If you are looking for the best bang for your renovation dollar, kitchens and bathrooms are still considered to be the projects with the highest potential to add or maintain value in a home.
If you are considering selling your home in the near future, talk to a REALTOR® for tips on how to make your home more appealing and “saleable.” You may find that a new kitchen is not in your best interests and a fresh coat of paint and some minor repairs are all that’s needed. Because renovating a kitchen can be one of the more expensive projects a homeowner will undertake, you’ll want to consider the length of time you expect to stay in your house.
According to the Appraisal Institute of Canada, if you are remodelling your kitchen as a face-lift prior to selling it, it’s recommended that you spend no more than 10-15% of the cost of your house. If you are going to remain in your house for more than five years, you can spend 25% or more – and in most cases you will recoup the cost of the renovation when you sell.
How much will it cost?
Kitchen renovations can cost you anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 for a cosmetic facelift with no new cabinets, plumbing or electrical changes. Look to spend at least $10,000 if you choose new low-end cabinetry, counters, appliances, flooring, paint, and some minor structural changes. However, the sky’s the limit when it comes to a new kitchen and you can expect to pay $20,000 and up for high quality cabinets, custom work and many upgrades.
Keeping costs down
There are ways to cut costs when updating your kitchen without sacrificing quality.
Regardless of what you do budget, don't skimp on design, appliances, or labor. These are the basis for a functional kitchen and you should get the best you can afford. To keep costs to a minimum, use stock cabinets instead of custom work, laminates instead of solids, and hang on to your current appliances, if you can. Also try to keep your existing plumbing and electrical and don't make structural changes to the room.
Planning ahead in detail will also save you money. Any changes or corrections halfway through the process will be expensive.
Tips for low cost kitchen makeovers
If your budget is tight and smaller projects are what you’re aiming for, here are a few ideas:
Resurface or repaint old cupboards
Paint is inexpensive and can transform wooden cupboards in a matter of hours. Try a new painting technique, or a textured look, or a zesty combination of colours. You can also resurface old cupboards with wood laminate, or one of the new, non-traditional plastic-based materials that resist chipping, denting and staining. Formica counter tops, for example, provide the look and feel of expensive solid surfacing at about half the cost.
Use more glass
Replace a few cabinets with glass ones. Glass and mirrors in a room add the illusion of more space, as well as glamour -- especially if you add interior lights to your new cupboards.
Change your hardware
Simply adding new cabinet and drawer handles can change the look of a kitchen! With the many choices in colour, size and style of drawer knobs and handles, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.
Floor and wall facelifts
Paint, wallpaper and flooring in a variety of textures, styles, colours and patterns can easily spice up a bland kitchen. Stencil a border around a window, below a ceiling, or between the cupboards and the counter tops and you can change the mood overnight.
Be innovative
A good kitchen should not only look great, but stand up to daily wear and tear. It should function well and enable people to move freely between it and related areas of the house.
If you plan to completely remodel the kitchen, be honest about your ability. You may want to leave this important job in the hands of an expert who can do the work quickly and professionally. A kitchen designer/contractor can suggest unique ideas and come up with creative solutions to particular problems. Finally, be sure to get at least two bids on the work you plan to do and compare these carefully.
REALTOR® is a registered trademark of REALTOR Canada Inc., a company owned equally by The Canadian Real Estate Association and the National Association of REALTORS® and refers to registered real estate practitioners who are members of The Canadian Real Estate Association. Used under license.
SOURCE: OREA
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Keeping Warm and Safe This Winter
Your heating system
A heating system converts fuel into heat which then flows through a house. The efficiency of a heating system depends on the amount of fuel consumed to meet heating needs. Using less fuel means your system has increased its energy efficiency.
Check your heating system first
One way to maximize output using the least amount of fuel is to reduce air leakage. Before deciding to replace or upgrade your present heating system you will have to consider how much of your present system can be saved. Are the heating ducts or water distribution pipes in good condition? Oil and gas fired furnaces require a constant supply of air to operate, because fire needs oxygen to burn. An air-starved furnace can cause carbon monoxide to build-up in quantities that can be dangerous.
Additional ventilation can sometimes be required in houses with heating systems that require little or no indoor air, electrically heated homes, homes with chimney-free condensing furnaces, or houses with a fuel burning furnace enclosed in a room with air for combustion from the outside.
Improve heating efficiency
If you decide to change your system, you'll have to consider what type of fuel you want to use. Cost and availability of fuel is usually the deciding factor. If you're keeping your present system, here are a few ways you can improve its operation.
Hot air ducts are notorious wasters of heat and money. If your basement feels too warm, too much heat is probably seeping out of your ducts. You can seal all joints and seams in the ducting with vinyl duct tape. With forced air-systems, the furnace filters should be changed regularly.
With hot water systems, the exposed accessible heating pipes should be insulated with flexible foil- faced fiberglass at least 19mm thick. If there is an aquastat on the boiler, (a water temperature control) the water temperature can be reduced to about 49 Celsius of 120 Fahrenheit during warmer parts of the heating season. (If your boiler is made of stainless steel, or if your main boiler also heats your domestic hot water, you shouldn't reduce the water).
"Downsizing" your oil furnace can reduce fuel bills by seven to 10 per cent. Retention head burners mix the air and oil spray very quickly which permits the combustion of oil with less air. Less air entering the burner means that less heat escapes out the chimney.
If you think you might be having problems with household air supply, contact a registered heating contractor for advice. Source: OREA
A heating system converts fuel into heat which then flows through a house. The efficiency of a heating system depends on the amount of fuel consumed to meet heating needs. Using less fuel means your system has increased its energy efficiency.
Check your heating system first
One way to maximize output using the least amount of fuel is to reduce air leakage. Before deciding to replace or upgrade your present heating system you will have to consider how much of your present system can be saved. Are the heating ducts or water distribution pipes in good condition? Oil and gas fired furnaces require a constant supply of air to operate, because fire needs oxygen to burn. An air-starved furnace can cause carbon monoxide to build-up in quantities that can be dangerous.
Additional ventilation can sometimes be required in houses with heating systems that require little or no indoor air, electrically heated homes, homes with chimney-free condensing furnaces, or houses with a fuel burning furnace enclosed in a room with air for combustion from the outside.
Improve heating efficiency
If you decide to change your system, you'll have to consider what type of fuel you want to use. Cost and availability of fuel is usually the deciding factor. If you're keeping your present system, here are a few ways you can improve its operation.
Hot air ducts are notorious wasters of heat and money. If your basement feels too warm, too much heat is probably seeping out of your ducts. You can seal all joints and seams in the ducting with vinyl duct tape. With forced air-systems, the furnace filters should be changed regularly.
With hot water systems, the exposed accessible heating pipes should be insulated with flexible foil- faced fiberglass at least 19mm thick. If there is an aquastat on the boiler, (a water temperature control) the water temperature can be reduced to about 49 Celsius of 120 Fahrenheit during warmer parts of the heating season. (If your boiler is made of stainless steel, or if your main boiler also heats your domestic hot water, you shouldn't reduce the water).
"Downsizing" your oil furnace can reduce fuel bills by seven to 10 per cent. Retention head burners mix the air and oil spray very quickly which permits the combustion of oil with less air. Less air entering the burner means that less heat escapes out the chimney.
If you think you might be having problems with household air supply, contact a registered heating contractor for advice. Source: OREA
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