Assessing Your Home Renovation Project

Assessing Your Home Renovation Project

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Over the years, weve developed a good understanding of how buildings perform. Construction techniques for new homes have changed rapidly. Most of these improved techniques also apply to renovations.

If you plan carefully, you can renovate your home to make it look better, work better, last longer and be more comfortable. Before renovating, its important to assess the condition of your home to determine if there are any significant underlying problems that must be addressed before or during your planned renovation project.



Figure 1: Problems that should be addressed

Common Situations

In Canada, we need affordable houses to provide shelter from the elements. We also want our homes to be pleasant, comfortable and attractive.

Homeowners have higher expectations than in the past, particularly about comfort and interior design. Renovations are an opportunity to address some of these expectations.

Some of the reasons people decide to renovate are to:

Upgrade or improve outdated or deteriorated systems replacing an outdated furnace, old siding or windows are common upgrades.
Maintain and repair various elements of their house reshingling a roof or fixing foundation cracks are typical renovations.
Address lifestyle needs converting unused attic space to living quarters, add a sunroom or build a home office.
Healthy Housing

Renovating is an ideal time to make your house healthier for you, the community and the environment. When assessing your renovation project, be sure to consider the five essentials of Healthy Housing.

House as a System

A house is much more than just four walls and a roof its an interactive system made up of many components including the basic structure, heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, the external environment and the occupants. Each component influences the performance of the entire system. A renovation provides an opportunity to improve how your house performs.

As you assess your renovation project, ask yourself how changing particular components will affect the performance of the whole house. For example, as part of a bathroom renovation you may want to add a hot tub that will generate large amounts of humidity during operation.Your existing ventilation may be inadequate to handle the increased moisture levels. It will be important to provide proper ventilation to avoid mold growth, indoor air quality (IAQ) problems and damage to the structure or finishes. You may need to consult with a qualified home inspector or a professional renovator.


About the Author:
John Carle
RE/MAX Real Estate Edmonton
102 12650 151 Ave
Edmonton, AB T5X 0A1
John@Knock-Knock.ca
http://www.knock-knock.ca
780-937-7534 / 780-701-9090



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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