Photo Credit : Renomark.ca
It’s a tough decision.
I was speaking with one of BILD’s RenoMark renovators, Lorenzo Marchelletta, of Super 7 Group about it a few weeks ago. In March, Super 7 won a BILD Renovation and Custom Home Award for renovation under $75,000. The award-winning project was completed for a Thornhill family that was trying to decide if they should sell or re-invest in their home and renovate. The family decided to work with the professional renovation company to design and plan a renovation that would re-invent the use of the main floor space and add magazine-worthy finishes.
Make the house you’re living in your dream home, is Lorenzo’s advice. Inquire and meet with a professional renovator is the first step. As I mentioned in my last few columns — this is the third in a series featuring invaluable lessons from our RenoMark renovators and award winners — it’s important that you find the right renovator for you and your project.
To do that, I always suggest visiting www.renomark.ca because there’s a database for GTA RenoMark members that can be filtered by neighbourhood and by type of project. The companies listed are BILD members and are held to a higher standard. As RenoMark members, they agree to a Code of Conduct that includes providing a written contract, a two-year warranty and a minimum $2 million in liability insurance.
A BILD member since 2005, Super 7 Group has been renovating and custom building homes across the GTA for 23 years and Lorenzo is a third-generation builder. He said something else to me that I want to pass on. Renovating is not just about adding resale value to your home; it’s about taking care of your home.
If you’re weighing the cost to renovate against the cost to move, a professional contractor can tell you what a project costs and why — and it’s important to be prepared to learn and not have any preconceived notions. Taking care of your home might mean bringing electrical components up to the standard of the Ontario Building Code, or it could mean changing plumbing fixtures to conserve water or just choosing the right finishes that fit the budget.
All of this should be on the table before there’s dust in the room and it will definitely help you make an informed decision.
So the next time you find yourself wondering, should I stay or should I go, seek some advice from a professional contractor and you might just find yourself singing a different tune.
Bryan Tuckey is President and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and can be found on Twitter (twitter.com/bildgta), Facebook (facebook.com/bildgta), Youtube (youtube.com/bildgta) and BILD’s official online blog (bildblogs.ca).
