we made in the first chapter we are going to learn about each step that needs to be taken.  We do this so when you speak to the contractor and make a contract with him you know what is going on, what steps are being taken and to make sure there are no unwanted short cuts being taken. 

 

      Now there are several sources to learn from, always get info from more than one source.  The internet is one source of good info, unfortunately the internet has a lot of bad advice as well.  One of the good places to go on the net is YouTube or other video streaming sources, the videos will give you a good visual learning progression. With the You Tube channel the comments will give a good indicator whether it is good advice or bad, just stay away from the videos that have comments turned off (they may not be the best of advice).  Another good learning source is the manufacturers’ websites, some of them have the instruction manuals and/or videos on their websites.  Lumber stores, home improvement stores, and hardware stores are another good resource to go to learn about the products that are available for your renovation project.  While at these stores and talking to the staff there are several questions one can ask.  What are the steps to be taken?  What other materials that are needed?  Generally how long does each job take?  What is the difficulty level of the job?  Yeah I know this is a lot of work but learning about the different products and the way they are installed is very important step in finding the right contractor, it will help to know what the contractor is doing so you don’t have your nice new hardwood flooring that is just supposed to be nailed down glued to the subfloor.

     

      Remember the list we were working on, now let us start with the first job on the list which is:

1.      Remove bricks, carpet, trim and dispose of waste.  This part seems to be pretty straight forward, taking the bricks of the wall right?  Well there is going to be damage to the wall, so would it be better to just patch all the holes that can be there or replace all the drywall?  It might be easier and more cost effective if we just put another layer of ¼ drywall on top of the existing drywall.  That is something you can discuss with your contractor as well as who will be responsible for the removal of debris.  Phoning around the different waste disposal companies and getting quotes on the different sizes of bins and how much the dumping of garbage is per tonne will help with the pricing of the budget that you will be coming up with.

2.      Put down wood floor first as to not damage tile hearth.  So we are at the stage with laying the hardwood floor down.  You will learn that hardwood floors can only be laid on plywood floors and not on the wafer board subfloors.  If you have wafer board subfloor you will need to lay down a thin 1/8 underlayment board before you put down the hardwood.  It is also a good idea to screw the subfloor down to the joists to minimize squeaking.  You will also learn that a barrier like construction paper needs to go down between the hardwood and subfloor.  Now once you put the hardwood down lay a good layer of construction paper down on top of the hardwood floor to protect it from the rest of the job.  At this stage you will also getting a general idea of the price of the wood and accessories for your budget later.

Step 3 and 5 are similar since they involve tile.  You will find out what kind of tile do you want, what kind of adhesive that is required, like you don’t want to use a grey mastic behind white tiles because of bleed through.  You also don’t want to use PL premium but a good tile adhesive.  Again finding you a general idea of price for the budget

4.      Build or install the fireplace mantel is a little more difficult unless you have a good eye for detail but going around and looking at the store bought mantels can give you an idea for price if those don’t match what you want.  Just remember getting custom made pieces like that is nicer, better quality and look a lot more elegant that just plain old store bought one.  Try and find a picture of one that you would like so the different contractors are quoting on the same thing.

Steps 6, 7, 8 are the same and is just going around and finding the right trim that you would like.  The baseboard is going to have to be thick enough to cover the gap between the hardwood floor and wall.  The gap is there for expansion and contraction of the wood during the different seasons.  You will also be choosing a quarter round or some people are using the door stop to help with the covering the gap.  You also want to choose casing that matches the baseboard in looks and thickness.  And also finding out the right crown moulding that you would like.  Measure the amount needed so you can get the material cost for the budget. 

9.  For paint it is just finding out the amount of paint needed for the room to find the cost.

So now we know what to expect from the amount of work that there is to be done.  Now in the next chapter we will use what we learned here to create the budget.