Home renovation in Halifax

Our 1st year in Canada was quite eventful. We were able to purchase our 1st home in Halifax, Canada. This home was structurally good and we loved the home design but there were few things that needed work. This option was way better than purchasing a new home that would have cost us around $100K more with a design that we didn't like. So we purchased an old home and decided to renovate as necessary.

Rome was NOT built in a day!!

When you buy a home there is a mandatory inspection which will report every big and small finding. Besides based on your needs, you might want to change a few things. So, make a list of the things you want fixed and prioritize it.  These things not only take time and money but also the RIGHT approach and people. 

What type of handymen would you need?

Even for us, it was the 1st time we were doing a renovation and we weren't sure. There are YouTube videos for this too. This is also helpful when you have conversations with them.

• If you want to redo walls, redo your bathrooms, convert an open space into a room - You would need a drywall contractor.
• You might also need an electrician if you are moving the wiring. You will have to coordinate with the drywall contractor and electrician.

Finding the right people to do the work

Most people are not handymen and so you would need a firm or a contractor who would do the job. Extremely important - We recommend that you request reviews or find online reviews of the people/firm you are hiring.  This is because you would not just be spending money but also letting them in your house to do the job.  Besides, some of these jobs if left half-done can be dangerous.  So reliability is very important to ensure that the work is completed with quality.

In our friend circle, no one had done a renovation recently and so no one had any leads on handymen. We looked up a few renovation companies and they gave us quotes. These companies are way too expensive. They gave us a quote for 27000 CAD for upgrading the basement! That actually demoralized us for a few days.

So, we started looking for handymen online and decided to do the coordination ourselves between different handymen. We made the mistake of hiring someone from kijiji to do a small job of applying laminate flooring for a small room.We were too excited to start the job and thought that the guy was good enough for the job. But then he didn't turn up on time and delayed the job by 2 weeks. Although the job was done fine, we absolutely didn't like the work ethic of the person and didn't give him any further work.
LESSON learnt - When in doubt, don't go ahead. It is worthwhile to look further.

The walls of our basement had old panels and we wanted to upgrade it to dry walls and redo our bathroom. That was the biggest piece. We decided to visit home improvement stores like Home Depot, Kent and ask around. Our friends also agreed since the folks working there would definitely have recommendations. And that was the best decision ever!!! - Home Depot has a "PRO referral" program, in which they have a list of local professionals such as drywall men, electricians, plumbers etc. These are people for whom Home Depot has done background checks and also have insurance coverage (should they need it). We were able to hire our Drywall and electrician guys with this program.

Halifax is a small city in that sense and you would get your contacts verbally from people. The electrician guy recommended the plumber, who recommended the shower installer and we were happy with all of them.

Trust that once you find the right person for the job, you would be way happier!

Working with them on the job

If you are coordinating with all the contractors then it is important for you to understand the sequence of things. If not, you might waste days. Home Depot was a blessing because we got the materials such as drywall, boards, flooring etc. on financing (0% interest for the 1st 6 months). This will help with expenses. With multiple contractors, you have to make sure that all the materials are available whenever they need it. Some of the items like drywalls are huge and might not fit in your car. You can rent a truck for the same. Home Depot also offers a truck-renting option for your orders. Planning all this is going to be very important.

I had work from home ability but my husband didn't. So we had to adjust work schedules so that we could be around when these folks worked. If you have to buy shower, toilet, bathroom vanity, electrical appliances like fan and lighting then you should look online and in stores. The contractors will help you with the measurements of these things but ultimately you have to choose the model. So that research aspect won't go away. Find the best deal and schedule their deliveries or bring it yourself (based on the vehicle you have)  accordingly.

What did it ultimately cost?

Remember I got a quote of 27K CAD from a renovation company for renovating our basement? Ultimately, we went with contractors and it cost us about 14K CAD for the same thing! Practically half the cost. But it required lots of coordination. Home Depot had all the materials whatever was needed! Materials overall didn't cost more than 4K CAD. Labor is expensive and so make that you get the right people.

Last words

Renovating is fun. Do your research and work with the right people. Take your time!