Glen's Reno Series. Volume 2. Budget

Now that you've had your fill of DIY shows, magazine reading and net surfing, you probably have an idea of what your project will need to look like. Your fuzzy vision of what you wanted in the beginning now looks much sharper and now you can bring that vision even more clarity by entering into the next phase: Budget.

You may ask yourself why you are doing a budget at this stage. Shouldn't I just be going to a contractor and asking him how much it will cost? No, no, no. A budget does two main things. It clarifies what you want instead of the contractor trying to imagine what you want. Secondly, it prepares you for the design stage and forces you to be realistic about what you are trying to achieve. Sure that vanity is a stunning piece but substituting it for another less expensive one means simply changing a line item on your spreadsheet and moving forward.

By no means are you going to be locked into this number that you initially arrive at. Budget numbers move up and down constantly, but if you have your spreadsheet handy, its going to save you a lot of guesswork and keep you from the inevitable denial that can happen when you let costs go out of control.

For the purposes of this exercise we are going to use a bathroom project as an example. Because there are so many options for materials and fixtures in a bathroom it provides a great way to show how a budget will typically get accomplished.

To install a modest bathroom we will start at $4000. This will include a five foot tub/shower unit, a vanity/ sink, and a toilet.  Accessories like towel bars would also be included. Flooring would be vinyl. Anything like removing old fixtures and flooring, moving a wall, adding a baseboard heater, lighting, moving plumbing lines would be extra. This is about as basic as it can get. Any movement from here is going to be up.

In a bathroom we would begin with a list of fixtures and the cost. A spreadsheet would look like this:

 

	Bathroom Project 2012
Tub		300
Flooring		250
Vanity/ Sink		300
Flush		150
Tile in Tub/Shower		600
Plumber		1500
Shower Fixture		300
Faucet		75
Accessories		75
Painting		400
		3950

Like I said, this is the bare minimum. No fancy stuff at all but it gives you a good baseline from which to begin.

So, that two-page spread of your dream bathroom that you saw may not be the one priced above. Look at that tub online and you may find that its a fifteen hundred dollar fixture and not the three hundred dollar entry level one. In bathrooms it is very common that a premium fixture is ten times the cost of an entry level one. That fifty dollar faucet for your sink can easily be replaced with a five hundred dollar one. Apply that to your whole budget and suddenly you have a forty thousand dollar bathroom. Think that's crazy? Well you may just be right, but it is happening every day.

Budget is a good time for substituting materials from your concept and moving them up or down. Want something a little fancier for your vanity than laminate? Throw in a few hundred bucks extra for a Corian counter top. That glass mosaic tile may be nice, but boy is it pricey! Try some subway tiles and watch your price go way down. Deciding now on budget realities can clear your head for when it comes to design time.

So here is the real issue: How can I know how much this will cost me roughly before I talk to a pro? Well, there is the Internet and items like tubs and sinks can be easily priced. But what about services? Most people have no idea how much a plumber charges. Fortunately, someone has done a lot of work to compile this information and it lists just about everything you could imagine that you'd want done around your home. The market that these prices are listed for is very similar to our own and it'll give you a great basis from which to go on to the next phases of your project.

When calculating your budget, try to think of every possible thing. Will I need ventilation for the bathroom? Does the electrical meet code? Will I need to re-install the drywall after I tear off the old wall-paper? Be realistic and don't cheat yourself now and be disappointed later. Make that list as long as possible. Look at every item. Flooring, paint, electrical, demolition, tipping fees, everything. Put it all in the spreadsheet.

Moving into the next phase, design, you'll be coming back to the budget and tweaking it a little. Keep your spreadsheet handy so that you can update your changes.

The design phase is exciting and you'll get to express your creativity. I'll have some great tips on this stage so stay tuned.

Some Music News

Its not all work around here at Echelon. My wife, who is involved with a marketing group, was producing a for-broadcast commercial. They needed a jingle for "The Give" campaign at the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation. So, after a few hours of writing and recording I "Gave" them the 30 seconds of music behind this commercial... that was my donation.

http://www.foundationhealthcarepartnership.ca/sjrhf/campaigns

I know all of the folks who pitched in on this and its nice to know that I have some truly creative friends. Somebody nominate these people for something! My wife made the clouds!

I love the home-spun feeling on the piece itself. Its very Maritime-y.

If you are inspired to do so after viewing, maybe you'd like to make your own give.

Glen's Reno Series/Volume 1: Concepts

Through a series of installments on this blog I am going to walk you through the steps that I have deemed necessary to conquer your home improvement project. Be it large or small there are myriad details to cover and I want you to know how they fall into place. But what may surprise many is just how little information a good contractor needs to get your project started. Remember, most builders are just like you; honest, hard working people who live on their reputation. They don't want to lead you astray, but things will fall apart quickly if there is a misunderstanding. I'll walk you through key elements in the proper order for a successfully project; concept, budget, design, choosing a contractor, negotiations, contract, schedule, construction, deficiencies and signing off.

There is a whole other issue that I'd like to cover someday called "The Holmes Effect". Without question Mike is a hero. He has raised the bar on what is expected from a contractor. I have witnessed some downright dodgy workmanship even here in a small city like Saint John, so no one is immune. What Mike has done though is scare some folks off of getting work done in their homes for fear of getting burned. This is wrong. "Get it in writing" is key. But what if you don't know the language? This series of articles will help you nail the language and, in a linear and logical way, understand what you want and help you achieve that goal.

In the first of the series we are going to cover Concept.

The conceptual stage is often goes like this: you wanting to have something in your home that you don't. It'll be vague at first. Something like, "boy, I wish we had more room for the kids to play." Or, "Dear, this bathroom really needs help." Or simply, "We need more space!"

The number one enemy most people is fear of the unknown. Oh the unknown. The paint, tile, fixtures, flooring, costs. Understandably its enough to drive real fear into the hearts of those looking to start a project. I Have a handy trick for slaying that fear and it can be found in any grocery store. Its called... the magazine.

Seriously, none of us are designers. Some designers aren't! We are all good at our jobs but we can't be everything. If we spend our time working all day and the rest of it with our families how are we supposed to know whats trending, what will look good enough to sell in five years or what will please us even in the short term.

Fortunately, there is a whole industry out there with the exclusive goal of helping us make up our minds when it comes to design in our homes. Designers earn their bread not just by going into homes and being all fru fru, but by featuring their designs in magazines. It gives us an easy way to sample whats out there, from classics to the hot trenders. Space in those magazines, and books too, is highly competitive and by the time it goes to print you are getting the cream of the crop. Pick out one or two who's cover showcases a project like yours and take a look through. After spending twenty bucks you are definitely going to find something that you love.  Mix and match the concepts that you find to complete the vision in your mind that is now coming together. Start being organized now and bookmark those things that you find interesting and save them for later on in the process. You may even want to take those concepts to a designer if you want some help, but remember. A good designer merely takes the ideas that you have and finesses them. That extra step is up to you. Good tip: after you've nailed down some concepts show them to your partner. Nothing gets someone on side like visuals and it'll pave the way for a smooth ride later on.

Another tip: The concept stage is not the time to be wandering around home improvement centers looking for a solution to fall from the room trusses. You didn't learn to bake by walking down the flour isle. Don't design your kitchen around the cabinet you saw on sale day. The shopping part comes much later, after you've cemented your design.

So keep those concepts that you have found. You'll be going into the budget phase next and they will help you make good choices in the later stages. By now, the fear will be a distant memory and you'll be looking forward to your new project.